From the Archives: Can We Find Time to Balance Everything?

As I’ve mentioned over the past couple of episodes on the podcast, AOEU is on a break for about two weeks, and we’re going to use that time to play a couple of good episodes from the archives on Art Ed Radio here.

Today’s episode is an interview with Laura Irmis. Laura is a ceramicist and an elementary art teacher from Florida, and we had a great conversation in this episode about how we can balance all of the demands that come with being a teacher, and having a family, and being a practicing artist. 

And if you enjoy this conversation and want to hear more from Laura, there will be a couple of great opportunities for you to do that in the near future. First, at the NOW Conference, Laura will be presenting on some strategies for teaching ceramics, and she will show you some ideas on how you can adapt ceramics lessons to match the skill level of your students, and give them the challenge they need. We are very excited for the conference, it’s coming up on Feburary 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, and you can find all the information you need on the AOEU website.

ALSO, you may have been hearing me talk a little bit about our ask the experts podcast series, where we’re doing a deep dive into a different medium with each episode, answering teachers’ questions about drawing, painting, photography, etc., etc. And Laura will be our expert for the ceramics episode! Right now we’re looking at that for February and March, so keep an eye out!

All of that being said, it is time for the episode. Without further ado, here is my discussion with Laura Irmis about how we can balance everything that is asked of us.

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Welcome to Art Ed Radio, the podcast for art teachers. This show is produced by the Art of Education University. And I’m your host, Tim Bogatz. Back in January, Amanda Heyn and I were in Florida to host the NOW Conference, and we got to do a lot of great things while we were there. We saw a bunch of really nice galleries in St. Petersburg and Tampa, we saw some public art installations, we went to the Dali Museum, just a lot of really interesting stuff.

Most importantly though, we also hosted a party for art teachers after the conference, and that was incredible. So shout out to Pinellas in Hillsborough County for having so many awesome teachers, and shout out to those teachers for coming to hang out with us for an evening. We are able to hear so many amazing things that those art teachers are doing in their classrooms, and so many opportunities that they are providing for their students. But one of those art teachers that we met, her name is Laura Irmis, she’s going to be our guest today on the podcast. So Laura is a ceramicist and an elementary art teacher, and a mother, and a graduate student, and does so much more. And I loved meeting her and talking to her when we met in Florida, and I’m excited to have her on today to just kind of talk about how she balances everything that she does. Right, Laura Irmis has joined me now. Laura, how are you?

I’m good, thank you so much for having me on your show.

Well, super excited to have you. We met in Florida when Amanda and I were there for the NOW conference, and that was pretty exciting, and decided that you had a lot of cool stuff to talk about so we should probably bring you on the show. So yeah, I guess welcome. And can we start with an introduction? Can you tell us about yourself, your art making, your teaching, anything else that you want to share?

Well, sure. So I started years ago as a ceramic artist, and loved pottery since the second I touched the clay. And so I like to say, I’ve always enjoyed playing in mud because I literally remember playing in mud as a little kid and making mud pie. So I’ve always had a connection with being outside and nature, and I think that had a lot to do with why I ended up down the pottery road, as opposed to painting and that sort of thing. So I was doing that for a while, and I started teaching classes at a gallery, and had my work in different locations in Florida. And another potter that was in the gallery was looking to switch careers, and she knew that her high school was hiring and looking for a 2D art teacher that would eventually the next year become a 3D art teacher.

And I thought, oh gosh, high school, I don’t know. And it was a bit scary, but I did need something that was more substantial as far as income. And I had three boys, I had a one-year-old at that point, and two older children that were at a elementary school, not too far from us. And so I took the high school job and really liked it. So I started doing 2D work, painting and drawing, which I still loved, I loved everything about art growing up. And then knew that I could teach pottery the next year, so I did that. And so I really enjoyed it, I thought this is definitely something that I can do. And so I evolved to elementary, because the school that my own kids were at was hiring.

Oh, can’t pass that up. That’s incredible.

Right. So I thought, wow, what kind of opportunity, I have to take this. So that’s where I’ve been now for seven years this month actually, because I started in March at the 2D level in high school. And so here I am, and I have one son still here, he’s in second grade, my other two are in middle school. And throughout that entire time I kept making work. And really, I have to make work, I feel like a lot of creatives really have that need to make work. So if I’m not being creative, I’m just not a hundred percent happy, fulfilled person.

Yeah, absolutely understand that. And can we talk more about that? I would love to know more about your ceramics practice, how long you’ve been doing it. And I guess with that current work that you’re just talking about, what kinds of things are you doing now?

So I have been doing it for about… I was trying to figure this out, because it feels forever. But if I start with the year I was in college for my bachelor’s, it’s been 18 years. So before that, obviously I was doing it, but once I was at Eckerd College, which is just a local college here, I knew that I needed to make more work, and started selling and working a lot at the gallery at night. So I would have whatever job I had back then, because I always had to work, I was on my own at that point. And so I needed the income, and I just started working at a little coffee place where they had ceramics, and sold work. So I started working in the back, and I really just would work full-time and then at night either teach or make art. So I’ve always created a body of work.

