Awesome Artists

"I'm Damian. 
Or D. 
Or Dude. 
We're going to be drawing all kinds of sh*t. 
Dead sh*t."

There is something about artists of all sorts that simply makes them stand out from those who are not so creative. This is certainly the case with my new art teacher, today.

There were around six of us lined up at the door ten minutes before the class starting time, as Damian walked past. He looked back at us, and shook his head. 
"Early? Really? What is wrong with you, this is university!"
"We're excited!" a student explained.
"Oh you are, are you? Don't worry, I'll change that."
From here on, the class just got even more interesting.
"I'm not going to read the unit guide to you, because well, you're not five-year-olds, and to be honest I didn't even write the unit guide, so I don't even know what's in there. But you will. When you read it yourselves. Alone."
I could not believe how he kept a straight face after everything he said. He said the obscene word used instead of poop to describe everything, in a negative and positive manner. He is so laid back that the class, initially running for three hours, only ended up running for one. 

Damian has taken Mister Schneebly to a whole new different level. Praising Fridays, he hurried on to the large Apple computer and played some music while he went off to do things. We, slightly unsettled, settled in almost immediately. He made everyone bring their tables and desks forward to the computer when he returned so that he could show us examples of Dutch still life paintings, a group of photos that he also did not compile. He did not even think that he would be able to explain them all, however he managed to because, well, it was a collection of photographs of paintings of fruits, anybody could explain them. The way he did though, suggested years of academic study, which I thoroughly enjoyed because it was mixed with an urban style of communication and gritty wit. 

And that is the future teacher that I aim to be. Somebody unique, strange, straight to the point, witty, funny, supportive and all the while intelligent. I want people to look up to me and while they are looking I want their vision to shake because they are uncontrollably laughing at my wit and constant sharing of humour. I will confuse my students with rhetorical questions that actually turn out to be questions and then lead them back on the path of learning by offering them simplistic and secretly complex ways to go about things, to solve things and increase their academic abilities. For to follow the curriculum strictly is to blindly lead, but a leader needs eyes because they are the navigators.

Creative people are interesting. Give them a chance, and the tip of the iceberg will surface revealing a bigger picture, a bigger amount of personality characteristics and do not let them intimidate you. Enjoy them. Because if a creative person pours themselves out onto you like a fountain, drinking from that fountain is more refreshing than spring water. Trust me. There is a lot to creative people. More than meets the eye. We just like to hide because when hidden, we are elusive and comfortable. Sometimes it all becomes too much and we find potential creativity enjoyers. Be a creativity enjoyer more often so people like me can show you our worth. 

I look forward to my second week having this Damian fellow as my art teacher. I do not know what to expect next week, when I have to bring in fragments of my life in object form and arrange them in interesting ways to draw them. It should prove interesting, though the only real form of still life I have ever drawn is a Red Bull can or a bottle of Corona. I think I will do alright, not too exquisitely but rather decently.