I wasn't sure how to convey this feeling of uncertainty. Eventually I decided to create a puppet because I don't yet feel like I'm fully in control of my teaching self. Often I feel like I am just reacting with stiff, jerky motions to whatever is happening in front of me, struggling to keep up with the pace of the tune. And yet, because I have hope that like Pinocchio, someday I'll be a "real teacher", I wanted to embody that spirit of renewal. That's why I'm giving her the wings and tail of a phoenix, that perhaps someday will really fly on her own. However, after starting this process, I realized that creating the thing I really want to make is going to take about 40 hours of work, and I just don't have that kind of time right now. I'm posting images of what I started, just so you can see where I was going. I do hope to finish her because I really love this so far, but alas, it will have to wait.
Instead, I tried to embody the same spirit in a digital collage, which is a little new for me. I had to have a lot of tech support from my darling husband, but we got through it.
HI Karen!
ReplyDeleteYou ARE a real teacher. Consider moments when you are sharing ideas excitedly with peers, is this not teaching? When you share a beautifully articulated explanation here on your blog, is that not teaching? It is interesting reading about your artistic process, paired with your perception of yourself as as "teacher" I am wondering if there are parallels in process (not necessarily meaning) OR if your artistic process might inform your teaching process?
I believe both processes go hand in hand to one degree or another, and knowing how we do things one way, where we are inspired and comfortable, can support process in another area (teaching). Its a shift in perception, and then action.
Your portrait is wonderfully mystical. Its elegance is enticing and the transparency of it feels like an awakening . As if you are emerging from all the universe into this form. I imagine this figure (you) as permeable enough to embrace all the students, acting as a vessel or environment, expanding and contracting in"response" to what is happening within and without. :)
I applaud your courage for trying a new medium. :)