Hi hi! My name is Kamilah Fraser and I am an educator. To be honest, I don’t make as much art as I would like to and oftentimes I don’t consider myself an artist, but when I find the time to create, I realize that artists don’t have to constantly create and to not undermine myself, my talents, and my abilities. I’m that person who loves to stick their thumb in many pies and is kind of okay at many things, but isn’t amazingly awesome at one specific thing, which I guess can contribute to my thoughts on not being a “real” artist. Aside from all of that, I love to eat, I love animals, and I’m always that one person to bring card or board games to any get together; people get upset when I forget the games!
For my thesis, I have been interested in how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected scholars’ productivity and motivation in creating art in and outside of class. I spent months indoors and because I literally had so much extra time, my motivation to create more art increased my productivity in making more art. I ended up learning a few new things about myself, like the kind of art I like to make (fluid painting) and what I would like to explore more (printmaking and wood burning). I was curious if this was the case for young students as well; before the pandemic, they spent most of their day at school and maybe even after school programs, but switched to being home almost all the time. I could only imagine how that stress affected their development.
I am hoping that my research will help educators understand their students a little bit better and what their perspectives were during this difficult time. I’ve been interviewing students to learn more about their experiences. Maybe this information can allow educators to meet their students where they’re at and assist their students in being excited about their learning by creating exciting and inviting learning environments.
Take a look at these articles about art education during COVID-19:
https://www.artsandmindlab.org/why-arts-education-matters-in-the-age-of-covid-19/
https://www.amacad.org/news/strong-case-arts-education-commitment
To end this post, here’s a picture of me (my partner and I made this knife!) and the artwork I am the MOST proud of up to date:
