Teaching Artists, with their commitment to both arts and education, play a pivotal role in P.S. ARTS as advocates for the transformative power of creativity in learning. Their work is instrumental in fostering critical thinking, creativity, and a love for the arts in the students and schools we serve. Today, it’s an honor to acknowledge the dedicated service of three P.S. ARTS Teaching Artists who have been a transformative force in P.S. ARTS classrooms for more than 20 years! Read our interviews with Tamie, Johanna, and David in our blog series. Here is the interview with Tamie Smith.
Tamie Smith is a P.S. ARTS Teaching Artist who currently teaches visual arts for LAUSD. We love her art projects and how she encourages her students to explore their creativity through different cultures. Here is Tamie talking about teaching for P.S. ARTS for the past 23 years.
Tell us about yourself, your arts practice, and what made you decide to be a Teaching Artist?
Hi I’m Tamie Smith and I’m a visual artist living in Venice, California for almost 40 years. I have installed several large scale ceramic works throughout the west side of Los Angeles. I am married and have one son. I love to travel and have lived abroad for several years. I came across P.S. ARTS through a fellow artist friend who was working as a part-time teaching artist for P.S. ARTS. I was teaching a children’s workshop at my studio and he mentioned an opening at P.S. ARTS and told me I should check it out. A job where an actual artist could get healthcare..? Count me in! 🙂 It really was the P.S. ARTS mission that pulled me in and was something I wanted to be part of it. Public school districts had removed the arts from class curriculum. This was a way to bring them back, and I wanted to be part of that.
What what your first year teaching with P.S. ARTS like?
My first year teaching was challenging… back then there wasn’t any P.S. ARTS formal training, professional development or child development courses like we have now. We were just kind of thrown in as artists, not “Teaching Artists”. I had to do art from a cart that I pushed around from room to room six classes a day! I learned a lot from the classroom teachers. Since I was going into their space, I was exposed to many different classroom management styles and skills, some I questioned and some I can’t live without today. It took several months to “break in”and gain the confidence and support from the school. I’ve been at Grand View going on my 24th year now so I guess I’m doing something right. I’ve been through many principals and classroom teachers but the children always remain the same hungry for the arts.
What is something you have seen change over the years in your classes?
Demographics and gentrification. Also, our campus merged with an adjoining special needs school to create one inclusive campus. Working together with the general education students and special need students has been an amazing experience for all. Everyone learns from everyone.
What is your favorite thing about teaching with P.S. ARTS?
Art helps develop a sense of individuality and self affirmation.These elements deserve a healthy start. It’s about removing layers of doubt, inhibition and fear. The most beautiful thing about children’s art is it’s expression of a genuine innocence of perception, a way of looking at the world that is always brand new. Free of logical structure it has a logic all its own. It’s a visual language, a universal language. It’s the beauty and creative power of unconscious distortion. The three legged grandpa or the scarob beetle with chicken feet being ridden by a giant head is what gets me excited and is something I love being part of.
What is the one thing you would like to share with other teaching artists?
Love (and patience)!
Thank you, Tamie! To the Teaching Artists who have dedicated their knowledge, creativity, and expertise to enriching the lives of students in public schools for over 20 years: thank you. Your impact is immeasurable, and your legacy will endure in the hearts and minds of those you have inspired!
