For the past 30 years, an artist in Centralia has provided art instruction at her home studio and at other area locations such as Centralia College and Paint and Sips at various venues, offering a wide variety of art classes in different mediums for learners of all ages.
Sue Wachter estimates to date she has provided art instruction to several hundred area participants, with some having regularly attended her workshops for years.
The success of Wachter’s thriving business is that she carries a constant sense of wide-open curiosity and encourages her students to do the same.
Her workshops include drawing, painting, fiber arts, ceramics and silk dyeing, among others. Wachter provides materials but occasionally holds open sessions where participants bring materials to work on their own art in a shared setting.
In other classes, old art is renewed or items are repurposed, such as threading baskets with old clothes or neckties and turning an old window into an art piece. Wachter said it’s inspiring to create in the company of people making something beautiful from items typically thrown away. Nature journaling takes place weekly throughout each summer as a lively group dynamic where participants share on site observations such as flora or bird calls.
Another favorite workshop especially with young students is “junk building,” where small items such as are found in a junk drawer are hot glued together to create personal sculptures.
After years of successful workshops and direct observation of how people learn best when set free to follow their own artistic impulses, Wachter is developing a comprehensive curriculum for educators to help build the creative skills of their students.
The “Skills to Create” curriculum is based on helping individuals look beyond the obvious in their everyday surroundings. Students are encouraged to express themselves freely in art without being restricted by preconceived notions of not being an artist or of what a finished piece should look like. When complete, the curriculum will serve all ages as a guide for use in formal and informal education settings.
“The ability to create freely in art activities without being told exactly what to do or precisely what the finished piece should look like is stimulating and creates a skillset for learning in other areas of study,” Wachter said.
Wachter is currently working with several students ages 7-12 over 12 weeks as she develops the curriculum component regarding connections between art and mathematics. The students explore various art activities with minimal guidance. Another cadre of youth will participate in learning exercises in the fall. Area educators will employ and assess the curriculum.
“It’s wonderful to see how these kids engage with art in the studio,” Wachter said. “When given new materials, an explanation on how to use the materials and permission to make a mess if needed, they’re set free. The pieces they create are just amazing.”
“Too often, for example, we’re told this person is good at math, but not art, or that another is really creative, but not capable with math. However, the reality is that to intentionally connect the two builds confidence in both subjects. Much like fraternal twins, they may look different but have similar characteristics beyond the obvious,” she said.
“While the obvious connections are visual intercepts such as perspective and line, I tell my students they’re not going to get paid as adults to fill out a math worksheet. The student who is strong in math but not confident in art may just need the opportunity to explore creativity differently. In the same way a student who feels more successful in art benefits from connecting math creatively.”
Numerous studies show that creativity in both work and school settings significantly enhances learning by boosting cognitive development, problem solving and emotional wellbeing.
The studies also indicate when creative expression is undertaken in group settings, participants feel close and connected, become more tolerant and understanding of others, and they gain resiliency and adaptability to flourish in uncertain times.
Wachter, a mother of two, spent her childhood in rural Alaska, initially attending a three-room schoolhouse. Groceries came in weekly by boat, and she and other local kids spent most of their time outdoors.
Self-directed learning occurred while exploring the remote area or motorboating solo on the bay while young.
Years later, her young adult son was serving as a teacher’s aide in an art class.
“He came home and said, ‘Let’s paint. Put paint down and paint what you feel.’ It was wonderful to be free to paint without expectations or restrictions, and to do it with someone else,” Wachter said. “That was when I realized this is what I wanted to do, to teach, to encourage people to do art while in a group setting and to help people seek their own potential.”
“I’ve always wanted to know the why behind things and then I strive to learn them,” Wachter said, adding that she has offered art instruction in fields in which she’s not been all that familiar, but by the time the students showed up for class she was ready and that this preparation made a significant difference in her own development.
She said instruction is based on what best serves any particular group of people and how she can help them reach their potential.
“The world has changed but we can still be free to explore and to make mistakes. I tell my students to try at least three times per week to pause, observe, and integrate,” Wachter said. “It’s about learning to explore and then to ponder and wonder and find the possibilities.”
“Sometimes I have to give people a second look, to see how beautiful they are,” Wachter said “You have to pause to catch the beauty. I think that’s what I’m asking in all my classes, for everyone to see unexpected connections and realize their own potential.”
For more information, email info@bymydesign.org.
