First reflections
One of the first “aha” moments in my educational life came during the second or third grade, at the Pacific Grove (California) Museum, when I looked into a display case at a basket made by a Native American artisan. I remember wondering who had created it, how it could have been woven so tightly, how it had been used, and how it came to the museum. These questions, and my initial excitement in articulating them, continue to inspire me as a teacher, researcher and curator of works of art and craft. I delight in sharing this enthusiasm with others – students, colleagues, and visitors to art spaces.
To this end, I have developed courses which blend presentation (of images, objects, and ideas), discussion, and hands-on activities (writing, creating art, excavating artifacts, and preparing exhibitions), to actively engage students with the arts and cultures of our world. Several of these courses have included field trips to the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. During a visit to the art museum, one of my students (who was age 12 at the time) told me that “the best way to understand a culture is through its art.”
conceptvessel
Jeanne Figueira Grossetti
