Good morning,

Last week I did something that seemed rather scary, but was so exciting: I taught my first art classes! Six people came to my home on Wednesday and another 7 on Thursday, and for two hours we talked about value and form, I gave a brief demo, and then I let go of the reins and let them paint. They did fabulous!

Teaching art is strangely exhilarating. It’s not for everyone, and sometimes good artists don’t make good teachers. I was pretty scared for weeks but my excitement to share my art knowledge was far greater than my fear of venturing into the unknown. By the time my lesson was planned and my students started pouring in, I was on a roll. It’s nice to teach the core idea and then sit back, and just guide the class participants to a finished painting.

 

It has been such a great opportunity, and I was even contacted by a woman here in Abu Dhabi that wants me to teach her kids at her home. It was the perfect offer because I really want to be an art teacher for kids one day. I had great art teachers growing up and my mom found me great spaces to paint as a teen. To be able to provide that for kids years later is a dream of mine.

So, today is the day for my second week of classes and I’m so excited to meet the new faces just joining us. I was thinking we’d continue our lessons on tones and values with a nice session of landscape painting.

Hope to post more soon! The class participants are so talented!

Oh, and I’ve made two sales on Etsy last week. Score! 😀

Check my store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/amirarahim