Artist Statement
This is a piece I had contributed to the course “Principles and Practices” in the Education Program at St. Francis Xavier University, on the thought process of evolving from students into good teachers. However, I’m not very good at making thoughts appear on paper without relatable images and pictures in my head. I’ve always leaned a bit more into my artistic roots. Art was a way for me to express myself and let my emotions safely go in a natural way. I took photos of the flowers from our garden. I decided to use these after I had first turned in the paper, on the recommendation of including a visual medium. However, the original photos, while beautiful, were not quite what I needed to demonstrate “paint”. I didn’t want the sharpness of the photo to conflict with the soft ideas of the colors created by mixing paint. So, I took my photos and digitally altered them to look like paintings of flowers. The colors appeared blended at this point. Then I came across the word “tinted”. It was just briefly mentioned on an episode of “Girl Meets World” during a marathon that I had on in the background while I was writing this paper. I figured that symbolism was the best way to explain this abstract concept. I chose this piece for the anthology because this was when I first KNEW how to explain what I thought and believed. It was my first thought as a teacher instead of observing students. My lived experiences, much like the paint symbolism in the paper, shape who I am as both an early career and as an educator in an era of inclusivity. It symbolizes the merging of ideas that make my opinions change and viewpoints change from an uninformed individual to an advocate for all children. This helps me to be a better teacher.