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"In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Who was your favorite teacher?  I don't recall meeting anyone who didn't have at least one teacher that they remember fondly and gratefully.   I can recall at least one very poor teacher I had who was undoubtedly brilliant in his field.  A mastery of the subject or skill does not guarantee a good teacher, so what makes a good teacher?  I don't think this is just a walk down memory lane either.   All of us are in some way teachers or students all our lives and it's worth reflecting on. 

On October 4 and 5 I took a workshop with an excellent teacher, Abigail McBride.   If you do not know her work you can view her website here.  She is an accomplished Cape Cod School impressionist painter and an equally impressive portrait artist and draftsman.  She has been a dedicated, driven artist since her early teens and her knowledge and education is expansive.  But the most impressive thing to me is that she is great teacher.  Below are some things that she has in common with other great teachers I've had:

• Excellent understanding and mastery of her craft.
• Ability to see things the way others see them (which is essential to the next point).
• Ability to use different strategies with different students to explain difficult concepts .
• Genuine enjoyment in sharing what she knows.
• Enjoyment of and respect for others as people.
• Humility.

Except for the first bullet point, all the others points are summed up in one sentence:  She knows how to communicate.    It takes a whole set of virtues to really communicate and it is a skill I fear is fading in an increasingly media and technology driven culture.  I'll write about some of the specific things I got out of Abigail's workshop in another post shortly but, for now, to my artist friends I highly recommend her workshop.  At this point it is annual, in October, so keep it in mind for next year.  I took it, in part, because I come from a tonal background, where it is the dark and light pattern in a painting that establishes the design and unity, and I wanted help making color more important.  I also took it because, having dealt with Abigail during two of her Chesapeake City Paint the Town events, I had a hunch she'd be a terrific teacher...and I was right.