Josh Compton

I am heading into my 6th year of teaching art at a small Ohio district.

As far back as I can remember, I was always making some kind of art. When I was in kindergarten, I would write and illustrate little adventure stories, sometimes using superheroes like Spider-Man and Batman, sometimes using invented characters and worlds. As I got older, my drawings and artwork continued to reflect the things that interested me. In elementary school, it was Ninja Turtles. As I entered middle school, it was sports heroes. As I reached high school, it was Star Wars. And as I moved into my college years and beyond, it became even more personal. I began using art to explore the places I grew up, and the places my family grew up. That to me, is art’s greatest purpose…to give us a canvas to explore the things we love. And as someone who has been studying and learning about art for many years, there’s one thing that I have come to believe wholeheartedly, and it’s that everyone can do it. Everyone can make art in some form or other, and make it about the things they care about. Sometimes it’s as simple as Ninja Turtles. Sometimes it’s as complex as our beliefs or the places we come from.