Am I an Artist?

Am I an Artist? : 

Am I an Artist? Produced by Erin Gillespie

Yes, I am an artist...and I am a teacher! : 

Yes, I am an artist...and I am a teacher! I find inspiration in my students and in my day-to-day activities. I create something new every single day.

I can use a pencil, paint or a computer to draw! : 

I can use a pencil, paint or a computer to draw! I can sketch, draw and paint to express myself. It’s me!

Slide 4: 

I took this photo in Guilin, China. It is an area called “Elephant Rock”. I wanted to make the elephant look like it was in the jungle, not in the middle of a city. I can also use photography to express myself.

Slide 5: 

I spend most of my time at home. I am a teacher, but I am not teaching at the moment. I have to wait until September! Until then, I have to find creative outlets at home.

I live in Kowloon, Hong Kong : 

I live in Kowloon, Hong Kong On the 20th floor of this building, a great deal of creativity happens.

Transformations happen : 

Transformations happen Chaos ...eventually... ...becomes disinfected From disorder... ...to order

Slide 8: 

Is it more artistic to see the beauty in disorganization? Do I destroy the artist by “disinfecting” the chaos with order? Is organization a creative act? I feel creative when I clean and organize my surroundings. I want to place objects where they can be functional and attractive to the eye. This is artisitc.

I define functionality for space : 

I define functionality for space No specific functions for a space... ...to edges and borders.

Slide 10: 

I think of my living space as an area to create. I reflect on what I have created in the past. I try to improve on it. All the while, I stress the function of a space.

The space within the space : 

The space within the space The creation of a dining space... ...is space within the living space.

Slide 12: 

It is easy to believe the work that happens within a home is housework. This is what we have been told. However, what if we considered it artwork? What if the term “housewife” or “househusband” instead has the elite meaning of “live-in artist”. I am a housewife. I am an artist.

Artists manipulate and create : 

Artists manipulate and create I can use tools... ...to change perspectives.

Slide 14: 

Yes, I am an artist. I can look at the day-to-day from my own perspective and from different perspectives. I can recognize beauty in routines. I can see work as art. Most importantly, I am a teacher and I create works of art daily. This artwork may never be seen or even appreciated, but it is created. Writing assignments, class discussions, the exchange of ideas: These are art.

Slide 15: 

Marcel Duchamp, in the early 20th century, mocked the Renaissance tradition and proposed the idea that anything an artist produces is art. Modernism revived the notion of art as more than painting, sculpture and architecture. Postmodernism combines styles and approaches and takes us further into “what is an artist” through the convergence of art and technology. If you create, you are an artist. I create. I am an artist.