The process of art creation is incredibly personal, but it is always rooted in fundamental skills. While your creativity and imagination should fuel your artistic process, it’s your skills that will allow you to accomplish your goals — making art educators invaluable within this dynamic field.
If you are looking into transitioning to art education, you might just find teaching to be an incredibly fulfilling experience. By considering the most creative teaching techniques and delving into art curriculum development, you can more successfully pivot your career as an artist and begin exploring opportunities as an art educator.
The Artist’s Journey to Teaching
Many artists decide to make a career change to art teacher because they are ready to transition into a stable and steady position that allows them to be creative while inspiring future artists at the same time. When you decide to become an art educator, you are not necessarily leaving your life as an artist behind you. In fact, most art educators are able to easily balance their creative pursuits and artistic creations while teaching art to students of all ages and skill levels.
It’s important to recognize that the artist’s journey to teaching is unique for each individual. Artists begin to look into art teacher training programs at various stages of their careers, depending on their personal and professional goals.
Deciding to Teach
There are numerous factors to consider when you decide to look into art teaching careers, such as:
- Your experience as an artist. You will want to have a solid, well-rounded foundation in art, particularly if you are planning to focus on a general visual arts education for students.
- Your specialty in art. Whether you work in clay, oil pastels or pencil drawing, you will want to carve out your own niche and accomplish your personal goals as an artist before you transition into an educator position. This might also play into what grade level you wish to teach.
- The type of art educator position you are most interested in. Some art educators want to work with students in elementary or secondary school, while others prefer to teach up-and-coming artists at the university level. Knowing your career goals in art education will help you decide on the right art teacher training.
Qualifications and Training Needed
According to Indeed, these are some of the most common qualifications for art teachers:
- A bachelor’s degree in art education. A Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education will equip you with a foundational understanding of the artistic skills and techniques that are taught in the classroom while also providing the hands-on experience you need as a teacher through observational hours and skills-based learning experiences.
- A teaching license from the state where you intend to teach. Teaching license requirements will vary from one state to another.
- An art educator certification. Some positions require teachers to not only be licensed but also earn a specialized certification in art education.
- Professional experience in the classroom. Most art education positions require teachers to have hands-on experience in the classroom, making it essential to enroll in a degree program that offers both observational hours and student teaching requirements.
Challenges Faced by Artists in Education
Often, artists who become teachers find that there are challenges to overcome during this transition — particularly because they are leaving behind a fluid field in which they had near-total creative control and entering a more structured field with defined boundaries.
A few overarching challenges faced by art educators include:
- Limited resources. Art educators may have to develop and implement an art curriculum with minimal resources, which can make it difficult to provide students with the comprehensive learning experience they deserve.
- Lack of relevant teacher training. A large share of available professional development programs may be geared toward general education teachers or other subject areas, which can feel irrelevant to art educators.
- Classroom management. Artists who want to become teachers should enroll in an art educator degree program that helps them learn the best classroom management techniques, as they will often be working with students across a broad range of interests and skill levels.
Adapting to an Educational Environment
For some artists, it can be difficult to adapt to the academic environment. When working full-time as an artist, you may be working on your own or alongside a few others — but for the most part, you are directing your own course and creating your own schedule. You can create at your own pace.
In a classroom, however, everything is much more structured. You are only given a set amount of time with your students, requiring you to create a rigid structure for your classes. In addition, you have to teach in alignment with the art curriculum standards, which can limit your creative freedom and flexibility.
Although it can be challenging to adapt to an educational environment after spending most of your career in the studio, most art educators find that the rewards of sharing their knowledge and working with the next generation of artists are worthwhile.
Balancing Art Practice With Teaching
Artists who move into art educator roles should know that they do not necessarily have to leave their art behind them. You can (and should balance) your personal art practice with teaching because this will allow you to continue to build on your skills and discover new techniques you can share with students. By continuing your art practice, you will also be able to better relate to your students as artists. You can show them your works in progress, help them understand your own process and empathize with their feelings when they hit creative roadblocks along the way.
Benefits of Teaching for Artists
Many artists who begin teaching art find that it is a valuable endeavor. The benefits of teaching art range from practical and professional to personal, encouraging many artists to consider art education as a viable career opportunity.
Enhancing Artistic Insight
Perhaps one of the most surprising benefits of working as an art educator is that it can actually enhance and improve your own artistic insight. Most artists move into teaching positions with the hopes and dreams of inspiring future artists, yet they end up discovering that those developing artists will inspire them. While watching students work through their own creative process, you may discover new ideas and techniques that will improve your own artistic expression. After all, social-emotional learning and development is enhanced through art education experiences and interactions — which can inspire not only students but also instructors themselves.
Professional and Personal Growth
Transitioning into visual arts education can give you additional opportunities for professional and personal growth. For starters, art education is often a more steady and reliable field, giving artists a consistent salary and schedule. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), postsecondary teachers in art, music and drama earn a median annual salary of $69,000 per year, and they can count on a structured schedule each day that allows more consistency in their professional lives.
Pedagogical Approaches for Artist Educators
Pedagogical approaches for artists are often similar to pedagogical approaches for art educators, which can make it easy for artists to transition into these positions. As you begin your art teacher training, you should evaluate what inspires you and motivates you as an artist and rely on this as you adapt to a pedagogical approach within your own classroom.
Developing an Art Curriculum
Art curriculum development is a key responsibility of art educators. You can develop and implement an effective art curriculum by:
- Defining a purpose that will set the stage for the topics covered and lessons learned within the curriculum.
- Identifying key artists, artworks and art movements to incorporate into the curriculum; being intentional with this structure can even help inform social consciousness and community-based mindsets for students.
- Weaving various art disciplines and techniques into the curriculum, maximizing your students’ exposure to these disciplines and giving them more opportunities to discover their own interests and strengths in art.
- Considering different materials that can be used within the curriculum, again allowing students maximum exposure to a wide range of mediums and tools.
Innovative Teaching Methods
Art teachers can rely on their own creative expression and artistic experience to leverage innovative teaching methods within their classrooms. Some of the most innovative teaching methods in art include:
- Using visual narratives to encourage artistic storytelling in your students.
- Taking an interactive approach to teaching art that encourages hands-on learning, open-ended communication and social collaboration and problem-solving.
- Blending artistic expression with the latest technological tools.
- Celebrating cultural art within the classroom.
- Encouraging students to create art related to the social justice movements they are passionate about.
Making an Impact in Art Education
Artists influence the world around them in a number of ways, but art educators are able to have a direct impact on the lives of aspiring artists, giving them the tools and confidence to pursue their own creative endeavors.
Influencing Future Generations
Art educators play a pivotal role in inspiring the next generation of artists. By providing students with an overview of art history, the art movements that have made an imprint on the world, and the artists who continue to inspire, you can influence future artists and encourage them to pursue their passions.
Community Engagement and Outreach
Art educators can step outside the classroom and participate in community engagement programs that make art more accessible to all. Such efforts allow people of all ages and backgrounds to experience the joy and inspiration of art.
Discover Innovative Teaching Methods in Art at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design
Teaching art allows you to inspire the next generation of artists while simultaneously sharing your own passion and skills with your students. At Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, we offer an on-campus Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education as well as an online Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education, providing an opportunity to learn in depth about the most creative teaching techniques in visual arts education. Request more information about our degree programs today.
