Rachel Breen talks about her adapted teaching style and passion for art.

By Elisha Johnson
Marketing & Web Editor

If you had asked me how I felt about drawing and painting last summer, I would have told you I was not looking forward to it. That all changed within a few short weeks of Rachel Breen’s Drawing One class, a requirement for my A.S. degree. Now in my second class with Breen, I was curious to learn more about her.

When I walked into Breen’s office to interview her she smiled warmly and welcomed me to have a seat. Once intimidating to me, I’d come to know that despite her take charge personality, she really is a kind-hearted and passionate person who loves to share art with her students. I was able to learn about many important things she has going on.

Issues of social justice are really important to Breen. Last year, when she was on sabbatical, she traveled many amazing places; one of them was Bangladesh. A current project she is working on called “The Price of Our Clothes” is about garment workers there.

In 2013, 1,127 people died when the Rana Plaza factory collapsed. Referring to the collapse, Breen said that she feels an affinity to the garment workers because a lot of her artwork is made with a sewing machine.

The Rana Plaza factory manufactured apparel for well-known brands such as Children’s Place and Walmart. The four upper floors had been built without a permit. More than half of the lives lost were those of women, as well as many children who were in nursery facilities in the building.

Breen once asked the workers, “If you could talk to the people who are wearing the clothes that you’re sewing what would you say?” Many of the workers answered, “Don’t boycott our clothes.”

Breen said that seemed like an easy thing for us to do, just stop shopping at the one place and go somewhere else, but that’s not a solution and doesn’t improve their working conditions. Breen urges us to think about the people who hold our clothes in their hands and push it through a sewing machine, before we wear it on our bodies.

“We have to find a way to let the producers of clothes know that we are willing to pay a few extra dollars,” Breen said.

On her sabbatical, Breen researched a new form of public art, which she describes as “a public education/art community engagement project.” She received a grant that she will be using this spring for a program regarding this art style where one day each week for four weeks there will be a different artist. Students and faculty will be able to engage with these artists and find out information from them.

Breen has been teaching for about seven years at ARCC, and she tries to use a lot of different teaching approaches to drawing and painting so students have many tools for learning. She tries to be very open about assignments and break each one down into very specific concepts while leaving freedom around those concepts.

Being a teacher comes with many challenges. Breen aspires to adapt her teaching style so everyone feels comfortable. She attempts to be tuned into how her students are feeling, but she still wants to break them out a bit. After all, growing and coming out of one’s shell is part of the college experience.

Knowing that Breen was a nontraditional student when she decided to go to graduate school, and being a nontraditional student myself, I was curious to learn what that experience was like for her. She said going back for her MFA at the age of 42 was “a very humbling experience, but in a good way.” Breen said it was weird being around so many younger students who knew more.

Everyone has things that holds them back, it’s getting past that line of thinking that helps you get places. This held true for Breen when she said her notions of “good art” were very narrow. It wasn’t until later that her understanding of art started to expand and she felt her work fit into the “good art” category.

Advice she has for students who are majoring in art is to not throw any of their work away, even if they don’t like something. She wants all students to be open to learning, be willing to take risks, let go of the fear of making mistakes, and stop trying to make each and every assignment your masterpiece.

“That’s where the really great stuff happens, that’s where light bulbs go off. That is where you go over that edge of where you think you’re supposed to go in creating a piece of work,” said Breen.

I also asked about her knowledge of a website called Rate My Professor. Breen said she is sure most professors are aware of it, but the majority likely take it with a grain of salt.

“It’s an easy place for a disgruntled student to go,” said Breen.

Breen said it’s an awful way to choose a professor based on the ratings and comments.

Advice Breen has given her own son, who is currently a college student, is talk to other students about professors they’ve liked to get a better idea of what you might enjoy.

“So much of a class is what you put into the class,” said Breen.

Lastly, I asked Breen if a student could choose any art class to take, which one she would recommend. A guilty grin came across her face and her eyes twinkled as she said she was going to be biased and suggest drawing because it is very foundational.

Breen said, “Drawing is about seeing; if you learn how to see better it will improve any other art class you take.”

Breen also said that students who feel nervous about their lack of skills could also start with 2D Design.

“Any beginning art class that we teach here is set up to allow anybody with no experience to come into the class, learn a lot about art, be really successful, and feel good about what they learned,” said Breen.

Taking a class that may be out of your comfort zone can be intimidating like it was for me, but I can testify that Breen’s dedicated teaching style and eagerness for sharing her love of art with her students will make them feel at ease and excited to see what a semester in her classroom can bring.