Finding Connections

“Effortless is the hallmark of real change, and effort creates effects contrary to your aims.” www.creativeconnection.co.uk

I’ve just read this as I was thinking about creative connections and found an organisation on-line called Creative Connection. They refer to themselves as a virtual enterprise as they come together to work as independent consultants when required and disband once the project is complete.

And it’s Tuesday today so tonight is the sixth session of my course, which is over halfway through my first term. So far I have submitted 2,000 words in relation to my educational beliefs and how this places me in the histories and practices of art and design education. This will be leading on to examining this position further using practical and applied instances in which my beliefs and practices have been made concrete or challenged….

So I need to consider my reading and professional experience and make connections. My purpose is to connect. And in this instance if feels like I have to connect up my reading, my art practice and my professional work. Am I having to make too much of an effort? Shouldn’t this all be effortless? Or perhaps as you make the effort you find the parts that are more effortless.

It took me a long time to decide to do this MA Art and Design in Education and I am happy to say that I started it 3 weeks ago. I was concerned about whether to do MA Fine Art and to continue my work as a fine artist, or to combine my art practice with my experience as a careers professional, Montessori preschool teacher and freelance arts educator. Even though I would love to dedicate more time to concentrate solely on producing art work for my own gain, I decided that I would like to progress in combining my experiences to see where this will take me in the future. This has also been confused by the issue of my interest in training to work as a child psychotherapist!

Over the past 3 weeks at the Institute of Education we have listened to each other’s interests in many different areas, but mostly beliefs surrounding art education which has thrown up discussion on gender, race, sexuality, multiculturalism, linguistics, anthropology (social and visual), participation, collaboration and play. And the course is full of educators (nursery, primary, secondary, further and higher education) which is a rich mix of opinions, values and an incredible variety of differing art practices.

We now have time as individuals to reflect on our beliefs and to decipher how they have developed the way we work as educators. I am also curious how this will contribute to my job as careers professional at the University of the Arts London.