In this episode of TAB Storytellers, Abi and Jen sit down with Emily Bawol, an art teacher, artist, and art therapist at A2 STEAM in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Emily shares how her path through discipline-based art education, art therapy, motherhood, Waldorf, Montessori, Reggio-inspired learning, and project-based education helped her recognize that she was already building a TAB studio before she had the language for it. Together, the trio explores the role of the art teacher in a TAB classroom, especially around idea generation, material exploration, autonomy, and helping young artists trust that their own ideas matter. Emily talks about creating a studio rooted in wonder, where students learn that they are the most important tool in the room, while still building the skills, habits, and confidence they need to bring their ideas to life.

For more information about TAB, please visit the TAB website: Teaching for Artistic Behavior. You are also invited to join us on Mighty Networks, an online platform dedicated to everything TAB.

Resources:

• Teaching for Artistic Behavior / TAB

• TAB Resources

• TAB Storytellers Podcast

• TAB Mighty Networks Community

• Emily Bawol / A2 STEAM Art & Design

• A2 STEAM Project-Based Learning

• American Art Therapy Association: About Art Therapy

• CASEL: Fundamentals of SEL

• Discipline-Based Art Education, Getty Virtual Library

• Waldorf Education, Association of Waldorf Schools of North America

• American Montessori Society: About Montessori

• North American Reggio Emilia Alliance

• PBLWorks: What Is Project Based Learning?

• Melissa Purtee: The Difference Between TAB and Choice and Why It Matters

• TAB Institute at MassArt

• Julie Toole, MassArt TAB Institute Faculty Profile

• TAB Storytellers S3E5: Meet Julie Toole

• Harvard Project Zero Thinking Routines

• Project Zero: See, Think, Wonder

• Studio Thinking Books and Resources

• Peter London, No More Secondhand Art, Internet Archive

• Seymour Simmons III: The Value of Drawing

Artists Mentioned:

• Jean-Michel Basquiat, official estate website

• Frida Kahlo Museum / Museo Frida Kahlo

• Mark Rothko, National Gallery of Art

• Pablo Picasso, National Gallery of Art

• Vincent van Gogh, Van Gogh Museum

Here is a link to the lightly edited transcript of this episode. We recognize that there are probably errors and grammatical issues. If anyone with the time or inclination to edit this wants to do so, please email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠.