PHILOSOPHY ON ART & EDUCATION

"As an artist in education, my philosophy grew naturally from my own experiences with the visual arts and from inspiration I drew out of my own personal life: as the son of two educators; and from my own career as a successful visual arts educator and professional artist who has painted, by commission, some of the most powerful and famous people of our time. For me, art is a way to explore life's very personal and psychologically charged issues visually. I believe that each of us has a story to tell, and because images are such a primary form of communication, art becomes an effective vehicle to communicate our personal vision with others. I teach my student artists to become active forces in creating meaningful, purposeful selves. I believe that each young artist is a divine seed of inspired possibilities, who, when guided in their proper context, can and will grow into the fullest dynamic expression of all they want to become.

Teaching art is a shared experience. Our ability to share our own personal vision, interact with and help others can become realized through the acquisition of an art education that has the right balance between technical and intellectual approaches. In beginning studio classes, my focus is to guide the development of basic perceptual thinking skills and the understanding of more formal art concepts. Visual and verbal problem solving skills and the critical vocabulary needed to discuss art must also be properly implemented. These skills and concepts can be reinforced in work done in and outside of the art studio through Visual Journaling. Visual journaling is a portfolio building and interdisciplinary problem-solving process I've developed and given lectures on at the local, state and national levels. It's a process that helps students to explore the connection between visual and verbal language while further developing their conceptual thought process and observational drawing skills. Vi sual Journaling encourages students to explore life's experiences, feelings, emotional reactions, and their own inner experiences visually and verbally through art.

In advanced studio classes, students can use their technical skills to further develop their own personal vision. Assignments require an individual response and interpretation that is intended to serve as a means for art to broaden their range of knowledge and approaches toward work that accurately conveys their feelings, thoughts and/or artistic intentions. I believe that the creative mind intuitively evaluates, approves or rejects ideas on how to treat subject matter based on our point of view, which stems from our own personal life experiences. The focus of more open-ended process-versus-product assignments creates a learning environment conducive to exploring new perspectives, ideas and approaches toward successful, finished products. The more ideas we are free to explore, the more likely a truly creative idea can emerge. Problems given to artists in advanced courses also promote researching issues in contemporary art as well as the history of western and non-western art. Individual and group critiques become an integral part of this process and I provide students with the opportunities to raise new questions about themselves and the world around them through their art, while becoming more articulate in sharing their thoughts on their work with the public and their peers. The way I approach student learning serves to enhance the overall educational experience, and the way students approach the world of fine arts.

I believe the experiences that students have with art should expand their own inner creative resources in positive ways. These experiences should enhance creative problem-solving skills that can lead to improvement in other aspects of their lives, or in other academic areas. Students learn to understand how to process information both visually and verbally, and they are provided with a platform to express themselves in very personal ways that encourages and promotes personal growth. Growth is taking on new challenges, looking at things from all perspectives, and continuously evaluating roads traveled and paths that lie ahead. It means having a vision, and in the fine arts, it’s being able to give constructive form to this vision and to life's very personal experiences. No matter what the student's ability level or interests, it is my goal to enhance any student's ability to think constructively, while providing them with all the technical and intellectual critical thinking skills they w ill need to better evaluate and improve their own lives and their own artwork throughout their journey through life."

- Michael Bell