18. Living our Passions at Work and Prioritizing the Arts with Benjamin Oswald

Benjamin Oswald is both a teacher and a talented artist. Benjamin received his master’s in education from the University of Alberta and a master’s of fine arts at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. His beautiful sculptures and ceramic pieces have won both provincial and international awards; he was a recipient of the Robert Weghsteen Memorial Award in ceramics. In this conversation, Dana Fulwiler Volk and Elizabeth Tingle talk with Benjamin about his teaching career path from Physics teacher to a Ceramics teacher and artist, all while developing more as a teacher and raising a family. We discuss the connection with the arts and our own wellbeing and some ideas on how to develop our own personal art practice. Benjamin shares a special thank you to the colleague that supported him in his inspiring journey.

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Show Notes

• Connect with Ben and his work on his website or on his Instagram

• Kintsugi: free article explaining this Japanese art form and philosophy. For a deeper-dive, check out this book: Kintsugi: The Japanese Art of Embracing the Imperfect and Loving Your Flaws

• Flow: free article explaining the 8 Traits of Flow According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. For a deeper-dive into this concept, check out his book: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

• Maurice Merleau-Ponty embodiment work in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy