3 Ways I'm LEARNING As a TEACHER

Our story begins in 2022. We see a young, underqualified artist on YouTube. (Can you guess who??) She’s been receiving lots of requests for gouache tips, how to tell stories through illustrations, how to learn color theory, etc. So, she takes a leap of faith and starts to make the educational videos. To her IMMENSE surprise, they end up helping a lot of people. So she makes another… and another… and another…

Fast forward to 2024. The artist is still young. The artist is still underqualified. But, taking another leap of faith, she decides to begin a group for curious creatives where they can explore monthly study topics, share their progress, and grow together as a community. Little does she know that through teaching art to others, her own art will begin to improve leaps and bounds... and her passion for learning art will reignite.

Y’all have probably heard me mention the new Curious Creatives Tier on Patreon a couple times (okay, maybe more than a couple.) We’re currently finishing up our exploration through anatomy this month, and I’ve just created the curriculum for our deep dive into values for April. I want to share with you 5 ways teaching this way has grown ME as an artist.

#1: It’s reignited my love of LEARNING. Seeing the excitement others have for these topics has made me excited to dive deeper into learning, too! Sometimes we can get stiff in our art practice. We forget to explore and discover and make mistakes and learn from them. Starting this group and creating the courses has given me back that spark. That curiosity that is so infinitely valuable as a creative.

#2: It’s reminded me of the beauty of being a BEGINNER. Though I’m not a beginner in the topics we’ve covered so far (and I’m nowhere near a master either!!), I’ve gotten to see some of the beginners in the group absolutely FLOURISH. I see them learn a new concept and have that beautiful, overwhelming excitement of learning something new. I see them start to make progress in their studies and take pride in their growth. Being a beginner is so incredible because everything is exciting and you begin to see growth so quickly. The farther along you get in your creative journey, the more subtle the growth becomes. Growth becomes a whisper, rather than a shout. But this group has allowed me a little glimpse of that most precious beginner experience again.

#3: It’s GROWING my own art skills. Like I said, I’m nowhere near a master in art. (And thankfully the Curious Creatives have been so gracious to me in remembering that!) But this group has given me the opportunity to LEARN as I TEACH. I’ve discovered that trying to teach something truly helps ingrain it into my own mind. It’s helping me refresh my memory on these concepts and continue incorporating them into my creative practice. I forget sometimes that skills like anatomy and values are things that we need to keep coming back to.

Anyhoo, as I’ve made space for teaching, my life and my art are growing in new and exciting ways. It’s been such an incredible experience and one that I want to keep making space for.

If you’d like to join us in the Curious Creatives group, we’d love to have you! All skill levels are welcome. All we ask is that you come with a curious mind and an adventurous spirit.