The Best Art Advice I Have Ever Received

Updated: Aug 19, 2023

So often great advice can go unappreciated. Words may or may not land depending on the ear they're spoken into. But leading by example is how you make a lasting impression. It's something that can marinate in the memories of those you wish to affect. So the best advice I ever got was wrapped up in a small moment in time but also in observing the actions of a woman's being. My elementary school art teacher had a presence about her. An energy. A force. She wore velvet skirts, tall boots, and homemade jewelry. She unapologetically explained the reasoning behind changing her last name after her divorce- a reclamation of identity. She never talked down to us, she talked to us like equals. She wanted us to try new things, to be messy, there would be no suns in the corners of our drawings, no projects where everyone's work turns out looking the same! She taught me more techniques than some of my high school art teachers. Line, perspective, figure drawing, experimentation, plein air, you name it she had 1st to 5th graders doing it! She was passionate. In our valley, we have an event where you can tour local artists' homes and studios. She was going to participate and my mom suggested we go see her studio. (I was about 9 years old) I was so excited. Her home was a true artist's home. Every inch was personal and creative, and bizarre in the best way. She had completely covered her staircase in pennies. The studio was round with vaulted ceilings and filled with paintbrushes in ceramic jars, moody jewel-tone abstractions, and vivid nude figures. She felt wild and free to me. Everything I was not allowed to be and everything the people in my life were not- that is, comfortable in their own skin, and being who they are, unafraid of the judgment of others- growing up in a strict evangelical Christian environment, every adult around me was always aware of how "god" or peer members of the congregation viewed them. I was also very shy. She was confident and real. Things I needed to become. Once we were all working on a project in class - carving rectangular pieces of foam (the kind you stick fake flowers into so they stand tall in a basket arrangement; these were gold, not the common green color.) We were supposed to make something that we loved or were interested in, something personal. I had a fascination with ancient cultures and civilizations at this age (still kinda do) and I was carving Egyptian hieroglyphs into mine. It was an obelisk-like sculpture. We were supposed to paint the work when we were done carving. I liked the sandy texture and color of the foam and I wanted to leave it. I thought it worked. So I shyly approached her and explained my thoughts and asked if I could leave it unpainted. She looked at me and firmly said, "You are an artist. Stomp your foot and TELL me what you're going to do." I did and she made me say it louder and with more conviction, and yes, stomp my foot. That moment was so pivotal for me. I was so painfully shy at that age, so conditioned to pleasing people already. She gave me so much in that moment. She was also the first artist I admired. I think about her sometimes and I get tears pricking at the backs of my eyes. When I went off to middle school she gave me a sketchbook and told me to never stop making art. A couple of years ago a local gallery had, very clearly, hung my work upside down and I walked in on the reception night to realize it. I politely told them and they said there are already so many people here we can't fix it (it would reflect badly on the gallery). I walked away feeling like they didn't have my work, the show, or the viewer in their best interest and I was disappointed. I knew they could handle it discreetly without many people noticing, as it was a packed show. I walked back to my husband and told him what they said and he told me, "What would Ms. A tell you to do?" So I walked back over and the work got hung! I didn't stomp my foot or demand anything, but her essence is something I hold within me now. I know I am a better artist for having crossed paths with her. I value myself and who I am as an artist- she is at the root of that.