…why do I have such a difficult time seeing myself as an artist?
I love art, I teach art, I appreciate many styles of art and I occasionally create art. I’ve even sold my art; however I find it difficult to describe myself as an artist.
Today during one of my art classes with grade 3s and 4s I showed them some examples of work I had done to demonstrate an art technique that they might want to use in their first art project. The children oohed and awed over my examples and insisted that I was this amazing artist.
I showed them how easy the technique was and with practise they could produce their own amazing pieces. I feel all children have artistic ability. Some of them just need more encouragement than others.
I believe that children should be given a certain amount of artistic freedom but I also believe that it’s okay to show them how they could improve on what they’ve done. I give them suggestions and demonstrate techniques that they can choose to use or not. Often they come up with even better ideas.
Today I wanted to make the lesson about them and what they could do and were capable of. I didn’t want it to be about me. I think that I provided some inspiration for many of them today and much of the work that they produced was exceptional for 8 and 9 year olds.
The children used photographs of themselves in their art work today so I am unable to post them on the internet. The theme was “I’m a star because…..” and the children posed in positions that demonstrated what they were good at. They wrote, in a pre-made star, why they were a star and then filled it in with colour. The star and the photograph (trimmed around the student’s body) were glued onto a 8 1/2 x 11 piece of white card stock. The last step was to create a scene around the pictures. Some of the scenes included performing a dance on stage, meditating while sitting on the floor, slaying a dragon. doing the splits at a gymnastic competition and playing golf on a putting green.
Am I an artist? My students think so. My colleagues and friends think I am. Aren’t we all artists at some level? Here are a few of my pieces. I will try to capture some work done by my students without revealing their identity for another post.
16 x 16 acrylic, “Fern”
8 x 10 acrylic monoprint, “Autumn Grass”
5 x 7 acrylic on yupo paper, “Abstract Landscape”
8 x 10 mono print, acrylic, “untitled”
Mama Cormier 
Fantastic new blog photo. I think self doubt about one’s own ability dogs most creative people. Life becomes a bit of a rollercoaster, up one day, down the next, depending on what others say about our efforts. Creative people can often be quite harsh in their comments on the work of others, comments which aren’t always justified but sometimes emanate from jealousy or the need to boost their own image. Remaining positive can be so difficult.
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Thank you for your kind comments. There are days when I don’t hesitate to call myself an artist. I think when I’m around my students I don’t want their focus to be on what I can do. I remember at their age being intimidated by people who could draw. At the age of 11 my grade 6 teacher showed us how to add shading to our drawings and give them more depth. It was a revelation for me. I could draw. I love how my own students get excited about art and how eager they are to try new things.
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Yes your an artist! I love the 5 x 7 acrylic on yupo paper, “Abstract Landscape” and the depth/detail on the Fern is amazingly beautiful. Anyone that takes time out to create and inspire others to create is an artist in my eyes. WELL DONE! Bridgette
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Thank you for your encouraging words. The yupo print is also one of my favourite pieces. I’m actually thinking of buying more of this special paper and creating more mono prints with it. The glossiness of this paper and the type of paint one uses produces very interesting textures when the colours merge with one another.
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