Getting Ready to Teach a Workshop
I like to deliver an experience for my students when I teach workshops. I prepare for the learning they expect, but it is important to do what I can to encourage conversation, laughter, and fun. Nobody will learn anything if we are bored and uncomfortable. I've taught dozens of workshops and every one is unique. So much depends on the people who attend, and how they get along with each other. But I usually have a little influence.
At home, I have a pretty advanced space for teaching. On the road, I rely on the workshop venue for lighting, easels, tables, comfortable chairs, a pleasant room temperature, and floors we don't feel awful about dripping on. I raised two eagle scouts, so I always come prepared with extra extension cords and supplies. I can bring more when I drive. Flying to teach means I decide whether to ship my supplies ahead of time, or talk everyone into using fewer paints and smaller panels.
If I ever get pulled over, I may have to explain why I have a crate on wheels full of boards, plastic buckets and jars. (They hold the brushes and palette knives and drawing tools and paper towels and everything we need.) I figure all I have to say is "I'm an artist." Most of the world assumes we are nutty. No explanation necessary.
Aside from supplies, I am navigationally challenged. So I print off google maps of where I am going. I set the routes in the WAZE app on my phone. I print out screen shots of the directions. I bring about 24 cans of sparkling water in case I end up in an uninhabited desert.
I purchased this flex easel from Guerilla. I bought it because it's portable and you can twist it and turn it every which way from flat to vertical to upside down and sideways. I thought I'd bring it with me to workshops and demos, so I'd have one set up to transport. But, I have found that every venue is different. Some I don't need to bring a chair to. Some have easels I can use. For some I need to bring my own trays to hold my paints and medium. You just never know.
However I set it up, my easel is where I do the daily demonstrations. I need to have my chair height, painting and palette set so the students can see what I am working on. Sometimes it ends up a little awkward. Someone will decide to move their chair to a low corner I hadn't noticed. Then, after hours of painting hunched over so as not to block my painting, I've been known to look like Quasimodo by day 4.
Being well rested and healthy is so important for the week before I teach. I make an appointment to float in an isolation tank for 90 minutes. It resets my brain and body. Plus, at the start of the float, I lay there and rehearse what I plan to say and do in the workshop. I am also careful to eat whole food and lots of veggies so whatever happens during my travel will be easily forgiven.
My process is so automatic to me, I know that everyone will go home with at least one nugget of learning each day. The challenge is to articulate the challenges I face during my workshop demonstrations. Sometimes I will plan to make mistakes so I can show how to fix them. That's tricky though because I don't want to expose my bad acting skills. It's very different from public painting demonstrations where I don't want viewers to see any of my accidents. It sounds hilarious, but it takes a little time for me to PLAN to be vulnerable. Depending on the subject, if I make it look too easy, it can make some students feel discouraged.
As many times as I have taught, I'm always amazed that I can easily spend several full days packing and planning for each one. The devil is in the details, and most of those are not predictable. The best I can do is to act as though we will be holding our class on the moon. If I can count on the mission to provide our life support, I will bring the skill sets and materials to make our exciting learning experience happen!
