While my work as an educator is primary, my studio practice is foundational to my teaching philosophy. Therefore, I have included images from my artistic practice: my portfolio, collaborative projects, internships, and residencies.
My practice as an artist informs my work as an educator. At the Columbus Museum of Art, where I formerly facilitated learning programs, our philosophy was to guide visitors into “thinking like an artist.” While our goal was not to train people to be professional artists, we worked with visitors to develop the capacity for creativity which involves skills such as trans-disciplinary research, comfort with ambiguity, and idea generation. As an artist, I have been entrenched with these processes from my own studio explorations. Now, as an educator, whether I am leading tours in a gallery or facilitating a studio program, I guide people to imagine, “What if?,” to think critically and collaboratively, and to engage playfully with artworks, concepts, and studio materials.
Shannon Thacker Cregg 