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Originally Posted by Debra Jones
Open studio non interference mandate!
I have always had a hard time in open studio when I feel the people around me begin suggesting the "right" way to do things. The Artist's School is just that. A school for artists, more workshops and one week introductions than actual instruction...
When I was shakey in my skills, I really got shakier unless the advice was given from an individual that could demonstrate the results in their own work. ..
I feel really strongly, that open studio is where we get to practice and perfect. (Can you tell you struck a nerve?)
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Debra, I understand what you are saying about each artist/teacher offering a different, palette, method, etc. We students at Scottsdale Artists' School all mutter about having paint tubes that we only used in a specific class. HOWEVER, if it hadn't been for the learning received there, I would have had to go through all the mistakes that the woman went through who invented the wheel. I never would have gotten to invent the engine much less the automobile. The value of any education is simply to take a shortcut through that lengthy process called learning. Fortunately or unfortunately, I haven't been in this professon long enough to earn an ego so I get to be a sponge in class. The thing about offering solutions to painting problems is that one can see the way an individual artist solves a problem, then use that or not when working independently. If everything I did worked well, I wouldn't need school.
I guess the true value of education is to save one from some of the pitfalls that other artists have fallen into. (Speak of striking a nerve!) As an educator who spent 30 years in the classroom, I KNOW even the receptive learners hear with their own ears. I feel such a gratitude for the generous artists who not only teach but mentor. We all attend classes there at SAS because we WANT to be there. Why else would anyone pay to attend a class unless we wanted to learn? When one disagrees with a particular pathway suggested by an artist/teacher, try it anyway. It can open new avenues that may not even be related. When receptive, the mind can be unlimited in its solutions. So, to sum it up, I'll take the easy way...instruction. Fewer errors that way.
Open Studio is certainly independent study with no teacher. Learning from others is optional.