I draw upon Audre Lorde’s assertion in Poetry is Not a Luxury to articulate my teaching philosophy. Lorde writes that “poetry [is] the revelation or distillation of experience,” and I view art similarly—as the revelation or distillation of worldbuilding.
I believe that creatives hold the responsibility of deconstructing existing worlds in order to build or rebuild new ones. This process starts within one’s own body and expands outward, touching the bodies and minds of others. As an educator, I expect accountability from my students both on small scales—such as in the drawing studio—and on larger scales, such as in the creation of immersive public art installations.
The collective liberation I dream about for the world is mirrored the bodily liberation found in a holistic drawing practice. In sculpture, my pedagogy is centered on guiding students to research and create from a place of empowerment, driven by pleasure and embodiment. In design, I encourage students to harness the power of aesthetic manipulation and optical illusion to evoke reaction in the viewer. I encourage students to begin with self-awareness, asking them, “What do you care about?” and “What do you want the audience to feel?” We then work together to root that feeling in the body—tracking physical postures and sensations associated with the desired emotions. This process informs their work, often leading to projects that invite the audience to engage physically—whether engaging physically with sculpture, through movement while drawing, or through visual communication in design.
As a student, I experienced the classroom as a space of empowerment, and I now see it as my responsibility to understand and replicate the mechanisms that foster that sense of agency in my own teaching. I have learned that empowerment stems from embodiment, urgency, and hope. These principles shape my approach to teaching.
Currently, I teach foundational courses in drawing, sculpture, and 2D design. I have also taught relief printmaking and experimental publication, as well as community life drawing courses throughout the DMV area.
