Teachers and mentors

I’ve been slowly piecing together a series of posts about my teachers and mentors, because I think that our roots, our inspiration and our driving forces should be acknowledged and celebrated.

This morning the Art Biz Blog featured a guest post by Janice Tanton, entitled 10 Commandments of Teaching Art, and has reminded me that I need to finish off these posts and start sharing them. For now though, here are Janice’s ten commandments:

1. DO Give as much as yourself as humanly possible to your students.

2. DO Encourage skill-building in every form.

3. DO Share all the secrets that you have.

4. DO Notice what your students notice and ask for feedback constantly on your teaching methods and techniques. You will learn.

5. DO Be confident in your voice as an instructor and guide your students to find their own voice.

6. DO Assume positive intent.

7. DON’T Consider teaching related to your marketing your works. (They are completely separate, and you owe it to the profession of “artist” to pass along what you know to those who do not. We are all the better for it.)

8. DON’T Ever propose just “one” way of doing things to your students. Be open to all the possibilities.

9. DON’T EVER knock another artist or teacher. Guide gently.

10. DO remember that in the past, ateliers were the method by which we learned our craft, passing it down from artist to artist in an apprenticeship form. Instill this in others.