Mary's Art Starts in the Garden
A Strategy to Embrace: Lifelong Learning
September 2024
September 2024
I'm in my 70s and very excited since I'm back at school and taking a new class. We are so lucky now that there are many ways to continue learning. We can take classes in traditional, in-person settings, take online workshops, or pursue a hybrid balance. What a gift!
My pursuit of knowledge has always been eclectic. I study what I want and when I want (or need) to enhance the projects I'm working on. Not one to seek the traditional B.A., M.A., or Ph.D. stepping stones, I followed the lyrics made famous by Frank Sinatra, “I did it my way."
My pursuit of knowledge has always been eclectic. I study what I want and when I want (or need) to enhance the projects I'm working on. Not one to seek the traditional B.A., M.A., or Ph.D. stepping stones, I followed the lyrics made famous by Frank Sinatra, “I did it my way."
A Love of Reading from the Start
Mary Swart Reading The Poky Little Puppy (1953)
Photo Courtesy: Mary Ahern
Mary Swart Reading The Poky Little Puppy (1953)
Photo Courtesy: Mary Ahern
One of the constants in my life is that I'm always studying something. A deep and wide curiosity leads me to focus on personal growth and practical knowledge —from Maharishi to computer programming and everything in between.
Class Photo: Mary is 5th from the Left (Bottom Row)
Photo Courtesy: Mary Ahern
Photo Courtesy: Mary Ahern
Starting college when my youngest entered pre-school gave me a late start to higher education. Once I entered the college classrooms, I experienced a surge of intensity for learning that has never diminished. In those earlier years, my studies were in traditional settings filled with students far younger than I was. It was fun to ruin the curve.
Online classes, initially offered by Lynda.com (now LinkedIn Learning), are how I studied in the mid-1990s as I balanced a full-time career while single-handedly raising my sons. These courses are brilliant orchestrations of various learning styles. This online coursework, consisting of two to four-minute videos and written transcripts, runs the gamut of creative design, business, technology, and beyond. The subject offerings are vast compared to my traditional classroom college settings.
However, on-site courses offer many benefits that I would not have had in online settings. For two years, in the early 2000s, I drove over an hour each way (not counting the traffic delays) to study botanical illustration at the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG). Here, I studied botany with a microscope, pencils and paint. Renowned artists flew in from around the world to teach master class intensives. These were intense. Being shoulder-to-shoulder with those artists was a stimulating challenge I wouldn't have experienced watching them on a screen.
Many online classes over the years have allowed me to study subjects like digital painting, oils, watercolor, illustration, and abstraction. These online classes let me experiment quickly with various mediums and styles to see if they are something I might want to study more deeply. I remember taking an online workshop with an artist and then flying from New York to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to study in his in-person workshops. This would never have happened had I not learned about this artist and his work online. Both the online and in-person types of study are unique experiences; at times, one leads to the other.
Hybrid coursework is how I studied for years with the Art Business Coach Alyson Stanfield. Through her online workshops, personal online coaching sessions, and in-person Master Mind Workshops hosted around the U.S., I honed my skills in presenting and discussing my work. An outgrowth of this program was founding an online community of like-minded peers engaged with the same program and forming a monthly online meeting to discuss and support our ongoing work as we all continued to evolve.
Online classes, initially offered by Lynda.com (now LinkedIn Learning), are how I studied in the mid-1990s as I balanced a full-time career while single-handedly raising my sons. These courses are brilliant orchestrations of various learning styles. This online coursework, consisting of two to four-minute videos and written transcripts, runs the gamut of creative design, business, technology, and beyond. The subject offerings are vast compared to my traditional classroom college settings.
However, on-site courses offer many benefits that I would not have had in online settings. For two years, in the early 2000s, I drove over an hour each way (not counting the traffic delays) to study botanical illustration at the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG). Here, I studied botany with a microscope, pencils and paint. Renowned artists flew in from around the world to teach master class intensives. These were intense. Being shoulder-to-shoulder with those artists was a stimulating challenge I wouldn't have experienced watching them on a screen.
Many online classes over the years have allowed me to study subjects like digital painting, oils, watercolor, illustration, and abstraction. These online classes let me experiment quickly with various mediums and styles to see if they are something I might want to study more deeply. I remember taking an online workshop with an artist and then flying from New York to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to study in his in-person workshops. This would never have happened had I not learned about this artist and his work online. Both the online and in-person types of study are unique experiences; at times, one leads to the other.
Hybrid coursework is how I studied for years with the Art Business Coach Alyson Stanfield. Through her online workshops, personal online coaching sessions, and in-person Master Mind Workshops hosted around the U.S., I honed my skills in presenting and discussing my work. An outgrowth of this program was founding an online community of like-minded peers engaged with the same program and forming a monthly online meeting to discuss and support our ongoing work as we all continued to evolve.
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When COVID hit, I was already comfortable with many new learning opportunities. Collaborative and community-driven discussions were the style of the workshops I took with Seth Godin on the Discourse platform. He introduced topics through recorded videos and posted questions. We posted our responses on the community boards, where we tagged each other, commented, asked questions, presented suggestions, and mentioned difficulties or successes we were encountering in our work. I have studied storytelling, creativity, and marketing geared toward nonprofits in these collaborative learning environments.
Could I have learned subjects independently without taking some of these courses since I already have so much experience? Sure! However, the diverse types of structured learning experiences and interactions with fellow learners have been invaluable. The learning opportunities are endless, whether through traditional classrooms, online courses, or a blend of both. Continuing to learn, grow, be open to new ideas, and study subjects I'm interested in changes me. It makes me more interesting. I have topics to talk with others about. I have suggestions to make and ideas to offer. It keeps me in the game. I'm taking Seth Godin's online course on Udemy, "This is Strategy." I suppose lifelong learning is my strategy.
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Online Class with Seth Godin (August 2020)
Image Courtesy: Mary Ahern |
PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS:
Awakenings in the Garden: An Artist's Journey
Women Helping Women: A Recipe for Success
A Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating My Lifelong Career in the Arts
My Dual Passions
Awakenings in the Garden: An Artist's Journey
Women Helping Women: A Recipe for Success
A Virtual Visitor Had Me Contemplating My Lifelong Career in the Arts
My Dual Passions
