The value of uncontrolled surprise in the process of art making is a key element in my approach to teaching. Incorporating unconventional ideas into my class keeps my students as well as me aware of these unexpected treasures. By unconventional ideas I mean when we experiment with working with different materials as well as interacting with people from other disciplines. We then encounter relationships of coincidence that foster new ideas.


I plant new ideas through exploration of different techniques. As a first stage, I encourage serious involvement with material through hands-on experimentation rather than through analytical investigation. I believe in the challenge of new experience to produce creativity. Instead of doing research for the design first, I want them to be part of the process and to gain a physical relationship with the materials and tools they work with to feel confidence. In order to combine an inspiring concept with the right materials, students must understand the importance of process as a way to gain experience and create. Only through experimentation will students know what works and what fails. In the second phase, students should then strengthen their ideas through knowledge and research. I start with active exercises and only then will theory follow.


Collaboration between different media in art and exposure to different perspectives  is key to future creative and artistic growth. In my drawing class students are required to watch and analyze weekly video-broadcasts of international artists and designers. Exposure to the medium of video with the content of design pushes them to think outside of the conventional drawing frame. Pace, cuts, transitions, cinematography and composition are the same ideas just in a different language of art. Drawing is the base for any other method of visual practice and therefore with an understanding of the act of “seeing” as the grammar of this visual language, students learn how to speak!


As an example, I created an interactive context for my students with a five-week collaboration with a colleague from the Music Department. This exercise enriched class discussion and provided creative opportunities. We explored the learning outcomes of dual improvisation sessions. During each session the students were giving different open following/leading tasks in the form of reactions to one another. They worked individually and in groups. By the end of each session we shared our insights. Both music and visual creative processes can create mental as well as emotional blocks. Working within pre-defined artistic constraints often fosters creativity and improvisatory achievement better than complete freedom. Such constraints may take the form of simple instructions, games or sets of restricted materials.


Being aware of how subjective art is, I accept this, and encourage students to claim their positions both in technique and in their creative path with confidence.

- TEACHING NARRATIVE