Cathy Osman — Painting
"I approach my teaching from the standpoint of being an artist, rather than a teacher of art," says Cathy.
"I can therefore share that experience of being a ‘maker’; of having had art fuel my life." Her life as a maker
has included 10 years in New York City primarily painting and selling her work. From there Cathy went on to teach
at Smith, Mount Holyoke and Hampshire colleges.
As a teacher, Cathy feels it is essential that art students learn the basics before pursuing their creative interests. "Critical to my teaching is establishing strong foundations for art students. Although we are in a climate of continual change, a climate in which traditional values in art are in constant question, students need to be given solid skills in perception, close observation and careful analytic thinking."
Cathy maintains that everyone should make art, be they potters or physicists. "I don’t think you can grasp the meaning of art without experiencing it in some way personally, as opposed to coming at it from a non-participatory level," she says. "It demands another part of one’s self to make; it isn’t just an intellectual pursuit. And asking students to think in more abstract ways can fuel their other work."
B.F.A., University of California at Berkeley, 1977; M.A., University of California at Berkeley, 1979. Marlboro College, 1997 -