Learning Curve

Author: Stephanie Uttro

The past few months working in ArtistCorps has been a deep lesson in patience and the value of communication. There has been a degree of uncertainty that have required all of us as individual members to stay on our toes, which can be difficult because we are all working at a learning curve. The frustration of pushing myself to learn new skills hasn't been the most comfortable adjustment for me, on a personal and professional level. Right when it feels like I'm falling into a flow, there are more adjustments being thrown my way.

I can say that I've enjoyed learning from my co-artists in terms of their skill sets, knowledge base, and work ethic. I'm lucky to say I've gotten to work with an inspiring, diverse set of people who have shown me new ways to strengthen myself, and hopefully I've done the same for them. It's important for me to feel like I am contributing to the group in a meaningful way, which has felt hard to do over the past few months because I'm constantly asking for guidance and leaning on others to help me sharpen my skills, but one thing I do feel like I bring to the table is my comfort in the teaching environment interacting with the kids. The best part of my experience in ArtistCorps so far as definitely been working with the students, knowing that I'm helping them learn new things that may be challenging, exciting, and influential in ways they may not recognize in the present moment. Overall, I feel that is my most meaningful contribution to this process. This experience is showing me how communication can bridge a lot of gaps.