Chris Brandt: Letting the Process Lead

It was so great talking with Chris Brandt about her winding path to teaching, her art-making, and TAB. I’ve mentioned before how I started attempting to shift to teaching for artistic behavior (or TAB) this year, so it was so helpful to hear about how Chris structures her curricula and sets up her classroom.

Chris was generous with her time in recording a second time to talk about racism very honestly and with vulnerability. I really appreciate her openness and desire to continue improving how she works towards eliminating racism in her classroom and teaching. With this addendum, the episode got quite long, but I decided to keep it all together in one long episode... listen in chunks if needed.  :) 

Christina (Chris) Brandt is a teaching artist at The Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas.  She graduated with a BFA in drawing and painting from The Ohio State University, and recently completed her master’s degree in Art Education from Texas Tech University.

Chris still paints but has expanded her work into clay and metals as well.  Her recent sculptures are based on Aesop’s fables, depicting the animals as they learn human moral lessons.

Chris teaches Pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, primer and fourth grade art as well as eighth grade ceramics and sculpture.  The Hockaday School is a PK-12 girls’ school that values the fine art.  Chris uses the Teaching for Artistic Behavior method in her early childhood art classroom.  The girls learn new art skills and methods while enjoying the freedom to create what they desire with the mediums they choose.

Living in a suburb of Dallas, Chris is married and has three grown children and three rambunctious long-haired dachshunds.

Blog post with images

www.chrisbrandtartwork.com

@christbrandt1212 on Instagram

Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB)

Art Workshop for Children by Barbara Rucci

Engaging Learners Through Artmaking by Katherine M. Douglas and Diane B. Jaquith

Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold

My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me by Maya Angelou

Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: Tooth Traditions from Around the World by Selby Beeler

Alison Saar's Mirror Mirror; Mulatta Seeking Inner Negress II, 2015

A brief article about Alison Saar

Toko Shinoda's work that "blends traditional calligraphy with Modern abstraction"

Kimmy Cantrell's Masks

Leonardo Drew's work

Firelei Baez's work

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