Izzy Johnson in their home studio, wall print by Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo

It is without a doubt that the reason I float on as an artist and a writer is because of my community. The community of friends and other freaks I have found in Michigan and all around the world. I find that even when relationships fracture or need tending to, overall I am profoundly loved and cherished by those I keep close. I keep a steady trust in rearranging boundaries and intimacy, I keep a steady trust in how I might be inspired and how I might let their support be a strong root when the pull of creative self sabotage emerges.

As a teacher of creative practice, art making, and how to do the things I do - I know that I am prone to cross examining myself. A practice which sometimes supports my curiosity and question asking, and other times I find obstructs my ability to show up for the job description I have so carefully and accidentally crafted for myself.

“There was something so formative about that. for me. To think — ok how do we find the resources or how do we find the way to start that already exists within us or is already nearby or is already a resource that maybe I don’t have but somebody I know could have? How do we look to those networks, that community that can often be very hyperlocal?” - Listen to Tamara on Common Shapes

My greatest commitment is to shape making and space making - in the digital world, in my backyard, in physical spaces, in my relationships to my neighboring people and plants. There is bright pink yarrow growing in the yard, a color of yarrow I didn’t know existed, as if to say : this patch of Earth has its own boundaries.

My moon in Capricorn in this full moon in Capricorn time I find the energy of hard work and clarity come upon me, something I do not always feel, and for this I am grateful. I find that while what my students express to me is of utmost importance, what I believe most is the word of my peers. The word of those who know my inner most discomforts and defects, and still see the importance of my work and contributions.

In bell hooks’ book Teaching Community : A Pedagogy of Hope she says :

“It is crucial that we challenge any feeling of shame and embarrassment that teachers who do their job well might be tempted to indulge when praising ourselves or being praised by others for excellent teaching. For when we hide our light we collude in the overall cultural devaluation of our teaching vocation. A big basketball fan, I often tell audiences, “Do you really think Michael Jordan does not know that he is an incredible ball player? That throughout his career he has been gifted with a level of skill and magnificence that sets him apart?”

There can be a vortex, especially on the internet, of artists questioning themselves and our creative work and our practices. You can open many installments of Monday Monday to find this very energy of grappling with the good enough. I found so much pleasure in reading this part of the book over and over. For when we hide our light. What if we just started accepting that what is true is true. This of course may require endless hours of therapy, parts work, shadow work and unlearning everything you’ve ever been taught. I regress!

What if we took the championship attitude into the classroom, into the places we can expand ourselves and with others.

Slowly but surely my friend Brenin is helping me turn the old garden shed behind the house into a small writer’s studio for guests and future residents, its own tiny classroom. There was already electricity wired into it so he tore down the weird paneling inside and cut a hole in the cement siding for a window, which is the same materials my house is made out of. A shelter from tornados past.

My teaching practice is the same as my hosting practice which is the same as my quilting practice. Cutting up squares and filling them with other things. Piecing together what is here and what was left and what could widen our perception of the world. I feel the shame of paying for the window instead of the tax debt that eats me alive, but what I also desire is this little space for my people to create. The ripple of what will set me free isn’t clear but I just keep noticing which choices bring me closer to peace and what brings me farther from myself.

The one constant is that everything crumbles. Sometimes on purpose and sometimes behind our backs. Sometimes in god’s will and sometimes just outside of the spiritual realm. To peak into an artist’s studio and to build one for others is a great act of faith. Faith is required to make a go at anything. To make a go at creation, which in and of itself is a form of teaching. In praise we teach, without competition we teach, in the carving out we teach. Everything around us is a lesson to build the syllabus of joy and togetherness, of solitude and immersion.

Let there be more light coming through between your own world and others. Let there be more ways to find each other. Let your walls down as you let what others speak about you become the truth.

May you practice as an offering to those who mirror your big game energy.
May your offerings be their own form of teaching.
May it be a slam dunk.

TEACHING AS A PRACTICE

A three week class for visioning your offering , building your dream syllabus, and launching and teaching your own online class

WHEN : Thursdays live on zoom: July 13, 20 and 27 at 1pm PT / 4pm ET Classes are 2 hours long

Plus two question lab sessions: Tue 7/18 1pm PT / 4pm ET for 90 min Tue 7/25 1pm PT / 4pm ET for 90 min

All sessions are recorded and sent out within 48hrs and you’ll have lifetime access

This course is a resource that I keep returning to years after taking class, I met online friends that I have stayed in touch with over the years – there is nothing quite like forging into the unknown with a friend by your side. This course was the catalyst to really take my online teaching seriously and has unfolded a world of opportunities for me. I would recommend Teaching as a Practice to anyone that feels like they *think* they want to teach but feel scared, overwhelmed or don't know where to start. - Phoebe Taylor

PRICE : Class is **$425 scholarships available

WHO IT’S FOR : Artist, writers, weirdos, small business owners who want to launch an online course, dream up a beautiful syllabus, understand marketing strategy, and teach a class to invested students

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Today on Common Shapes : Five Reasons the World Needs Your Online Class

Listen to every thing I know in 30 minutes about teaching your own online class. This will give you a feel for how I talk about my own teaching practice as a vessel for generosity and change and give you the tools to start thinking about what parts of your own work could be transformed into a teaching model. Enjoy :)