Therapy in Disguise

I built the Art Station in 2007 in the hopes of providing art instruction for the lost generations of adults who never had or were denied the opportunity to take art in school. I had already enjoyed 33 years of teaching teenagers and imagined an exciting retirement of being surrounded by sane adults who simply desired to learn how to draw and paint. I could provide an outlet for the hidden artist in each of them.

I soon came to realize that The Art Station had certainly been needed, but not necessarily for the glorious sake of art. No, The Art Station turned out to be more a refuge for trapped spirits and even more a source of solace for weary minds deprived of the thrill of free thinking.

Yes, I know a teacher has a job of a different color than the average accountant or engineer. After 36 years in front of a classroom, it did not take me long to grasp that my every word, facial expression and hand gesture was received and interpreted on an emotional basis.

"Your hair looks great today, Betsy" is easily transcribed in a student's mind as "Your hair looked terrible yesterday." An accountant offering that same compliment would hear a simple "thank-you" followed by "Now, let's talk about my taxes."

A teacher's influence can never be minimized even by the most inept instructor. The last thing I want is to hear my name when Betsy ends up on a therapist's couch. A hostile teacher's fame grows quickly in psychoanalytical circles.

Any class is an emotional tit-for-tat between instructor and pupil, yet teaching the visual or performing arts makes the emotional exchanges even more complex. Art, by the nature of that wild beast, is already a touchy-feely course. When Betsy creates freely (and no, I'm not talking paint by number here), she reveals her subconscious, her feelings, her gut. When she wakes up from this right brain trance, she sees a part of herself on that canvas that she never knew existed. Therefore, a compliment now is not only about her painting, but it is also about her soul. Betsy will automatically take my response personally as my words will be even more sensitively heard and, yes, misinterpreted.

So, why bother, you ask? Easy. The personal benefits of teaching any subject are great, but the rewards of teaching Art are phenomenal. There is no other profession like it, in or out of the education field. I not only get to help students diminish the fears that keep them from being creative in art, but also in life. They can transfer those higher order thinking skills to their everyday challenges and solve their problems creatively. I am privileged to get to peek inside their heads and help them face those fears and thrilled to be invited along for the ride as they turn down their critical inner voice.

And, if my name does come up later during Betsy's therapy session, I hope it is accompanied by a sigh and a smile, and that the counselor is so impressed by her progress that Betsy doesn't have to pay the bill.


-Kim