Hi! My name is Dr. Blake E. Smith, and I am the creator of this teaching blog. I am the previous instructor for EDCP 408, 405, 302, and other courses at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy and Teacher Education. As of 2021-22, I am now an Assistant Professor in Residence at RISD in the Department of Teaching + Learning in Art + Design teaching art education courses to graduate students.

This is my teaching and resource blog, intended for anyone seeking inspiration and new content for teaching, art, research, etc. as well as anyone in grad school, art and education, or any field worldwide wanting to learn, share, and connect. It includes an ongoing and active collection of resources for artists, teachers, students, colleagues, researchers, writers, curators, DIYers, and creatives of any style or genre – see the ”teaching resources’ and ‘for inspiration’ tabs. Feel free to send me new suggestions or comment below! Email me at blakesmith.ubc@gmail.com if you are seeking a community to connect with or want to connect on IG (see below).

A bit about me: I earned my PhD in Curriculum Studies in Art Education in December of 2020. The title of my dissertation is: Being Against Disappearance: A Photographic Inquiry Through an A/r/tographic Lens (2020). A link to my dissertation (downloadable) can be found here: https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0395390

For a summary of my academic and artistic accomplishments, please email me for a copy of my updated CV.

You can follow one thread of my dissertation project and other creative endeavors on Instagram under #thevisualmemoirproject on my IG page @blakesmithcreative. My current arts-based research interests are interdisciplinary, with a multifaceted focus on memory and memoir, loss, photography and pedagogy, ethics, creative writing, visual journals, and art teacher education. My supervisor was Dr. Rita Irwin, and I was supported by committee members Dr. Karen Meyer and Dr. Kedrick James. Dr. Carl Leggo and Dr. Don Krug were previous beloved committee members who are dearly missed.

In 2018, I published a book chapter with Palgrave Pivot on the flaneur in educational research, based on a series of my images. Prior, in 2015, I published The Visual Memoir Project: Searching For An Art of Memory (Marilyn Zurmuehlen Working Papers In Art Education, Vol 2015, Issue 1, Article 7 – also see the Mentor’s Introduction by Dr. Dónal O’Donoghue). Also in print is my piece entitled What Remains: Photography and the Poetics of Loss (Visual Inquiry: Learning and Teaching Art, 3(2), 2014). 

From 2011 to 2019, I worked in UBC Teacher Education as an instructor and Faculty Advisor in Secondary Visual Art Education.

Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, USA, my background is rooted in the arts, teaching, and travel. I am passionate about creativity, cultivating one’s passions, collecting & upcycling, and using art and writing as tools for self-reliance, creative expression, therapy, artistic inquiry, and personal growth. Before starting my PhD, career-wise I spent 10 years in the States teaching art: 7 as a high school photography and art teacher, 1 as an elementary art teacher K-3, and 2 years teaching with ASU’s Herberger College for Kids and At Large. which further enlivened my love for art education. I have also done some community art work in Vancouver at The Kettle in the form of volunteer art workshops. I was notably inspired by my college photography professor, Michelle Van Parys, at the College of Charleston, SC among many amazing teachers over the years. In 2008, I completed my Master of Arts in Art Education at Arizona State University under the tutelage of my mentor, Dr. Bernard Young. My Master’s thesis is entitled Art for Social Action and Awareness and is available online here.

At UBC, I was the first Faculty of Education (EDCP) student to be selected as a Liu Scholar at UBC’s Liu Institute for Global Issues. In 2018, I stepped down as a volunteer art curator after 4 years of academic service at UBC’s Liu Institute’s interdisciplinary Lobby Gallery. From 2013-2015, I was the Graduate Research Assistant for the UBC Dadaab Secondary Education Project and team as part of BHER (Borderless Higher Education for Refugees), which brings higher education and teacher training to one of the world’s largest protracted refugee camps. Visiting the Dadaab Refugee Camps (located in northeast Kenya) with the UBC team in 2014 was a life-changing educational experience for me, and I remains grateful for that unforgettable opportunity. I designed one version of the team’s website: http://dadaab.educ.ubc.ca.

All of this journey has led me back to college teaching this year at a design school (RISD), which I am beyond thrilled about. Being back in the classroom and training artists and teachers is my passion, so I hope to give back all that has been given to me in terms of mentorship, opportunities, and encouragement – because it makes ALL the difference.

 

Enjoy the site!

 

 

In a rare moment of not being behind the camera, Blake’s father took the above photograph atop Stone Mountain in Georgia in the summer of 2015.