Setting an Example

(Living the dream)

I normally don’t ever promote my own work to students taking my classes: aside from the opening show & tell, I only demo my stuff during the pen + ink portion of the course, and then a couple open studio sessions of sitting alongside everyone else that is working on their pages for the comic art critique (technically it's triple-dipping when you use the right pen).

During an Advanced level though, the expectations are different. A primary assumption is that by the time you are at that level, you A) know how to draw, and B) want to draw (and C) will draw). This becomes important during a stacked class session, which necessitates juggling multiple needs, for example the 6-week summer session Drawing classes which will have varying numbers of students at each level: Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced, and on occasion, Graduate (though you are of course only paid for teaching one class – and don’t even get me started on when it was assumed you’d also be running an additional online component). 

So more often than not due to the overwhelming majority of folks enrolled in the Beginning level, the majority of the course revolves around them. Generally speaking if I haven’t had them before in Beginning, I’ll essentially run the Intermediates in tandem by doing similar works (ensuring they have a solid command of various media and demonstrating their understanding of linear perspective, composition, use of line and value etc.). Lastly the Advanced orbit around us coming in to lead weekly critiques and reviews of assignments. They set the bar, as more often than not, they will also be art majors (or minoring at the least), if not B.F.A. candidates themselves - and so cycling back around to the opening of this post, expectations are set correspondingly higher. Thus they are ultimately entrusted with a largely self-directed, contract-driven course, and possess the discipline and drive to complete a "cohesive body of work," usually twelve pieces completed over the six-week session, so approximately two pieces a week. This is lengthened to approximately one piece per week over the course of a normal 15-week semester.

Now mounting these trophy heads up on the wall is neither a humblebrag nor throwing shade to shame, it is simply a stark lesson and definitive evidence that twelve pieces over a fifteen-week semester is simply not too much to ask. I repeatedly emphasize to all of my students, I never expect them to do anything that I can't and/or won't also do myself. So before the last couple weeks of the semester leading up into finals, I oftentimes (dependent on the level of instructor dissatisfaction at their collective class output) display the completion of double what I ask for in their portfolios. Note that these for the most part are additionally digitally colored, and this display omits any freelance gigs or "fine art"or requisite sketches. Also note that this is also why I am absolutely fucking fried most of the time. And not coincidentally now understand why most full-time faculty rarely if ever get around to working on their own stuff most of the year when classes are in session - it's almost impossible to burn the candle at both ends and not expect to see some slippage, mentally or otherwise. To say nothing of the dream that one day 100% could be devoted towards, say, making another book, or any number of other items bubbling away on the back-burners. Every so often I'll wonder to myself what life would be like if I wasn't teaching and instead spent a comparable number of hours cartooning, behind a drawing table instead of in front of a class.

Now aside from the usual slacker (like a certain someone), or a student who has taken on too much (under-appreciating the sheer number of hours required of multiple studio art courses often trips folks up), or the inevitable situation where shit just happens, I still maintain it's entirely reasonable to expect folks to keep up, and make a lot of drawings for homework, at least one every single weekend, at least. But for me, there is a very real acknowledgement that to maintain a constant, consistent stream of creation, the challenge for most is time management, learning the logistics is almost as crucial as any skillset. I know for a fact that having other classes, and/or a job, a relationship, a life - will invariably force you into the choices you need to make to foster the discipline it takes, to commit to investing in the time to put in the practice and get the work done. All this is to say "Why yes, you most certainly can do only half the work, just make sure it's twice as good."

(the previous semester's output)