Art Educator Interview: Samara Caughey from Purple Twig

I have wanted to start a new series on the web log for ages. Nearly two years ago, I decided that I needed to get an art teacher. Information technology just felt like the right side by side step in my creative journey. Having no background in teaching, other than a few classes on early childhood education in college, I relied on other fine art-instructor bloggers for inspiration, wisdom, and guidance.

1 of the beginning blogs I fell in love with was Majestic Twig, which is actually a brick-and-mortar art studio in L.A. Owned and run by the very talented and creative Samara Caughey, Regal Twig is the kind of place I dreamt about when I was a child. A big, broad table in the middle of a light-filled room with cute, inspiring art all around. Samara has such a magical manner with materials, she can fifty-fifty plow socks into donuts! (I'm not kidding, you take to ringlet down for this 1.)

I am forever inspired by all the cool things Samara does with her fine art students. I literally drool when scrolling her Instagram. Information technology feeds my soul!

And then here we get, my kickoff Art Educator Interview with the imaginative and original Samara Caughey…

Q: Samara, I am so happy to finally ask you all of these questions that take been percolating in my brain. Just let's get-go at the beginning. Tell us about your family and where you live.

A: I live in a small house in the Due north East neighborhood of Los Angeles. Nosotros were lucky plenty to get a business firm with some country in the hills overlooking Highland Park. On that land we accept fruit trees, lemon, avocado, pomegranate, apricot and orange along with arid plants from mexico and Australia, which makes for a wild piffling garden.

I live in this house with my hubby, who is an incredible painter and teaches at Otis Higher of Art, my daughter, Ada, who is 10 and is incredibly talented physically: gymnastics, dance, climbing trees, yous proper name, merely alas won't have a course in any of these things. She prefers Shakespeare and belongs to a immature Shakespearian troupe hither in Los Angeles. My son, Gus, is six and his talent is for disguise. It could be a plumber, a female existent manor agent, a pirate, a modern dancer and I even heard him say " I'd like to wearing apparel similar a soldier in the French revolution." " Every bit opposed to the American revolution?" was my response.

Q: Wow! Your garden sounds similar heaven! And you lot are clearly raising incredibly artistic kids. I'grand laughing at your daughter who is good at everything all the same won't take classes. Do I observe some stubbornness? I accept 1 like that, too. I dearest how you permit them follow their passions. Exercise they gravitate towards making art at present that they are getting older? Practise yous have an "art area" in your dwelling house, or practice y'all keep nearly of that at your studio?

A: I don't take an art area in our home. It's just also minor. I practice accept a table on our deck outside that if they want to brand potions or do some painting and then it can be done in that location but most of my kids art making is done at the studio. They both have classes with me and to be honest I sometime create the art classes around their interests assuming that if they are interested than other kids might exist besides. That'southward how I came upward with the Potions and Spells class that I am teaching correct now. We make candles, soaps, do dying of fabrics and of class make up potions and do spells that I found in an old Gypsy book. My kids don't necessarily gravitate towards making art but they practice gravitate towards figuring out how to make something work or make something that might exist needed in their playing. I am very proud of them for that kind of problem solving and artistic thinking.

How Does your Garden Grow

Q: I hope your kids realize how lucky they are to have a mom that helps them explore their emerging interests! What a souvenir you are giving them by letting them figure things out on their own. Tell usa about your studio, Purple Twig. When and how did you brainstorm?

A: I opened Purple Twig five years ago October 5^thursday. I first started traveling to customer'due south houses to teach art classes for kids, which was difficult. The boundaries were not clear when information technology came to subject area or even wrangling the kids could be challenging. It's difficult to compete with huge play structures or fairy princess houses. That didn't last very long, Perchance a year. When I decided to settle into a brick and mortar spot I had already had my identity and instruction philosophy well grounded, equally well equally, a website and a bit of internet presence. But I knew nix of business organization and how to run one. Someone gave me a peachy piece of advice. "Detect a really adept accountant" and I did. He was so integral to opening upwards a spot, helping with all those questions of a business concern license and taxes and insurance and book-keeping.

Circus Calendar week at Summer Art Camp

Q: Oh my gosh, that is great advice. I will exist using that some twenty-four hours if I e'er open my own brick-and-mortar. Thank you for passing that along! Can you tell united states of america a little bit about your background in fine art and teaching?

A: I take a BFA from the School of the art constitute of Chicago and an MFA from USC here in Los Angeles. An art career as a sculptor was my tract. I had a studio and worked difficult for years to get a gallery. Unfortunately I think later having my start kid I became disillusioned with the Art earth. It just wasn't fulfilling for me. When my 2^nd solo bear witness with my Los Angeles gallery was over, I broke off that relationship and looked elsewhere to fulfill my art fix. All the while I was educational activity art to kids at The Armory Center for the Arts (which is a non-profit art institution in Pasadena. California). Since I was young I had been interested in child development simply being curious about human life, so I had read Piaget and some of John Dewey's ideas of teaching. After a lot of thinking and talking and finally feeling like I had finished my time at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, I decided to expect for a storefront of my own.

Tree People and Foliage Printing

Q: You accept such a rich background in fine arts, being a sculptor is so cool! I am a huge fan of the piece of work y'all practise with the children at Purple Twig, and I particularly am drawn to all that you do with clay. Now I know why! Do y'all have a favorite medium to apply with the kids? And also, is there a sure age that you love to teach?

A: Since my groundwork is in sculpture I tend to create sculpture projection with the kids, whether it exist paper mache, ceramics, plaster or building with woods or recycled materials, only I also beloved impress making, collaging and making books with them. I then relish each phase of child development and creating works that are age advisable for each of these stages. I dearest teaching 2 yr olds for dissimilar reasons than teaching ages 8 or 9. But my forte actually is ages ii-4, creating process oriented projects that are actually about the potential in the materials.

