Hannibal Lecter was my favourite art teacher who I was crushing on and he sharpened my pencil with a scalpel. We all knew he was a cannibal but I didn't care.

A lot of people love to talk about teacher!Steve and I've seen people speculate about him teaching History, or English or Gym. But hear me out...Art Teacher.

Steve Harrington, who took art as an elective in highschool thinking it would be an easy grade, but who ends up actually really enjoying it. He likes the satisfaction of making something and the methodical process of doing it. Later in life he knows he wants to work with kids, but he doesn't think he would be happy trying to teach any of the core subjects like math or English, he never cared for them much himself, and even the classes he liked he wasn't super skilled in. Then he thinks back to that art class, remembers how much he enjoyed himself, and he finds himself taking classes towards a teaching degree a few months later.

After a while, Steve finds himself with a job teaching art at a local middle school. He loves it. He loves working with the kids, even though most of them are little assholes. Apparently, that isn't unique to the party. All young kids are kind of assholes. But they're also funny, and they put thought into the projects he gives them. He always gives them a lot of wiggle-room creatively, giving assignments that focus on certain techniques like painting or working with clay, but allowing them to choose the subject matter themselves. He works alongside them, making his own little projects. He isn't VanGogh by any means, but he kind of likes that. It helps show his students that they can have fun with the art and really make something they can be proud of without worrying about it being perfect or looking like something they would see in a museum. His students adore him. They tease him and make fun of him, but at the end of the day, almost every student who takes his class ends up raving about it to their friends. Parents he meets on occasion love him too. And only partially because he looks hot as hell with his glasses and his paint-stained apron.

At the end of a project, he has everyone go around and talk about what they made. He isn't picky. They can talk about their favorite part of making it, the story behind it, why they chose certain colors, and parts they struggled with. Any little bit of extra information about the project is enough to get the points. He wasn't expecting them to rope him into it when he first started. Now, he fully expects the questions they ask whenever he shows off a project with them.

The first project is charcoal drawings, and Steve draws a weird looking bat with a crazy mouth and no eyes. He tells the class that a bunch of his family play DND, and they have really vivid imaginations. It isn't a lie.

Next they do sand-art and Steve makes a set of patterns comprised of bright, vivid colors. Oranges and pinks and greens. He tells the class it represents his best friend, who is one of his favorite people in the world. A week later he tells the class that he showed her the sand art and she declared it the ugliest thing she had ever seen, then proceeded to hang it in her room with a bright smile on her face.

During the sculpting unit, he makes a homemade mug, with little fish carved on the side. He tells the class his father-in-law collects mugs, and this one is going to be a birthday gift.

The class seemed to like sculpting, so he does a unit on wire-art. He makes a small wire guitar and a wire ring. The class ask, with shit eating grins, if he's got somebody he's planning on proposing to. He happily tells them he already proposed, this ring is just for fun, since his partner loves to wear them.

Steve's small apartment fills up over the years with tons of art projects gifted to him by his students, paintings and drawings hanging on the walls, and a whole bookshelf dedicated to the 3D work. He remembers that first part class he took sometimes, back when he was just a sad kid who's friends were all assholes, he was a bit of an asshole himself, who didn't know that horrible things existed just under his feet. He thinks back on it fondly enough, but he couldn't be happier that he isn't that kid anymore. He's pretty damn pleased being the teacher now.

Sister Corita Kent’s "10 Rules for Students, Teachers, and Life," 1967-68.

Corita Kent’s list for students, educators, and everyday experiences, serves as sagely and flexible advice for living life in a more creative capacity. It incorporates the trials and tribulations, as well as the joys of being an artist (or being artful) and/or an educator. Read more about the pedagogy behind Kent's list in my Artfully Learning post "Making a list, checking it twice, going to receive some artistic advice"

best duo of all time

Books I use when teaching art

nothing is perfect

Just received word that my highschool art teacher was killed on April 6th, 2024. This is the link to the family's Go Fund Me in order to bring her home from Spain. Anything helps them, whether you donate or share.

She was an amazing art teacher, she believed in me and my ability and I wouldn't be where I am today without her pushing me. Because of her I have experimented with nearly every medium, from paint to pottery. She was a beautiful soul and did not deserve what happened to her.

Ms. Pitman was an amazing woman. The only thing I regret is never being able to share what I have achieved in art with her after she left my school.

Rest in Peace Bianca Pitman

Why does she look like every college visual arts teacher

an unfinished zine i made while teaching my kindergartners about zines!! i wanted to experiment with paper cutting hehe

My Art teacher kept throwing paint at me and eventually just chucked an easel at me.

Hosted a super simple character design basics stream at work today. Paint a basic head shape (doesn't even have to have eyes/other facial features) and then try out different; 1. ear shapes 2. horns 3. hairstyles (and how to style them with ears/horns) 4. accessories pick and mix your favourites and then tadaaa you can start building a bunch of different characters and personalities from the same base!

ava is the only character i’d be 100% content with having 0 development

Josef Albers (1888-1876)

Squares

(Details, collaged)

Some portraits of:

My art teacher

And my English teacher