Andi Saturn (they/them) is a multidisciplinary teaching artist with a lifelong love of learning and a passion for collaborating.
As a neurodiverse artist and recovering perfectionist, the most important thing their craft has taught them is to accept that frustration and disappointment are integral parts of the creative process. A central pillar of their teaching philosophy encourages students to build resiliency to the emotional ebb and flow of creative exploration by acknowledging difficult moments as an inherent part of the experience and working together to find pathways through them.
Andi’s personal artistic practice deepens their teaching work by exploring the intersection of creative drive, cycles (seasonal, cultural, personal, etc), and the joy/fear of impermanence. That is to say, the practice of finding and returning to center in a world that is constantly changing.
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I never expected to be a teacher or an artist. But, when I completed my Bachelors in Theater in spring 2020 with no stage in sight, I adjusted course. After a year spent as a children’s librarian and substitute teacher building my crafting skills and teaching experience, I moved to New England in 2022 and began my career in OST (out of school time).
During my years in after-school programming I’ve created dozens of enrichment courses designed to give students fun, hands-on learning experiences. I’ve also had the opportunity to develop and coordinate a summer camp program designed around connecting 5th-9th graders to their community through daily field trips to organizations around Southern Maine like grocery stores, metro services, theaters, and more!
Outside of after school care, I’ve worked on and off as an aerial dance instructor for over 7 years, collaborating with Apparatus Dance Theater and the Maine Youth Circus.
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My approach to teaching is based in community connection and a belief that children deserve non-judgmental learning environments and unconditional positive regard.
I like to joke that my classes are social-emotional learning dressed up as art, but really they’re one and the same. Art is a powerful tool for building emotional resiliency. It provides ample opportunities to grow, experiment, and create, as well as to “fail”.
My classes encourage trying and don’t shy away from the reality of failure. Frustration, disappointment, and regret are feelings we have to deal with every day, and my classes provide a safe and supportive space to sit with those feelings and eventually find a way through them. Whether that means trying again, starting over, or moving onto something new entirely, now is the time to build pathways to adaptability that will serve them for the rest of their lives.