POINT OF VIEW

Aaron Kuehne

Inspired by a visit from artist Emily Pelton, students created their own nontraditional “sweet” paintings.

Each year, I look for new ways to enhance my students’ art experience. I believe it’s vital for art educators to maintain a fresh perspective. I haven’t stopped asking, What is art? so why should I stop asking, What is art education? Artists are constantly experimenting with new materials and subject matter and therefore are always gaining a new outlook. I have the same approach as an art educator. I gain perspective by speaking with artists about their work, visiting galleries, attending events and workshops, and listening to webinars.

Owning Their Learning
When students walk into my classroom, they are immediately regarded as artists and expected to do the work of artists, owning their own learning. I practice Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB), giving students the freedom to choose their media based on subject matter. For this method to be successful, students need to be introduced to a wide variety of art and artists.

A Visiting Artist
Recently, I invited Emily Pelton into my classroom. Emily is a College for Creative Studies alumna, artist, and educator. I asked Emily because she uses nontraditional materials, which always seems to connect with and excite my students. Emily mixes sugar and acrylic paint to create a thick paste, then she fills cake decorating tubes with this mixture to use instead of a paintbrush. She also “paints” with melted chocolate and applies chewed gum to her canvases for added texture.

Artists are constantly experimenting with new materials and subject matter and therefore are always gaining a new outlook.

Students benefited from observing and experiencing Emilyʼs unique approach to painting in-person and creating their own “sweet” painting. Working with nontraditional materials is an unforgettable experience for students, prompting them to wonder what else they can use to create art.

Other Inspirations
When I don’t have a visiting artist like Emily around, I find inspiration through galleries like Red Bull House of Art, Inner State Gallery, Library Street Collective, and the Detroit Creative Corridor Center (DC3). These galleries promote local and international artists showcasing innovative ideas. DC3 offers monthly open studios and established the annual Detroit Design Festival. These programs amplify the impact of Detroit’s creative community.

I also listen to monthly webinars provided by the National Art Education Association that speak directly to art educators. The archive of webinars can be found at learning.arteducators.org/monthly-webinar-archives.

Embracing the Next
These resources refuel my passion for art, deepen my teaching, and inspire me with new techniques to share with my students.

Becoming an artist is a journey, and being an artist means always keeping a keen eye on what’s happening in the art world as well as embracing what comes next.

Aaron Kuehne is a middle-school art educator at Detroit Country Day Middle School in Beverly Hills, Michigan. akuehne@dcds.edu