Minutes of Magic
Our job as art teachers is to provide the minutes of magic that point our
students on the road to artistic creative expression.

Many years ago as a teenager I spent a few hours at the Phila. Art Museum,
baby siting a four-year-old cousin. I remember us walking through the
various galleries finding things in paintings, each new work of art became
an adventure. Years later she told me how much our visit to the museum
meant to her and her present day passion for the arts. It wasn‚t just the
visit to the museum; it was the intensity of the experience that made the
difference. To be meaningful, an art experience must engage passion,
depth, and commitment.
Once experienced, The Creative Experience becomes a connection to something
greater than ourselves. Ask any artist why they make art and most often
they describe an experience that sounds mystical: "words seemed to pour
from my consciousness; time stands still; I looked up from my work and the
sun was coming up; I felt part of my painting, my minds eye became
electrified with images" No matter what happens in life, the artist
always comes back to the act of creating art, the need to make art is an
adiction.
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Passion, depth, and commitment: In depth arts experiences can give birth
to a defining moment that brings into being the need to create and to
engage in creative adventures.
We as arts teachers can become a cosmic traffic cop that shift students'
lives in the direction of creativity and expression.
Marvin