So it’s evolved, obviously, like we all do. And right now I have a lot of functional art that I have on my website, and I’m selling locally in some galleries. But what my favorite thing to do, is to throw on the wheel and then hand build. So I’ll throw a round vessel, and then cut and form that into a oval shape, basically, just to give you kind of an idea of what the work looks like. And then I’ll flip it, and I’ll twist it, and I’ll cut it so it changes into a hand built looking form, but still has a nice clean edge.

So it’s kind of two in one, so it’s hand building and thrown. So it’s a little bit of both, where it gives you that hand built feeling, but looks a little more kind of perfected around that edge, which I really like. And then I will hand paint with underglaze a motif or some patterns, I typically like patterns. And I’m right now really into just high contrast black and white. In fact, I just started working with a black porcelain clay, which is really, really cool, I’m loving that.

Interesting, yeah.

Yeah, so that’s really fun. But the same idea, throwing and then altering.

Yeah, very cool. So I was just thinking a little bit more about balancing your personal work with your teaching, and I want to talk more about that, but I’m thinking about what transfers from your own work into the classroom. And so I guess that’s part one of the question, what are you doing in personal work that you can also take into the classroom that you can share with your students? And then secondly, there are a lot of teachers that don’t have that art making experience, they’re really kind of unsure of themselves when it comes to teaching clay. So part two of that question would be, do you have advice for teachers who don’t have your experience, who are apprehensive about teaching ceramics?

Right, and it’s funny that you say that, because I’ve found that same situation in our district here too. So I’ve done a lot of building workshops, and just answering a lot of questions over the phone, or meeting in person, about how to help them feel more confident with using clay, and the kiln, and firing it. And there’s a lot of stresses involved that they have.

So I would say definitely ask other teachers, I know that when I started it’s just mayhem sometimes when you’re not sure of all of the things that we do on a day-to-day basis. And then to throw something in there that’s way out of your wheelhouse, I can imagine how challenging that would be. So yeah, I would suggest joining a group, if you have a local teachers group like we have, and asking questions to all the teachers that have been doing it for years. In fact, I even reached out to teachers that I would meet at our district-wide trainings, and said, “Hey, do you have a minute? I have some questions to ask you. How do you plan out…” Or whatever your question maybe, because I’ve never had a teacher give me any negative. They’ve been there, they know.

And I feel like we all know how they can be, and we’re willing to offer advice and suggestions. And then obviously there’s a lot of stuff online, but I think it’s also a good idea to maybe visit a clay studio and talk to one of the artists. Maybe you could ask them questions, or ask if they would mentor you, or if you could just come in and watch them fire the kiln. Things like that I think would be really helpful, just to see it, because it’s different when you are told to do something than when you’re doing it, as you know.

Yes, for sure.

And then as far as my work getting into my classroom, that definitely happens. I do a lot of texture stuff, and that’s something I’m excited about. So if I’m excited as a teacher, we share that same enthusiasm, and I think the students can feel that and they can see that. So I think whatever you’re into, you should definitely incorporate into your classroom.

Yeah, that’s great advice. Like you said, anything that I was excited about, that excitement is contagious, it passes on to your kids. Not as much at high school as it does with the elementary level, but it still happens. And so I think no matter what level you teach, if you can share that enthusiasm and share that excitement, it’s going to get kids engaged with what you’re doing. And like I said, I think that’s really good advice. I know you are a current student at AOEU, you’re working toward your master’s degree. Can you share just a little bit about your experience as a grad student, what has gone well for you, what you’ve enjoyed, maybe some things that have been difficult for you as you’ve gone through that process?

Well, I definitely love learning new things. I’m always looking and researching, which I think a lot of artists do too, but I think that learning something new is so exciting to me. And I will be straight up honest, almost every single class that I’ve taken, I’m about halfway done, almost every single course I have somehow used whatever piece into my classroom currently. And that’s half of the best part really, is that besides learning something new as a person, as an artist, I’m literally taking the stuff that I’m working on in the course and bringing it into my classroom, it’s fantastic, and I tell everyone the same thing.

Now, I’m not trying to push myself too much, because obviously with teaching, and three kids, and having my own pottery practice, I’m taking one course at a time and it’s every two months. And so I’m really focused just on the one piece, whatever that course may be. And I don’t know if I shared this with you, but when I took the watercolor course recently, now I’m fascinated with watercolor. So I’m actually trying to figure out how to take a underglaze treatment, look like a watercolor onto my [inaudible 00:12:50].

Oh, that’s interesting, that’s fascinating.

So really watered out, lots of layers, just building you would on paper, but onto my clay as a decor side thing with some light things. So we’ll see where that goes.

