| teaching
Throughout
my twenty-five years as a college Professor
of Fine Arts, I have always tried to share
with my students the breadth and depth
of my career as a professional artist.
I teach painting, drawing, and basic design
through emphasis on a combination of technique
and creativity, hard work and practice.
My professional art career has provided
opportunities to exhibit extensively throughout
the United States and abroad. The relationships
I have built with museum curators, other
professional artists, gallery owners and
academics allow me to expose my students
to the wider art world, and to encourage
connections through internships and apprenticeships.
I encourage students to explore the fine
arts for possible career choices while
they broaden their scope by looking at
professions affiliated with the arts,
such as teaching (college, high school,
and elementary level), graphic design
and its commercial applications, and providing
museum and gallery services. Art is a
business that requires lawyers, promoters,
agents, and others.
My success as an artist demonstrates to
my students that a career in art is attainable.
However, in order to be successful, I
emphasize to my students the importance
of maintaining steady employment, preferably
in the art business world, while pursuing
their careers as individual fine artists.
As they establish themselves, I emphasize
the importance of creative experimentation.
Finally, they must learn to resist the
temptation to produce work solely for
sale that may compromise the artistic
principles by which individual artists
develop their body of work.
My years of teaching have established
a mastery of various academic subjects
in Arts Humanities. I can offer my students
coverage of the profound movements in
art history, including…
- Prehistoric
Art
- Ancient
African Civilizations
- Egyptian
Art
- Greek
Art
- Italian
Renaissance Art
- French
Impressionism
- Art
of the Harlem Renaissance
- Contemporary
Art
It
is important for students, especially
art majors, to have a solid art history
background to further their basic understanding
of the connection between historical art
representations and the art they are themselves
creating. Through their daily practice
of technique and their assimilation of
art history, they develop their own personal
styles. For non art majors, my teaching
goal is to increase their cultural awareness
and understanding of the art traditions
in which I specialize.
I am a committed teacher and Fine Artist.
I enjoy the interchange of these two roles.
The profound relationship between teaching
and creating art requires honesty, integrity
and creativity in the art instructor.
Students respond to this through increased
commitment to their learning process.
My practice of sound work ethics show
my students that technique is important,
but so are meeting deadlines, framing
your work, professional presentation to
museums and galleries, and creating a
professional portfolio. The art world
is highly competitive, and I am pleased
to have worked with a number of students,
helping them develop themselves into major
gallery and museum exhibitors. I offer
these types of aspirations to my students.
For me, teaching and creating art are
vocations married for life.
Delsarte
is currently a professor of Fine Arts
at Morehouse College.
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