Barrett Heaton

The mysterious powers that be decided that I was meant to be in the Chicago area, for at the age of two weeks I was whisked here by my parents. 19 years later I found myself in summer classes at SAIC, pursuing passions in drawing and painting. Nearly 40 years after that I find myself a retired math teacher being asked to teach a course at SAIC. The symmetry of the universe has been reflected once again.

My relationship with the world of art has always brought me toward the field of education.  As my reviewers in my MFA program will tell you, while I was a prolific and nearly constantly creating individual, I had trouble framing my work and emphasizing my main messages. Work with young people allowed me to collaborate and encourage others to create-- it wasn't just about me, but about spaces I could create for interaction and creation. When I brought these ideas back to my MFA professors they were horrified and I nearly failed out of art school. I escaped to Japan, once again in education, in the guise of an assistant teacher. My creativity was activated by the endless stream of worksheets, class activities and assessments I needed to create. My learning of Japanese culture was the input and in return I could offer myself as an educational resource for Japanese people of all ages. There was a back and forth that I had not found in the art world. A parallel to all of this is my work with music which most often has come in the form of live improvisation or live rehearsal of original and "cover" songs.  I was able to create with others in another context, and it was not about me putting something on a wall and then leaving to let others see it: it was about being in a room with others and creating things that vanished the instant we stopped playing. Needless to say, I've never been able to quit my day job, but luckily you can get paid to work as a teacher, creating spaces and learning opportunities that may stay with the students in some form for the rest of their lives.