My teaching philosophy is influenced by the desire to foster a classroom of respect and intrigue in relation to the arts. I greatly value the ability to be unhindered in one’s creative pursuit. A curriculum that leaves every question and prompt with unlimited creative directions can fully allow for students to constantly be developing their own visual understanding and style that is fully unique to them and not entirely pigeonholed by specific requirements. I value the full process and experience of art and believe that students must be exposed to being both the creator and the consumer of art in order to understand how to see their own works from both points of view while understanding that the perspective of every artist and viewer is unique, tied together by the mutual desire to connect and create common ground visually.