Art Teachers Rock!
I came across this wonderful story in the Hackensack Chronicle and my heart melted. Art teachers are the heart and soul of the visual arts but they often don’t get the recognition they deserve. I was happy to hear that this small group of teachers in Hackensack was recognized by the Art Educators of
I came across this wonderful story in the Hackensack Chronicle and my heart melted. Art teachers are the heart and soul of the visual arts but they often don’t get the recognition they deserve. I was happy to hear that this small group of teachers in Hackensack was recognized by the Art Educators of New Jersey for their service.
I have personally benefited immensely from great art teachers and I’ve been fortunate enough to have quite a few along the way.
The one who made the biggest impression on me was Toronto painter Ron Satok, who is famous for having painted a prominent mural at the original Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Incredibly, Satok is blind. He was already an established painter when he lost his sight in 1976 as a result of glaucoma.
When I encountered him in the late 1980s and early 90s he was working in Toronto schools teaching children about visual art. How did he do that? By explaining that art wasn’t only what you could see but also feel and hear. He would often concentrate his lessons — often daylong — on one color and we would explore that color throughout the day through music, word association, sketches, and everything you could imagine. Satok was an incredible teacher and he taught me more about visual art than any 12 year old normally knows. Eventually he established the Satok School of the Arts in the Cabbagetown neighborhood of Toronto and Googling his name while writing this post I discovered he had a retrospective last year.
Let’s face it, art teachers — whether blind or sighted — are just inspirational. And I for one am thankful they do what they do even though it may be an underpaid and thankless job. Thank you art teachers of the world!
