I am a self-taught artist. I never even considered higher education. It. Was. Not. For. Me. No thanks! I excelled in subjects I was interested in and would bore easily with things I didn't. I also had a habit of questioning the institution - how and why we learned what we learned and for who's benefit. My anti-establishment mindset has also fostered our family's alternative schooling decisions. We are life-learners. It is not performance-based through grades or tests. My understanding is that schools were created essentially for childcare and to create mindless workers who follow the rules. (This is no insult to anyone. The system is built that way, but it doesn't mean there are not inspiring creative teachers, but from my experience, those are few and far between.) I find that our alternative way of "schooling" is benefiting us all as free thinkers and creatives, myself included! I hated math and tech in school/growing up but I find when I need to learn these things to accomplish a goal, either in life or in my artistic pursuits, I learn, adapt, and add a new skill to my arsenal. I do not however retain information if I am forced to memorize something without any context for how it is to enrich my life.
Now, I am not saying this so much about higher education, necessarily. I can't really critique something I never experienced now can I! And I truly believe that if I were to experience a higher art education I would come out of it a better artist with tools and techniques that would add immense value to my life and art. Of course, I would also walk away with crippling debt and not much else (as far as how do I feed and house myself with learned techniques?) But, as I was sculpting a giant velociraptor head out of foam for my daughter's Halloween costume, I thought to myself, "I would never be doing this if it weren't for her and this is stretching me as an artist." In a way, motherhood has gifted me with an alternative art education.
In an educational environment, you don't just get to make what you want to make. You have to try new things, new mediums, learn different styles, etc. In my life as a mother and unschooler, I have had to learn new techniques to solve problems and to help foster my daughters' creative pursuits. I have taken up sewing to make toys and Halloween costumes. I have sculpted with paper, fabrics, clay, and foam. So many of these experiments wouldn't have happened for me if it weren't done for my daughter. And even if my primary medium as an artist doesn't include the things listed previously, they contribute to my overall growth as an artist.
How interesting it is that motherhood, so often touted as the kill switch to an artistic life and career, has been an art education of sorts for me. Motherhood has taught me so much about artistic collaboration, the sacredness of studio time, and how essential the mental marination of ideas is.
And in becoming a mother I tapped into this well of emotional, spiritual, and physical new experiences that have expanded my subject matter immensely. Motherhood has blessed my art and gifted me with ever-expanding inspiration and education. An education in both life, spirit, and art!
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