2021-Current
The drawing of the figure within this piece is from a series of reference photos that I took for students to use in class, I paired it with my own child’s playful cat drawings, and layered an embossed bread knife over the image. Collecting these images together is my attempt to work through some reflections of this past school year while preparing for this new year. I was processing the ideas of the fragile innocence of adolescence, the vulnerability of young men, and the tenuous line between self-discovery and self-sabotage.
There is a belief in education that the expectations teachers hold for others can profoundly shape their potential - meaning that when teachers have high expectations for students, those students will rise to meet those educator’s high expectations. Yet, in practice, it is rarely that simple.
The student who inspired this piece was bright, funny, and often willing to put in the work. Over the course of last year’s second semester it felt like he was finding his way, he had multiple teachers, administrators, and adults supporting him but circumstances and choices pulled him in other directions. By the end of the year, he was expelled. His absence bothered me — it was a reminder that even with strong relationships, high expectations, love, and the student putting in the effort that sometimes all of those supports are just not enough to counteract the weight of those other negative social forces that so many students are battling.
As an art educator I feel you must have optimism, hope, and an ongoing belief that art and telling your story can build empathy, connection, and renewal within our community and future, even when the outcome feels uncertain or disappointing.