FiND iT FREDERiCK Magazine Spring 2017 | Page 73

communicating and speaking the same creative language. That’s what I want my creative community to be; making art together and sharing inspiration with each other in a creative way. WHAT’S YOUR BACKGROUND AS AN ARTIST? I’ve been drawing as long as I can remember. It has always been my passion and my emotional outlet, but sometimes it got me into trouble, like when I drew constantly during class. It was a bit of a gift and a curse. So consequently, I had to separate my artistic life from my academic life. Over time I drew less and less as I got into other things—like wrestling in high school and college. Drawing took a backseat for a little while, but I started picking up other creative skills like video editing, music production, web programming and graphic design to fill that void. I currently work full time as a graphic designer for the Montgomery County Government. Creative Cricket is sort of my way to give back to my community and help encourage young artists like me. WHAT DO I HOPE YOUR VIDEOS WILL DO FOR STUDENTS? For kids like me, it would be cool to have a way to draw AND listen to the teacher at the same time! So, I hope Creative Cricket keeps young artists drawing, and offers teachers an engaging, creative tool to help reinforce topics they teach in school. I want kids to know that drawing is special, and practicing often uniquely prepares them for real-world skills/professions. There are lots of different types of artists and creators that started off being intrigued by drawing. I also want to help with kids who say “I can’t draw”—because they can—and this might prevent some kids/adults from being turned off to art and perhaps open the door to new possibilities. WHAT’S IN TH E FUTURE FOR CREATIVE CRICKET? I want Creative Cricket to be a widespread tool used to supplement classroom learning. With the S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) approach gaining traction in schools, my art lessons can be integrated into a curriculum and can be perfect to introduce or reinforce topics, serve as homework projects, indoor recess activities or even summer break extended learning. It’s also a useful resource for homeschoolers, parents and other educators. My plan is to eventually have my kids join me on camera (for some videos) to draw their favorite characters while reinforcing lessons they learn in school. But, I don’t think we will stop at drawing, I foresee Creative Cricket turning into a channel that includes painting, crafts, Lego building, Play-Doh sculpting, music creation, and lots more topics—all the while instilling educational concepts into each lesson. Someday I would love visiting with students in the classroom, at community events, while continuing to grow a strong creative community online. ANYTHING ELSE I THINK READERS MIGHT WANT TO KNOW? Creative Cricket has become my new passion. I never thought it would become what it is now, but it is continuing to grow into something much bigger than I ever imagined. I love creating it, sharing it with kids and providing valuable tools for students/teachers/artists around the world. It would be a dream come true to someday be able to create these videos for a living. Sean’s YouTube channel (YouTube.com/channel/UCXt1ZUmynCyxhezSfDuUsKw) and website provide all of his art lessons for free! If you would like to support the arts in a hyper-local way, you can contribute to Sean’s mission at Patreon (Patreon.com/creativecricket). Your donation will help support every art lesson and help reach more young artists in the making.