A few days ago I provided a meeting for our graduate students. It was based upon the idea that graduation can be a special kind of obstacle for students. The challenge of graduation is often not graduation itself, but the story we tell ourselves about what graduation means. I had designed a meeting that involved […]
Continue ReadingHow to: Get Creative
Just finished the War of Art by Stephen Pressfield. I liked his concept of Resistance. Resistance for him is a destructive force that disables you from being creative. In his words: ‘with ever tree of creativity that grows; comes a shadow. Being creative for him is about finding ways to overcome that Resistance. In his […]
Continue ReadingHow to: overcome yourself
Words I often hear from students during reflection-moment are distractions, procrastination, anxieties, and imposter syndrome. Studying on itself probably would not be half as difficult if it was not for ourselves. There is a title of a book that I often think about: ‘You Are What You Do’. Sometimes we perceive studying as a ritual […]
Continue ReadingHow to: convince others in a meeting
I joined a meeting with people who did not know each other and we had a shared task to bring out a singular verdict. I observed and noted what was said by participants in order to reflect upon how we try to convince others. refer to prior experience others didn’t have: I have been using […]
Continue ReadingHow do I know if Students Learn Online?
“How do I Know if my Students Are Learning (Online)?’ The question was asked by a colleague in the context of online learning due to the corona measurements. I think it’s an important question because we spend so much time on education; it’s important to reflect on what is effective. I also believe it’s a […]
Continue ReadingInclusive Classroom
Last year I encountered challenges in creating a safe environment for students. When people feel unsafe in a conversation there are two paths: silence or violence. Silence can be used as a means to avoid potential situations by withdrawing (by any means) from the conversation. Violence is when verbal strategies are used in an attempt […]
Continue ReadingOutreach program
In September 2018 I had the privileged to visit School of the Art Institude of Chicago (SAIC), and to explore how they have developed outreach-programs for the community of Chicago. I have tried to summarize some of the valuable things I’ve learned in this post. Many thanks for Paul Coffey and SAIC for their support.
Continue ReadingHow is the assessor taught to assess?
This week I have started my first meeting of the Senior-Qualification-Examination (SKE) course at our institute. The ‘SKE’ is a Dutch certification in assessments for higher professional education. This post is a reflection on why this course is important to me.
Continue ReadingWhat are the Questions that Drive Us
Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a lecture by Joe Sacco at our institute. He was invited to talk about his career as political cartoonist for students of the department of Illustration.
Continue ReadingAuthentic Relationships
Yesterday I had the pleasure of giving an introduction for teachers of the Willem de Kooning Academy during the opening of the ‘Drive & Development Week’. The event was organized by the Education Station. Our goal was to stimulate the exchange of ideas between teachers beyond the boundaries of disciplines or departments. The topic of […]
Continue ReadingQuestion on Design Education
At the moment I am busy preparing for a trip to the U.S.A to visit 2 art&design academies. We are looking forward to learn from them as well as share our own ideas and experiences. There are several topics that we hope to talk about. I am looking forward to share an overview of the […]
Continue ReadingNo More Homework
Last Friday I made a visit to Gorssel where our 2nd year WdKA illustration students were spending some days to draw and paint outside, visit musea like Kroller Moller Park. Our goal of the fieldtrip is to strengthen the bond between students and stimulate informal learning. We chose for an isolated location to be away […]
Continue Reading2018 Personal Change
“Sad Satan 2018” The sculpture above was a gift made by Han Hoogerbrugge. He gave it to me for my new job at the WdKA. The title is “Sad Satan’ and it has two holes in his head; where his horns used to be. Since January 2018 my position at the WdKA has changed from […]
Continue ReadingProfessor in Illustration
Yesterday I visited the symposium and departure lecture of profession dr. Saskia de Bodt. Over the last 9 years she has been the Dutch ‘special professor in Illustration’ at the University of Amsterdam. This position was supported by the Fiep Westendorp Foundation. She wrote several publications among which: From Poe tot Pooh; illustration to pay […]
Continue ReadingDeep Dark Questions
Published at: link How to explain your artistic vision during art education assessments Introduction With the implementation of ‘competency assessments’ at the Willem de Kooning Academy (WdKA), students are faced with a new form of evaluation in which they must demonstrate within the setting of a formal portfolio, presentation and dialogue (assessment) that they have […]
Continue ReadingWhat can Possibly go Wrong?
this is a rough first text on the subject of failing on personal student projects. Any feedback is welcome. “How students can fail in personal projects at the WdKA” Before the summer holidays it’s ‘project assessment time’. When it comes to independent student projects it can be difficult to understand for students why they failed. […]
Continue ReadingIllustration survey – interest and opportunity in Illustration
Introduction. I’ve done a small follow-up illustration survey in class with 23 2nd year illustration students. The goal was to get some insight in student interests, ambition and their view on the field of illustration. There were 4 ‘closed’ question: what are an illustrator’s best chances in today’s market? what are you current interests in […]
Continue ReadingWill Instagram Render the Art Academy Obsolete?
I have some rough thoughts about this question. The question belongs to one of my illustration students. I think it’s a relevant question because many illustrators promote the use of Instagram. I hope to further elaborate on my thoughts later. Instagram is a social networking application. It allows you to share photos or videos within […]
Continue ReadingWriting an independent illustration proposal for a client
Illustrators do not always have to wait for clients for work. A good entrepreneur looks for his/her own opportunities in the market. At the WdKA we encourage our students to learn to iniate personal projects for clients they would like to work for. Creating your own proposal does not imply that you’re a fine artist. […]
Continue ReadingIllustration Student Survey
Introduction. yesterday I’ve done a small illustration survey in class with 25 students. The goal was to get some insight in student interests, ambition and their view on the field of illustration. There were 6 multiple choice questions and 1 open question. Outcome. Based on the input we can make some assumptions. There was a […]
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