Something Odd About The Arts

The Creative Arts Teacher can help students to manage their Egos by actively seeking to produce a permeating supportive ethos.

Karen Carpenter is an example of an artist who lost her life due to the stressful nature of fame and fortune. Fame Management is a type of personal vigilance where the teacher looks for opportunity to dialogue with students.

Teachers model ways to nurture esteem from within rather than by looking to boost ego from outside. Addiction to adulation will develop a need to follow and court the tastes and wants of audiences. This can be odious and soul stealing. Artists who are drawn into competitive and comparative cycles of addiction suffer. It is better that they be eased into cultures of support and collaboration more pure in motive.

Prep School is the time to commence dialogue with students about their 'life's career.' An artist's life requires a balance of work, fun and play. Students will be encouraged to think about the role of exercise, meditation, numeracy, literacy and the like. Aspects of everyday life such as love, value and esteem are essential if the artist is to be resilient Art students should be encouraged not to put all of their eggs into one basket and allow this "cache" to be the sole source of their self esteem.

Resilience will be encouraged when

At the low time after a performance when all the accolades have subsided; students may be asked to brainstorm how to deal with the deflation. Perhaps they will settle to writing about the experience, meditation, or be content to lose themselves to exercise or some other creative pursuit such as photography.

I welcome feedback.