Hello Everyone!
Believe it or not, this week marks my 10th anniversary of teaching! Honestly, I am having a difficult time grasping it - it feels like it's been a very long time, and yet I still feel like that new kid on the block just starting in the world of art and teaching art.
One thing for sure is that I learned a lot in the past 10 years teaching art, and many of them were valuable life lessons. So I decided to create a 10-part blog series sharing some of the life lessons I learned through 10 years of teaching.
Life Lesson 1 - Everyone Starts Somewhere
I am a self-taught artist who teaches art without a degree in art or teaching. By society's norms and standards, I shouldn't be teaching, but here I am. Here is a little story of how I got started.
It was the fall of 2014. I was looking for a part-time job that could combine my interests in art. I had just started drawing with colored pencils in 2013. Wanting to learn more about the medium, I joined online art forums and shared my art. Soon, I started posting my work-in-progress photos with a step-by-step process, and one of the threads blew up to over 13,000 views in three months, making it one of the top threads on the topic of colored pencils. Everyone in the forum suggested I should start teaching, if not publishing my book on how to draw. Teaching without experience seemed such a far-fetched idea then, but after a while, I started to daydream about it - how great it would be to share my passion and what I learned with others!
But my popularity and presence belonged only in that forum. I did not know any local artists, potential student base, or how to start teaching. So when I started looking for a job, I thought of teaching arts and crafts at a local art supply store. Just before I was ready to apply, I remembered meeting an artist who worked at a local frame shop where we exchanged contact information. I decided to call her and she directed me straight to the McKinney Art House.
I called the owner of the Art House and she promptly booked a meeting. After 30 minutes of conversation, she gave me two slots, one on Wednesday morning and another on Saturday afternoon. I was a bit shocked at how easy it was, but soon the reality started to set in: how am I going to get students in a month and a half?
I scouted places with community bulletin boards, created a flyer, and posted it in as many places as possible. It was mid-December and still no students registered - I began to question if I had made a mistake. Maybe I should have taught painting like other people had suggested. Maybe this is a sign that I should not be teaching...
In the last week of December, I received a letter in the mail - inside was a check for the class fee and registration form. Finally, a student I was looking for! But my excitement quickly turned into anxiety: now that I had one student, I needed to get at least one other student! Not knowing what to do, I just waited. After the New Year of 2015, I got a few more inquiries, and by the time my first classes came around on January 7 and January 10, there were four students in each class, totaling eight.
Sometimes, we just need to start somewhere to follow our dreams and passions. Yes, we will be filled with doubts, fears, and anxieties, but unless we take that step, we will end up nowhere. Every master and person we look up to started their journey somewhere a long time ago. The mastery of their craft was not made overnight - behind every master lies countless hours of practice. They were once nobody and unknown to the public, with their gifts and talent still yet to be polished.
This means that we all could be someone we look up to. It is just a matter of starting somewhere and practicing our crafts. What sets the masters apart are the hours they dedicate to their practice and their relentless devotion to improvement.
Whatever dream vision you have, take that giant first step forward. I know it is scary, but trust me: when you look back in 10 years, you'll thank yourself for taking that step.
Stay tuned for lesson 2!
Noriko
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