I love nothing more than checking out our student exhibitions and spending one on one time with our students. This past Saturday I had a chance to speak with Siena, one of our students in Englewood, NJ and I was so intrigued with our conversation and the dozens of other conversations I had with other students and families.

If you look at the picture, the collage above Siena was her artwork and she told me it was one of the first times she made a mixed media object. She also told me that she loves purple and blue and I reflected that I love monochromatic work and her subtle use of a hint of other color. Most importantly, it was her creative decision to make it this way!

This is one of the coolest things about One River. Most of the time, we don’t simply render copies of existing work. Instead, we mine for individual approaches which allows our students to trial things, develop their own point of view and build a personal and emotional connection to their artwork.

Teaching artmaking is a fun and compelling challenge. And, it is even more rewarding when you get to reflect on what occurred so you can build on those learnings as you move forward.