the joys of teaching

I think it’ll always be the question posed…what do you do with a degree, or even better 2 degrees in ceramics? It’s funny because I still run across people, particularly students while i’m teaching that ask what I went to school for. I’ve got a Masters in Ceramics, of which I’m damn proud, but i’m constantly finding people that are surprised that such a thing as a Masters in Mud actually exists (none the less a phd!)
But it is a question, a legitimate one, what do you do with a ceramics degree? the awnser is not necessarily teach. Of course if you want to follow the path of academia and teach at a college then the degree is a requirement, however I think that of all of the friends (and correct me if I’m wrong) that I have that have gone through and completed such degrees, teaching hasn’t been the sole or main goal. What ever happened to knowledge for knowledge sake. When did learning for the sake of greater awareness about the world become not enough? Why must everything have a monetary, 9 to 5, working towards the CEO position methodology behind it?
As an artist education to me was all about me and my practice, exploring and challenging myself, my technical skills, the scope of my research and my abilities as an artist to make relevant and thought provoking work. And none of this was for the sake of paying bills at the end of the month, but rather to feel fulfilled and contribute as an individual, as an artist, to the current debates, to the arts and cultural community, to altering the course of society as a whole through positive and proactive (and passionate) engagement with the world.
Don’t get me wrong though, teaching is an incredibly rewarding practice, I teach all the time, and love it, love my students, find it rewarding on so many levels and draw constant inspiration from it. But it is not the only thing we as artists, educated through universities and colleges are qualified to do. The ever widening scope of the arts and cultural field offers countless possibilities to artists to find work and to make work for themselves. The key thing that I’ve found so far is the idea of making work for myself. There is no 9 to 5, so find a way yourself to fill those hours, teach, work in administration, advocacy, write (even when writing isn’t your background – more writing about art – in particular craft – has to get out there!), work with different business and community groups as creative consultants, work with youth at risk groups, sigh… the list is endless, but it must be approached proactively. Work in partnership with organizations, schools, etc as an artist in residence, find ways of making work that intertwines with community involvement, not only does it get you out of the solitude of the studio, but gets your work and your name out there.
phewww. A rant for a wednesday afternoon. Obviously feeling a bit opinionated, or maybe trying to motivate myself out of my own quiet studio…