麻豆传媒

When did you join 麻豆传媒鈥�?

This is my fourth year at 麻豆传媒鈥�. It鈥檚 the only place I鈥檝e ever taught, having changed careers. Before that, I worked as a studio assistant for a contemporary artist, helping produce work for exhibitions both nationally and internationally. I never thought I鈥檇 end up teaching, but it鈥檚 easily one of the best decisions I鈥檝e ever made. That said, I鈥檝e made some pretty bad decisions too.

Tell us about your subject. What excites you about it? How did you get into it?

I teach Art, and I couldn鈥檛 really imagine teaching anything else. I think it鈥檚 a brilliant subject for the boys, especially at GCSE and A-Level. There鈥檚 not really another subject where they get to set their own questions and then answer them themselves. It becomes deeply personal to their own experiences. And, unlike DT and other practical subjects, it doesn鈥檛 have to 鈥渨ork鈥�.

That said, it鈥檚 hard graft. Getting better at art takes a lot of practice and patience. I always say to the boys that it鈥檚 called painting for a reason: you have to go through the pain to get the ting. That idea keeps me invested personally too. There鈥檚 always something new to work on, and no two creative journeys are the same. Just within painting and drawing, the scope is huge. You can focus on becoming more accurate, loosening up, working more imaginatively, working from life, or exploring different media like oil, acrylic, or mixed techniques. And then there鈥檚 the whole world of three-dimensional work too. You鈥檙e always learning.

Luckily, we鈥檝e got some very talented staff in the department who are always happy to help point me in the right direction when I haven鈥檛 got a clue. It鈥檚 also a real privilege to accompany the boys on their creative journeys. You learn so much from them as well.

As for how I got into it... I probably did a nice drawing for my mum when I was little, got praised for it, enjoyed the feeling, and carried on from there. Compared to some of the boys at MTS, I didn鈥檛 put a huge amount of thought into my career plans when I was younger. There were definitely times I regretted that. But now, teaching, it all seems to make sense.

What are you most proud of outside of your work at school?

That鈥檚 a tough one. I鈥檓 not sure "proud" is quite the right word, but I鈥檓 grateful that I learned not to always follow my feelings. They don鈥檛 always lead you to the best places. I鈥檝e tried to choose to point upwards rather than downwards.

My natural state can be quite lazy. My school yearbook said: 鈥淟east likely to say: who wants to go for a run? Most likely to say: who wants to go for a kebab?鈥� Honestly, I鈥檇 probably still prefer the kebab. But I鈥檝e embraced a bit of discipline, made an effort to look after the future version of myself, and learned to appreciate the joys of suffering too. And it鈥檚 never too late to change direction. I did my first piece of voluntary exercise in my twenties, learned Spanish in my thirties, and took up Jiu-Jitsu just before I turned forty. So, I suppose I鈥檓 proud that I didn鈥檛 always choose the kebab.

What did you study at A-Level?

Art, English Literature, Government and Politics, and Classical Civilisation.

What piece of media would you recommend and why?

I鈥檓 probably not the best person to ask right now, as I鈥檓 trying to limit my media use. So, I would recommend turning it off entirely. Take out your headphones and listen instead to the wind in the trees, the birds, and the distant rumblings of the M1.