Something that I’ve always loved doing is making art. My grandparents always used to get me art kits for Christmas and birthdays – those ones from Costco that come with all sorts of cheap art supplies that break or run out within a few weeks, for the most part – and I would always spend so much time creating artwork whenever I got something new.
Overtime, I had less and less free time to spend on creating art that wasn’t, in the opinion of my teenage self, “good”, so I stopped making art for the most part. Occasionally I’d design a handmade card or doodle something for a niece or nephew or in the margins of my work, but I didn’t take time out of my day to actually draw or paint or otherwise create something.
I’ve since decided that it doesn’t matter if my art is “good”. It doesn’t need to win awards or be something that someone would buy or otherwise be traditionally “good”, professional, realistic art. Creating art calms me, and is a big component of what’s gotten me through the teaching program (and the pandemic) with my mental health relatively in tact. Creating prototypes for my class has reinvigorated my love of painting and creating art, and teaching it to students has made me realize that, even if my art isn’t “good” or realistic or professional, it’s still enjoyable, and if I bring this attitude to teaching these art projects to my students, maybe they’ll be able to enjoy making art without worrying if it’s “good”.
Below are some of the different art projects I did with my students throughout my different practicums.
