Week 6/7: Completed Canvas and Free Form Color

For the last week, students have worked on finishing their stretchers and their free form color assignments.  after they finished building their frames, they stretched their canvas onto their stretcher bars and gessoed their completed canvas.  I got the opportunity to teach them how to do invisible corners, a technique I learned from my mother.  Something I have enjoyed about shadowing Jennifer is how she always encourages me to speak up if there is something I know that she hasn't mentioned.  I'm learning so much from her, but she's also given me the confidence to give my own expertise on the subject.  Coming into this experience, I've learned that I actually do know a lot about painting that isn't common textbook knowledge, and I can share it with students.  I really appreciate Jenifer's willingness to let me teach by her side.  She has made me feel like my voice is important, a very valuable quality in any instructor.

The Students also had their second critique this week.  This time, Jennifer gave them the chance to come out and speak on their own without as much structure as the first.  Now that they have gotten their first critique out of the way, the second was a bit more intuitive.  There were a few quiet moments, but Jennifer gave the students a bit of time before jumping in with suggestions for talking points.  I like the way she's easing them into critique.  With the first she gave them a very rigid structure that kept them on topic and with the second, she gave the students a bit more freedom while still guiding them when necessary.  I have been really impressed with the work the students have been producing.  This group of students are both talented and receptive to criticism.  I definitely give credit to Jennifer for making everyone feel comfortable in class and with their work, and also for instructing in a way that helps the students to feel confident in just going for it with their paintings.  I've been overall quite impressed with Jennifer and this particular batch of students.