About MartinArts

inside MartinArts

MartinArts is a teaching art studio started in August 2015 and run by Katherine Martin. It’s  a small visual art school with small class sizes that offers art lessons to all ages, from beginners to advanced.

Mission:

MartinArts mission is to offer high quality art education that is affordable to families, or anyone that show an interest in learning Art.

The MartinArts studio class room gets a lot of natural light. The studio can also be darkened for specialized lighting as is needed when working from still life.  Desks are sturdy and there are a number of easels available for use. The studio is equipped with both non-toxic student level art supplies as well as professional level paints, brushes and other materials.

Teaching Philosophy/Approach:

Katherine’s approach to art education is to demonstrate creativity directly through her methods of teaching.  Teaching itself can be a creative act.

This means being: flexible, responsive and adaptive to the interests, talents and weaknesses of each student. Trying new approaches, and experimenting.
Working with small groups students can learn from each other, while making different art from each other at the same time. Students can learn being different and a leader, in Art is good! The idea is to improve from mistakes rather feel shamed by them. They will see they have so much to learn from each other.

Katherine recognizes that there are certain principals and fundamentals in art that should be understood, while there are a vast array of ways to express fundamentals beyond the style and interests of the teacher (Katherine or any other teacher).
Art classes should help students by giving them the tools to make their own artistic choices while being grounded in the fundamentals of art and drawing skill sets, not imitate their instructor or be strictly bound to a lesson plan all the time.

There are and continue to be many approaches when teaching visual art, and each approach is valid under the right circumstances.  With that being said, MartinArts approaches teaching its students with multiple methods.  The methods will change to suite the age of the student, the kind of art being created, the personal goal(s) of the student, and students’ strengths and weaknesses.

In the majority of cases, there is a strong emphasis on the craft and intention of the creator. While it can certainly be appropriate to let loose with wild doodles and expressive paint splashes, there are many more benefits to a constant and positive mindful approach to visual art education.