Yeah, I like that a lot. Okay, so I would love to see some pictures if that works out for you, and just have you talk about that process a little bit, that would be really cool. Okay, so I guess you’ve talked about doing your ceramics practice, like you said, along with being a parent, having a family, along with trying to teach, and I know that that’s really difficult. So I guess my question for you is, can you talk about how you structure your time so you have the ability to work as an artist, also have a family, also continue to teach? What helps you balance all of that? And I guess are there certain times where you have to maybe step back from something in order to be able to keep doing all that, in order to make that all work?

Sure, and balancing life, it’s definitely a challenge. And with having three younger children, I really have to credit my husband. I think having a partner or somebody that you could have support all of these things, because I have to leave the house often because my studio’s not at home. So I have to either work at school or go to the studio, so I really think it comes down to planning out… It’s sometimes ridiculous how planning fulfilled we have to be as a family, because we also have soccer, and I have band, and then my youngest is now doing football and soccer, which is starting this weekend, so it’s about to be real crazy. So I think just having that communication and balancing everything out. And I have to turn a lot of things down, and that’s the hardest part for me.

And I’ll tell you, my neighborhood here, it’s St. Pete, Florida, is booming right now. And there are so many art shows happening, and so many that I want to just try to even go to just to visit, and I have to turn a lot of things down. But I’ve come to the realization, I just can’t do it all. And so those are just some things that I have to pass or I have to take off my calendar, because I can tell because of whatever is happening that I just can’t do it. And that’s okay right now, I’m at ease with it.

At first, it was challenging, but taking on the master’s program is really important, so that has to be up there. Family first, of course. And then my practice is not as much as I would like for it to be, but I always think of seasons in life. And I think right now my season is just focusing on getting my masters and keep working to be happy, and then also making the boys at home happy too. But my husband definitely takes that understanding. I should say, he’s a musician and I’m an artist, so when we got together I understood I would be going to a lot of gigs. [inaudible 00:16:17] events, and same with him. So he knew what he was getting into. But I’m grateful that he’s up for supporting all of these things that I do. And as well, I’m up for supporting things that he’s into as well.

Yeah, that’s awesome when you can support each other’s creative endeavors, that’s a very cool thing. And then I guess one last question for you to wrap this up, we always like to offer advice to our listeners, people that are tuning into this. So I guess, what would your advice be for people who are looking for more balance in their life, or maybe they’re looking for help prioritizing what they can and should be doing. So how can they help themselves make decisions and figure out where their time and efforts should be directed, whether that’s teaching, family, arts, whatever the case may be, what advice would you have for them?

So what I would say is, for me what works is making a list and putting everything in the calendar, and then looking at it and going, “What’s a realist view of my month, or week, or day really?” Because sometimes it’s just day to day, especially with teaching. And I don’t know about you guys, but sometimes it’s an emotional rollercoaster [inaudible 00:17:33].

I was going to say, you never know what’s going to come up from day to day.

You don’t. And so even just staying current I think is something that I try to do or make an effort to do, because I can tend to go in the past and go in the future too much. But if I have it on the calendar, I know it’s planned, I’m not worried about that because it’s there. So I think staying in the current could help some folks, I think that making a list is awesome, especially when you can check it off, I got that done, I did my work thing, whatever that priority is. And I think communicating with your partner or your support system. And just breathing, sometimes I think especially with the emotional life that we just have to kind of just go, “It’s going to be okay. Everything’s going to be okay.” So I don’t know, sometimes I feel like I’m not the one to give advice, but here we are. And I think if we just try to plan, prioritize, and stay current, that could help us get to the next day.

Yeah, for sure. And a lot of times that is the best approach. And like I said, for a lot of people any kind of advice helps, so we appreciate that from you. But we’ll go ahead and wrap things up there, Laura, thank you so much for sharing so much with us and offering some advice for everybody. It was great to talk to you on here.

Thank you, great to talk to you too. I really appreciate it.

All right. Obviously Laura is really enjoying her time as an AOEU student being a lifelong learner, and I really love hearing about all of that. And she is definitely not the only person that I have heard rave about the studio watercolor course, so if you’re intrigued by that course or just want to check out all of the courses that we have available, you can do that on the AOEU website. And I will link to those courses in the show notes if you’re interested in exploring or learning a little bit more.

Now, I’m hoping to have Laura on again in the future to talk a little bit more about ceramics. As she mentioned, a lot of teachers come to her with help on teaching ceramics, and their questions about clay. And if you’re in that same boat, if you’re listening to this and thinking I have some questions, please feel free to send them my way, and we’ll maybe try and put something together with Laura for a future episode. But until then, that is all for us. So thank you to Laura for the discussion today, and thank you all for listening, I hope she had some advice that was helpful for you. Art Ed Radio is produced by the Art of Education University with audio engineering from Michael Crocker. As always, we appreciate you listening, and I will be back with you next week.