This year, I am proud to say is my 10th year as a teacher.  I've had an interesting path to where I am today so I wanted to look back and reminisce a little.
  My earliest experience in teaching actually goes back to being a teaching assistant for a cartoonist when I was in high school.  I had already started painting, but I also loved drawing cartoons so my high school art teacher recommended me for this after-school teacher's assistant job.  It was a class at our local library and I was so young, but I remember the nice feeling of being in a classroom and helping these young students with their drawings.
  Later on, in college, there were a few younger students who asked me to critique their work for them.  I was probably a 3rd or 4th year at this point and I had spent countless hours in the library studying about painting, methods and materials.  I learned that many of the artists whom I admired had also been teachers.  I felt honored to critique their work and it gave me a deep joy which I would rediscover a few years later.
 After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, I entered the world in 2014 with some hesitation.  I knew what I loved, but I wasn't sure of how to apply that as a practical career.  I think for many artists, this transition isn't easy.  College is sort of a bubble which I think is  necessary in order to concentrate, but it can lead to a certain impractical and unrealistic viewpoint.  I lived off-campus and I worked two different jobs, but I was still unsure of how I would live beyond college... Not to mention the bigger question of  how to "make it" as an artist.
  What I wish someone had told me was of the importance of real connections and networking.  I didn't realize that becoming a good painter was only part of the battle.  The other (probably more important) part is the ability to connect on a personal level with others.  More about this in a bit..
  So, back to young Eric and his confusion upon entering the world.  I had started writing articles and sharing information here on this blog--Articles about painting, techniques, art history, and some more philosophical topics.  I've always liked writing and sharing my ideas so this was an unmotivated act of enjoyment.
  The networking came in when my Mom became friendly with a coworker and her spouse; they both were Professors at Bergen Community College.  My Mom is my best friend and always my biggest supporter, so she inquired to her new friends about getting her son (me) to start teaching. (Thank you Mom!)
  Meanwhile, I was doing clerical work at an art gallery in NYC, but it wasn't creative in anyway and I could feel my soul shriveling up inside.  I was doing some commissions, but it wasn't steady and I was beginning to feel uneasy.  It's funny to think back as I asked myself, "Would this whole thing work out?".  Little did I know, my Mom's new friends were checking out my blog and they felt that I could be a good teacher.  They commissioned me to do a painting and we all became friends.
  I got an interview to teach at Bergen (with the assistance of my new guardian angels) and eventually was offered an Adjunct Professor position in 2015.  My class was an Art 101 course which was mostly art history with some philosophy and culture as well.  As I mentioned, I've always enjoyed sharing ideas via discussion so the classroom felt like a second home.  I kept learning how to lecture and it just felt right.  It felt like, "this is what I'm meant to do".
  Since then, I've taught younger children (5-8 years old), middle schoolers, high schoolers and adults.  I've had hundreds of students and I've loved teaching all of them.  Now, I am really focusing on workshops, but I still enjoy lecturing in art history also. (Look out for my upcoming lectures at the Mahwah Public Library during the spring and summer)
​   I taught for many years at the Ridgewood Community School which gave me great experience in teaching studio art for all skill levels.  I taught beginner watercolor and drawing and then advanced levels also.  I really loved teaching there and their staff and my students were wonderful. (I miss you guys!)
  As a teacher, I am also continually learning.  It's important for me to make new discoveries and to find inspiration in my own work in order to share it with my students.  For me, one of the best ways to find this inspiration is to travel.  I lived at Claude Monet's estate for 3 months in 2023 and then I was in Italy for 2 months in 2024 to finish my Master's Degree.  Now, I'm excited to be teaching some 2025 spring travel workshops across the UK and Europe!
  And my current project, which I am very excited about, is to host an instructional painting and travel program on American Public Television (APT).  My show is titled, Eric En Plein Air™ and will be all about the practice and joys of painting in nature.  I've been working hard to put together my concepts and vision and I owe so much to my friend and mentor, J Schwanke.  I can't wait to share more soon!
  Looking back, the last 10 years has had a lot of twists and turns.  I never could have predicted where I am now, but I am always thankful to everyone who has supported me and been a part of this journey.  I can't wait to see what's next!
 For more information about my teaching, check out my TEACHING PAGE.  

  I was very surprised and excited when my calligraphy teacher, Ms. Denri Takai, texted me to check out Shukan New York Seikatsu (a free weekly newspaper).  I went over to Jmart in Ridgewood to pick up a copy and turned to page 14 to find my own calligraphy!  
  It's part of a calligraphy contest, but I'm not sure about what it says since I cannot read Japanese; my sensei is currently in Japan so I will ask her about translating it when she returns.
  I showed the owner at Jmart and she was very impressed and surprised that I did that.  I told her that I'm a painter, but this is my first time studying shodo.  Jmart has great food, snacks, sushi and other Japanese items so if you're around northern NJ, check them out!

​This paper is available online also:
 https://nyseikatsu.com/editions/988/988.pdf

  Tonight was my last lesson of shodo (Japanese calligraphy) and my final project was a kanji postcard.  I chose the kanji: 園 which means "Garden".
  I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to study this traditional art form with a true master, Ms. Denri Takai.  It's so important to keep these practices alive and to study them directly.
  For me, I loved learning about how to use the brush by watching Denri.  As a teacher myself, I try my best to put it into works, but I've found that a lot of painting is beyond words.  Taking a class in person allowed me to watch Denri and for her to guide my hand as I practiced.  This artform is very deep (philosophically and technically) and I have a whole new appreciation for the craft of it.  I wonder if it's really possible to make a "perfect" stroke with the brush?  Maybe, but I still believe that perfection is an illusion.
  Also, to be a student again was like a breath of fresh air.  It actually felt great to be a frustrated beginner!  And I feel like this way of painting will have an impact on my own work, especially my watercolors.  The power and directness of a single brushstroke will resonate in any form of painting.
  I hope to motivate everyone out there to try something new and to take a class to support teachers.  Not just art, but language, writing, sports--It could be anything!  Personally, I would love to take a pottery wheel course sometime in the near future also...
  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there!

  Over the last few weeks, I've been enjoying a Japanese calligraphy (shodo) course taught by Ms. Denri Takai.  The course covers the materials and methods to write with a brush and ink.  Readers of my blog know that I've had a long fascination with Japan so this is something that I'm very interested in from both a cultural and aesthetic point of view.
  Like many things, it looks so simple on the outside.  And my teacher makes it look effortless (she has been doing it since childhood and is the descendant of Dengo Takai who is a calligrapher from the 1860s).  Trying it myself, I can say the challenges seem endless.  The movement and shape of the brush, the consistency of the ink, the spacing of the strokes and characters are all separate challenges.
  Other factors come into place also such as posture and my mental state.  There's no going back once the brush touches the paper so it can be intimidating.  I'm still a total novice at this, but I've already realized the depth of these challenges.  After class, I feel pretty tired because of the concentration required.  But it's still a lot of fun and the course integrates other aspects of Japanese culture and language.
  Many of these principles also apply to watercolor painting so I've been thinking about how watercolor and shodo correlate.  Brush control is really the ultimate goal for any form of painting, but the only way to achieve that is with lots of practice.  The confidence that my teacher has is a result of training and practice, practice, practice.  I feel like students sometimes try to bypass this fact by asking, "what is the secret?"
  I'm learning a lot with this course and I'll keep studying it on my own after the course.  It's really a never-ending journey and the spiritual and artistic crossover is fascinating to me.