This file contains examples of the work I did at Shepherd University as the Coordinator of their Art Education Department:
We passed our national NCATE review "With Distinction."
NOTES of SUPPORT _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jodi ... You have been such an inspiration to me...as an adult going back to school at 30 and finally fully delving into her creative self, you have been such a model of how to pursue my goals and live my dreams. I cannot thank you enough for everything you have done to support, inspire and encourage me in the past year since I first met you. As a future art teacher, I could not ask for a kinder, more compassionate and spiritual teacher or advisor...you are truly a mentor to me, and a model of the kind of art teacher I want to be....accepting, involving and encouraging.
I look forward to hearing about your adventures, your new artwork and your activities, and will definitely keep an eye on your website, and keep in touch with you if you don't mind.
A.H. (email dated 6/9/2010)
Jodi! ... I've learned so much from you & hope to bring as much happiness and brightness into a room as you do. I will miss you SO MUCH, you deserve this crazy adventure. Enjoy life :) I love you!
L.B. (FB post 6/8/2010)
Jodi ... I still think of you quite often and I do still pull out my paints from time to time. I learned so much about myself with your guidance in high school art class! I think that a lot of my ability to express my passions is due to being able to be in a safe and open space during art class. I still take much pleasure in releasing all of what I keep inside onto paper. Thank you for always encouraging me! Some of them are on FB somewhere in my pics!
L.B. (email 6/6/2010)
L.B. (FB post 6/8/2010)
Jodi ... I still think of you quite often and I do still pull out my paints from time to time. I learned so much about myself with your guidance in high school art class! I think that a lot of my ability to express my passions is due to being able to be in a safe and open space during art class. I still take much pleasure in releasing all of what I keep inside onto paper. Thank you for always encouraging me! Some of them are on FB somewhere in my pics!
L.B. (email 6/6/2010)
Jodi ... Speaking for myself... You have been such a wonderful mentor to me and an incredible means of support and blessing for me through this phase of my life. You have always encouraged me in my quest, so I will do the same for you.
Know that you will receive an invitation to my graduation, whenever that is and I will hope you will attend.
Please keep in touch with me.
S.S. (email 6/2/2010)
Hello Ms. Patterson, this is T***** **** I'm not sure if you will remember me but... you taught me at Hemlock High schoolin 2000-2002 :O) I was just sitting down with some friends the other night and we were thinking of you, so I thought I would try to Googleyou :O) and what do you know! I found you :O) I just wanted to see how you have been doing and to thank you for being such a GREAT teacher!! You were always my favorite and I know you made a major impact on my life as well as many others. L**** and I sat down this past summer for lunch and she said she was trying to find you to thank you for being a great inspiration in her life, she is an artist now :O) She even has her own web site to sell her work :O) I don’t see her much as we have grown apart but I thought you would like to know that.
T.L. (email 6/18/09)
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
An excellent teacher balances stewardship with vision, and uses his or her leadership status in both overt and subtle ways to simultaneously guide and follow students towards knowing. I come to a group of students with a desire to foster curiosity and affiliation and utilize diverse methodologies that challenge them to learn how to learn. The potential for teaching and learning occurs when all engaged parties are aware of their respective philosophies and are open to new and/or different ones.
By far the greatest challenge of teaching art content is helping students come to terms with multiple and sometimes conflicting interpretations; but this is also a great way to introduce students to the realization that truth is multidimensional and rarely singular. I see the value in both modern and post-modern approaches to content - the individual vs. the societal per se - and I am often transparent about which approach I choose to employ and why. When students are able to recognize differing interpretations and methodologies - they are more likely to encounter life-realizations ... classroom discussions, studio experiments and image analyses are just the beginning steps towards a new sense of self-awareness.
I came to art as a painting student, but have degrees in political science and education, too, and my love of art history has prompted my addiction to world travel I now consider myself to be an interdisciplinarian as "art" itself is inherently many things: historical, cultural, political, personal, educational and geographical. Within a contemporary construct, art is allowed to engage with other disciplines and is accessible to many audiences. I believe information should be integrated and contextualized rather than segmented or aloof. I want my students to "get it." Perhaps "accessibility" and "relevance" are the main ambitions of my teaching philosophy.
Stressing relevance in every component of art/education training, I remind students about their responsibility to hone a dedicated practice. I empower students to take ownership of classroom encounters and utilize reflection as a means for growth. This means they must be aware of their audience and learn to find resources that reach out to them – rather than staying safe in their own experiences of knowing. My expectations are high for my students because they are professionals in training who will be charged with fostering diverse forms of knowledge within a society.
Teaching art of any form (art education, studio or art history) is a hybrid adventure that requires the artist/professor to be aware of a systems processes of learning; to have a broad knowledge of studio techniques (preferably well-honed in one); understand the physiological and cognitive developments in humans; have a technological prowess of teaching/research equipment; expose historical and cultural contexts of content; discern multicultural needs within a class (and society); and comprehend the inner-workings of the contemporary art/work/business scene. The ability to mind so many things synchronously persuades me to consider the act of teaching to be an art form ... and it is a responsibility that I humbly accept.
Recommended art/education books
Patterson, Jodi. Brave Art and Teens: A Primer for the New High School Art Teacher.
London, Peter. No More Secondhand Art.
This is a book I read 15 years ago, and re-read over and over so I couldn't help but include this. Peter is the only secondary art education academic/artist/author who advocates the "body, mind and spirit" aspect of art education as it pertains to the secondary classroom. He is eloquent.
London, Peter. Drawing Closer to Nature.
This book is different than "Secondhand Art" as it does not pertain so much to the teacher, as to creativity. I like his story in the beginning of the book about his "modernist" beginnings and how he has had to fight in order to rise above this indoctrination. Interesting "encounters" you can implement in a classroom.
hooks, bell. Teaching to Transgress.
I admit I like the first half of the book best. I also think the literature is more applicable to the university professor than the public school teacher. Strong and passionate voice. Confident.
Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United Sates 1492 - Present.
After reading a book like this, you'll never enjoy Columbus Day again. Revisionism is alive and well here. If you teach out of a text, it is worthwhile to compare the stories of your text and Zinn.
Anything by George Szekely for the elementary art teachers out there.
Szekely's Creative Play Theory is a choice. He teaches how to foster safe and inviting atmospheres for children and is very free with advice and information. From his teaching philosophy, " Art teaching is a celebration of the freedom to search for the artistic spirit in every person. The art teacher is the catalyst whose primary function is to create conditions within which children are inspired with their own ideas for making art." (pg. 10, From Play to Art)
Bel, Brenda, John Gaventa, and John Peters, Editors. We Make the Road by Walking. Conversations on Education and Social Change. The Mavericks of Popular Education: Myles Horton and Paulo Freire discuss their visions and how they made them work. Talk of process. Evident respect. Most of all, read this as a model for your own classroom.........priceless insights.
Online Readings
fehr, dennis earl. Dogs Playing Cards: powerbrokers of prejudice in education, art and culture - brave and needed outline of contemporary education. http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/Fehr/Publications/Dogs_playing_cards/dogs.htm
Elizabeth Garber, Yvonne Gaudelius, and Mary Wyrick The Relevance of Women's Art and Art Education http://www.kutztown.edu/paea/publicat/journal/vol_01/women.html
Art History Resources
STUDY PAGE from Jodi Patterson's Art History (Prehistory - Ren.) course: http://www.jodipatterson.net/untitled8.html
STUDY PAGE from Jodi Patterson's Contemporary Art course: http://www.jodipatterson.net/contempo.html
The images here are mostly student works from an undergraduate Water Media class that I taught a few summers ago:
