Stephanie’s Philosophy

I come from a long line of artists and consider art to be part of my DNA.  As a child, I remember admiring the art of both my great-great-grandmother and my great-grandmother, who was a painter and had a ceramics studio in her basement where she had formally taught classes.  My mother greatly enjoyed photography and carried on the in-house studio tradition by using a dark room in our basement.  From these women, art was always nurtured in our family with skills and training being passed on to younger generations.  Drawing, painting, and ceramics have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember and I think I would not be the artist I am today without the matriarchal heritage I have followed.  Their legacies have left me with the desire to share and cultivate art appreciation and skills with others.   

As an art educator, it has always been my mission to develop and refine artistic skills within my students and make artistic connections to other core content learning and the world around us.   It is my hope that these skills bolster student confidence as well as a lifelong value of art.  The art they leave with may inspire them to become practicing artists or simply that of being a well-rounded individual that can approach problems with creative solutions. 

My approach to lesson preparation is guided by well-constructed objectives to promote student proficiency and ways for them to incorporate their own unique creative voice.  I often seek out ways to limit direct instructional time and increase student studio art time.  It is during this time, I can circulate the class, provide feedback and take the opportunity to create an informal conversation that builds better student-teacher relationships.     

In my art room, it is encouraged for students to constantly reflect upon their art either individually or by receiving guided constructive feedback from their peers.  This is an integral part of the artistic process of conceptual sketching, application of more temporary mediums, refinement, and completion with more permanent mediums.  This process internalizes the artistic process amongst students and develops critical thinking. 

This reflection is not limited to that of my students as I am in a constant state of reflection and evaluation.  During instruction, I monitor and adjust to meet the needs of my students and increase understanding.  Following instruction, I reflect on what worked and did not work in the lesson as well as what common student errors to anticipate in future lessons.  This inevitably makes me a better art instructor and increases the success of my students. 

I eagerly seek out new learning of my own, either through professional development or continued education.  By amassing new knowledge I can always keep my art instruction fresh and implement new art-making lessons.  This is augmented by my own continual arts production during personal studio art time.