"Creativity is putting your imagination to work and it's produced the most extraordinary results in human culture."
-Sir Ken Robinson
Hello.I'm Mrs. White (previously Ms. Park), an art teacher! I started teaching at Vista High School after moving down to the San Diego area from Los Angeles. I've taught AP art history and art at Mira Costa High School for the past six years.
I travel as much as I can. I love a good adventure and try to travel to a new place every year. I have taught art classes in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and English Language classes in Hangzhou, Zeijiang, China. I've been lucky enough to travel with students to Greece, Spain, France, England, and Costa Rica. I've also traveled to journalism conferences with students to Boston, Washington DC, Orlando, and Indianapolis. I've also attended art conferences in New York City, Memphis, and Seattle. My two favorite artists of all time is Wassily Kandinsky- a Russian artist credited to creating the first fully abstract watercolor artwork and Vincent van Gogh with his emotionally beautiful swirly colors. Kandindky said this about circles: "It is a link with the cosmic. But I use it, above all, formally. Why does the circle fascinate me? It is: 1. the most modest form, but asserts itself unconditionally, 2. a precise, but inexhaustible variable, 3. simultaneously stable and unstable, 4. simultaneously loud and soft, 5. a single tension that carries countless tensions within it. The circle is the synthesis of the greatest oppositions. It combines the concentric and the eccentric in a single form, and in equilibrium. Of the three primary forms [triangle, circle, square], it points most clearly to the fourth dimension." http://www.nortonsimon.org/collections/browse_artist.phpname=Kandinsky%2C+Vasily&resultnum=3 |
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I am a strong believer in process orientated art for children and adolescents. Mastery and understanding of drawing and painting techniques are critical and students in a studio art course should be able to demonstrate them. However, art creating is critical to building a healthy imagination and a creative mind and, many times, it is the process of creating art that is most important.
I strive to be an innovative teacher in the classroom, utilizing different forms of technology as a way of presenting ideas and information and student use. Technology is a wonderful tool that will help guide students to a more creative life. My passion though, remains with traditional art making and materials. The art of the hand is something that man has been doing since the dawn of time. It is now thought that even our primitive ancestors who painted on the walls of rocks and caves, actually created them to move with the light of fire - to make their creations "dance", if you will. I love that I can create something from various materials and inspire wonder.
As a facilitator of learning and creativity, I feel it is my responsibility to teach students to be respectful of every culture. I incorporate many different time periods/movements and art beyond the European tradition in my lessons. As we make our journey throughout the year, students will begin to have a more global perspective and a greater understanding of art making around the world.
Innovation doesn't mean just technology but having an open mind, exploring new solutions to old problems, and keeping up to date on curriculum and student needs. I strive to be an excellent teacher and human being. Excellence is not just accumulating achievements but striving to be your best in everything you do. It's how you do it, not just what you do.
HIGH SCHOOL INSIDER: LOS ANGELES TIMES (video, 1:30)
"SOLVING THE MYSTERY OF ART HISTORY" BY KATIE SMYTHE AND DIEGO MARCUCCI |
MUSTANG MORNING NEWS: MIRA COSTA HS
"LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM" |