Making Sushi

Q: I love that. Process art is where information technology'southward at! I'd honey to go a glimpse into a typical class at Purple Twig. How practise you begin form, how practise you set upwards and teach the project for the day?

A: Setting up for a class and how to nowadays the materials is an of import function of didactics. For our classes ages two-5 we split the form up into thirds. The offset function is a warm up where we offering different drawing materials each course, sometimes marker, oil pastels, chalk pastels or sometimes colored tape. This is a time to make what they want. To become out their own ideas, whether it be pre-writing mark making or cartoon an underwater burn volcano. Nosotros usually proceed these drawings and make a book out of them. We and so read a story that has to do with our larger more in depth art project. This gets the kids inspired, merely we never make the kids make what we want them too. We just offer the materials and the ideas, if the kid has another idea of something to make with the materials offered we certainly are okay with that and will encourage them.

Creating Grapheme Puppets and Edifice a Fort

For the older kids we also have a warm upwards drawing using whatever medium they find most comfortable. They actually similar the colored pencils for some reason. The other day I offered drawing patterns on leaves with the chalk pens you recommended and they loved doing that and came up with all kinds of designs. With the older kids I give much more teaching so we then swoop into making whatever it is we are making for the twenty-four hours. But again I offer the materials and the project idea but requite them lots of liberty to change or add their own ideas to the projection.

Doughnuts Anyone?

I feel my job as a teacher is to requite them support and allowing them to succeed in making what they want to make. They don't ever know the possibilities in the materials but once I teach that to them, they come upward with all kinds of other ways to expand the projects. I recollect that's why I have themes to my classes. If the kids are interested in the theme they become excited about the projects. If a kid likes dragons they will most probable similar to brand a dragon — whether it is drawing one, making 1 from clay, or collaging i together.

Celebrating the Sun

Q: Oh I love how you dissever your classes! What a great idea. And I must say i of my favorite parts about visiting your website is reading the names of your classes. You come up with the all-time themes (I might take copied a few for fine art camp last summer…just maxim). Do you have whatsoever communication on how you lot handle the child that is not interested in your art project of the 24-hour interval?

A: I oasis't had one of those kids in a long time, but I never make them exercise annihilation if they don't want to. We have a story area with books and pillows in the studio so if they need to take a break or if they would rather read that is fine with me. It's of import to me that the kids are non making art for me or for their parents but for themselves.  They usually come dorsum later on five or x minutes fix to engage with the materials once again. When I have kids that are really giddy I actually appreciate information technology. If I engage with them in their falling off chairs or making gurgling sounds or whatsoever information technology may be I can so steer it back to the projection. That way I still experience similar I am in control. When I but reprimand the kids I feel like I am not in control of the situation then I am just talking loud trying to get a agglomeration of giggling kids attention but if I am giggling with them every bit well I am a part of it and tin command it.

Holiday Creating

Q: That is some really good advice, I beloved information technology. I think as parents we can learn from this as well. Children should exist allowed to be honest most how they feel. And if they aren't into it, don't button. You seem to take a very total life of juggling kids and family (and gardening!), and teaching art. Since many of u.s.a. are doing the same, I'd dear to know if you have whatever good communication to make information technology work. Do you rely on assist, on routines, on your married man? Practice your kids come to the studio after schoolhouse? Do y'all teach on the weekends, and if and then…when do you go your downtime?

A: That's funny "downtime". Juggling is merely what we do. Sometimes information technology works and sometimes information technology doesn't. Sometimes I just take to allow things go, like the huge pile of laundry on my burrow so that I tin can wake up and brand cinnamon breadstuff at half dozen:00 in the morning if I want to. I do rely on my hubby a lot. He is incredibly thoughtful and helpful. Nosotros practise equal parenting at our house and he does most of the cooking which leaves me time to work. My kids do come to class with me during the week sometimes. I also accept two incredible teachers, one Jillian Luz, shown below leading a workshop at Kids Handmade, and then I can pick up kids from schoolhouse and go habitation to work, creating curriculum, testing a project or doing my bookkeeping (yuck).

Kids Handmade fair and Making Paper

Q: I concord, bookkeeping is totally yuck. I feel like I could talk with you for days and days, Samara. You are so interesting and your philosophies on parenting and teaching fine art have such not bad value. Give thanks yous for sharing all of this with us! I accept one last question: What is your next goal with work? I have gotten into the habit of writing down my goals and then taking baby steps towards them. I thought maybe if you wrote information technology down (and I published it) then we could all help you stick to it!

A: I haven't idea much about a more long term goal with Purple Twig. I am so busy trying to run the business organisation side of things and finding joy in the creating of curriculum and of teaching. But when I really search for the answer to that thoughtful question I would really love to create a book of art activities for ages 18 months through 11, articulating age appropriate explorations. A volume that focuses on recycled and found materials.

Well I know for a fact I would Dearest to see you lot write a volume! You lot not only have such a large vault of artistic ideas, you lot too take so much wisdom to share. I definitely see a book in your time to come.

Thank you, Samara, for all of your thoughtful answers. I admire you very much for working hard to provide so many children with a condom identify to explore their creativity. Your Purple Twig families must dear y'all!

I promise you found this interview as interesting equally I did. What else do yous want to know? Leave some questions for Samara if it moves you lot. Also, follow her on Instagram — you won't exist sorry. She has one of the most inspiring feeds yous volition ever lay your eyes on.

Cheers for reading!!!

xo, Bar

friedellivine.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.artbarblog.com/art-educator-interview-samara-caughey-from-purple-twig/

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