There are times that you sit back and just think about how great of a day you had – and yesterday was one of those days (ps, it wasn’t because I proctored the SAT in the am…). A good friend and colleague of mine, Dave Vuick, and I have had the fortune to get to know Baron Batch and Sean Beauford, both part of the creative team at Studio AM, and we had the opportunity to take some of our students to visit their studio in Homestead.
Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect – would we be there for 15 minutes or an hour? Would the kids appreciate the opportunity they were getting or just not quite get it? Would Baron and Sean just be (understandably) exhausted and unable to make it after their opening night at The Union Hall at Bar Marco the night before? And even more honestly, it couldn’t have gone better.
Sean and Baron talking about the process of working as an artist.
Baron and Sean were unbelievably giving of their time and our students were filled with questions. It’s not every day that you have the chance to visit an artist’s studio – in fact not every artist even has one. Our kids learned about process and motivation, mediums used, trying and failing (and starting over), looking for improvement, how to brand yourself and your work, the need to be an artist and not a hobbyist, and so much more. I truly felt like I was auditing the coolest college marketing class ever. The real talk was just awesome.
One of the coolest parts of Studio AM’s space is this room, which fosters conversation amongst all. I couldn’t help but be inspired by everything all over the place…
I watched as three students from very different backgrounds just took it all in. I witnessed true learning as they were validated in their questioning and respected by two pros. I saw three kids light up when Baron offered them pieces of his art and offered to collaborate with them on a future show – and I can’t wait to see these three work together to create an awesome show. There’s not a doubt in my mind that they will do this after they were challenged to do so.
Who’s that watching over you???
If only you could have seen the joy on Kat after Baron offered her this shield. It’s not something that I will quickly forget…
So thank you, Baron and Sean – you made the days of three great kids and two teachers at the same time. You gave a couple hours of your time to make things better around you and that’s not going to be forgotten…
Baron creating on a skateboard deck…
Sean and Baron with GS students…
And let me tell you what made it all so worth it – hearing these three on the way home just absolutely geeked about their day and being so appreciative of the opportunity to learn and meet new people – that’s what makes it all so awesome.
