In this interview you will get to know Tiffany Jo Fox, a high school art teacher. You can find all her resources and follow her in all the right social places by finding her links by clicking here.
What areas of teaching art would you like to get better at?
Technology! It is my biggest challenge. I am an “old dog” and new tricks are difficult for me, but I am pushing ahead despite all of it. It is always good to continue learning, no matter how old of a dog you are. 🙂
What is one “Big Idea” that is important you want your kids to explore?
Creating work in any subject and managing their time without being prompted to. Learning WHO they are and how they best function so they can be successful on their own.
Have you ever had an awkward teaching moment?
Yes. One time I did a graphite pencil shading demo for a drawing class and it was a hot mess from start to finish. We finally got through it but when it was over I said, “whoa, sorry about that, I am obviously off my game today,” and one of my students said, “yeah, Mrs. Fox, that was ROUGH.” I laughed out loud!
What advice would you give to a first year teacher?
It is ALL about building community and setting the expectations in the first week of school. If the foundation is laid squarely and solidly, there are no limits to what your students can achieve. Classroom management is 90 percent of the game.
Get access to my Art Resource Library!
Click here to visit the Artastic Collective! The Artastic Collective is a community where you can access a library of Art Resources and Lessons created by ME, Kathleen McGiveron, or by the name your most likely know me as, Ms Artastic. With your membership, you can access an art resource library, with new resources being added to the community both weekly and monthly. This art resource library is made up of resources from my TpT store, and resources that I create EXCLUSIVELY for the Artastic Collective. This will take care of your lesson planning, allowing you to have clarity for what to teach, the convenience of clicking, printing, and teaching immediately, direction of where to go with your year long plan, and speeding lesson planning which will allow you to have your freedom back!
If you could have any artist (living or dead) be a visiting artist in your classroom, who would it be and why?
CJ Hendry. She is our current inspiration for several projects and the kids are just fascinated by her process and commitment to her work. She is fabulous!
What is your biggest daily challenge?
Not working so much. Once I am onto an idea I can hardly focus on anything else. It becomes an issue quite often as the laundry just refuses to do itself.
How do your resources allow for critical thinking among students?
We always work from a “thinking” perspective, with prompts or discussion or artist inspiration or all of the above. I am absolutely rabid about proper technical skill but I insist on the students coming up with the ideas and thinking and researching through them to land on the final outcome.
What is one way someone can fuel their own creativity?
Research. Start at point “A” and read, write, respond, view inspiring work, manuscripts, films, whatever it takes, but think on paper and the journey will be fueled with ideas and progress and then eventually fabulous artwork!
Do you create art in your own time? What do you create? What is/are your favorite medium(s)?
I am a portrait artist (pre-teaching) and I also create Swarovski crystal competition bikinis for bodybuilders in my spare time (lol). The name of my business is Fox Competition Bikinis. Each suit is original and no two are the same.
How do you help students find ideas for creating artworks?
Research! Brainstorming sessions between classmates, group discussion, looking at famous artworks
If you could have dinner with any artist (past or present), who would you choose and why?
CJ Hendry. I would invite her to my room for a banquet with all the kids.
Helpful Art Resources for Teachers
Thank you for reading my blog post! I am grateful that you did and I appreciate you having took the time to read to the end. Thank you so much. Please write any questions you have in the comments section of this post.
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Yours Truly,
Kathleen McGiveron (Ms Artastic)
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