Anne Magratten: Engaging with students’ inner worlds through the creative process
Anne Magratten, faculty member in the 视觉艺术课程 at Linn-Benton 社区
College, has taught art in colleges and universities, and minimum to maximum security
监狱. She has seen its benefits for students from all walks of life.
“Art is something that can really enrich a person’s life - from those professionally using and selling art to the majority of the students I work with, who are there because 这对我个人来说很丰富.”
Magratten started her own educational journey at a community college in northern California. She had received a scholarship to a fine art college but was uncomfortable asking her parents for the remaining money to attend.
While studying at a community college, Magratten realized what an incredible value 她在那里接电话. The classes were so affordable that Magratten was able to study painting and drawing—her main areas of emphasis—but also book arts, ceramics, 设计、摄影等等.
“It gave me a very diverse foundation,” 她说. “It was an incredible learning environment, and I was receiving this really beautiful mentorship from my instructors.”
While Magratten’s friends at university were in classes of 600 students, she was in classes of 20 and valued the opportunity to talk with her instructors about things both related to and outside the class subject.
Her grades at the community college enabled her to transfer to a small women’s college to finish her bachelor’s degree and from there she pursued a master’s degree in fine 他是俄勒冈大学的艺术教授. “My experience made me realize that we should be doing everything we can in our own communities to create opportunities for others ……尤其是在艺术方面，”麦格拉滕说.
After graduation, Magratten sought to teach in community colleges, where she felt she would be able to serve a broader group of students.
她做到了.
While working various part-time teaching positions to make ends meet, she had the opportunity to teach art in Oregon’s prison system.
“I knew I liked teaching art, but it was shocking to me … just the way the students there responded to an educational opportunity – it was so gratifying.“当麦格拉滕 was offered the full-time faculty position at 林本顿社区学院, she made sure that she could continue working inside correctional facilities.
At 博天堂官方 Magratten teaches all levels of drawing as well as figure drawing and painting,
设计等等. 
“One of the most beautiful things about my job,” 她说, “is that I’m able to engage 与学生谈论他们的内心世界. 我可以打开他们的速写本. 在那些日子里 – I have the best job that I could possibly imagine.”
Magratten also serves as the faculty advisor for the college’s 艺术画廊.
博天堂官方’s unique gallery structure allows for student gallery coordinators. 每一年, students compete for positions that will fund six credits of scholarship for each term that they work with one of the college’s galleries. 在学期中，学生们 get a “very intense” mentorship and learn about the function of the gallery, how shows are arranged and curated, the hosting of receptions for artist talks, fundraising, and other components of running a gallery.
Magratten has been steadily pushing to expand the number of student gallery coordinators.
“I believe that experience in arts administration and experience in a gallery gave me so much perspective as a young artist ... I want students to have those insights,” 她说.
Insights such as what percentage the gallery retains versus what the artist will get when a work is sold, in what types of galleries the artists’ work will be insured versus not, the elements of an artist’s statement, the process of coordinating a sale, and the experience of talking with an artist when they come to install their work.
“Anxiety and fear are not just applicable to the creative process. 它们是适用的 to that feeling we have when we say ‘我不 know if I can do this thing …. 我不 know if I’ll ever to be able to do it and I want so badly to do it’,” 她说.
Magratten is all about helping students push through that feeling to reach success. She does it with budding artists, and with the student gallery coordinators.
“I want to provide students with as much meaningful experience as possible that enriches them, that gives them meaningful lines on a resume and the confidence to be able to say, ‘I can do a show in that space because I’ve had experience doing this’.”
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查看Magratten的作品 网站. She recently completed an illustration project with a close friend. 由此产生的 孩子的书, 无精打采的骆驼 (about a little llama who longs to travel) was created for her friend’s daughter; for each copy purchased of the second book, 玛丽贝尔计划一个派对 的副本 玛丽贝尔，我的节日 帕科 捐给了危地马拉的一个孩子.
Magratten serves as faculty advisor to the 性别 & 性联盟 在博天堂官方.