Art is in the air
I haven’t mentioned it all here on the blog, but many of you probably know that I’ve been taking classes this fall through DePaul University’s School for New Learning. I took a ’sabbatical’ from college at 19 to get some life experience and think about what direction I wanted to go with my education. Eight years later, and still not perfectly sure I know what I want to do, I figured it might just be time to get on with it anyway. I’ve really been enjoying the process, and getting some very positive feedback from my instructors as well.
This quarter ends week after next, and I don’t have classes until January, so I’ve been trying to find something to do with my self. Fortunately, a few options have presented themselves. Jess and I started a TEFL course online with Bridge-Linguatec that we never managed to finish before we came to Korea. So, I’ll go ahead and knock that out in the next couple of months. Also, Jess mentioned that I taught an art class on Tuesday. Our friend Cynthia Toffey was asked to teach an adult art class at a friend of her friend’s atelier in Myeong-Dong, but she was unable, and was kind enough to pass the opportunity over to me.
The first class was great. We began with some still-life sketching to see where everyone was coming from, and then I offered critiques. I was a little nervous, since it had been since high school that I’d done this, not to mention the possibility of misinterpretation from by my translator. It went totally smoothly, though. I then proceeded to show slides of my painting and photography and give a talk on my techniques and underlying themes. Again, this was not something I’m used to doing, but once I got into the groove it was smooth. Talking about the ideas behind my art in a way that could be easily translated was really challenging, bu all was well-received.
There has also been talk of me helping teach a children’s class up in Munsan, near where we live. All of a sudden, there are all of these art opportunities popping up. Cynthia has even offered to open up part of her studio space to me, so that I can work on my own art. I’ll definitely be taking her up on the offer.
It’s funny how life flows some times. These sorts of doors can open up out of nowhere, unbidden. When they do, though, I think we have to pay attention and be prepared to walk through them. So, this art door has opened again and we’ll just have to see what’s on the other side I suppose.
-A.
