Capturing Creativity

“There’s no such thing as a bad artist,” says art teacher Ian Wiskoff. “Everyone’s vision is unique.”

The educator, who gained attention for integrating his drawing skills with teaching civics at Boca Raton Community Middle School, transitioned to teaching art when West Boynton Middle School opened last year. He continues to awaken creativity in his students and equip them with the tools needed to improve their technical skills and critical thinking in his elective studio art classes. Teaching students to focus and follow through on projects allows them to realize their capabilities and often leads to growth in other aspects of their lives, he says.

The ability to draw comes with practice, Wiskoff says. “If you love something enough, you’ll keep doing it. Everyone can draw if they put their mind to it.”

The freelance artist, illustrator and graphic designer says his earliest memory was drawing something inspired by seeing the first “Star Wars” movie. “I was five years old, and I never stopped. It became a passion from day one. I knew somehow that was going to be the direction of my life someday.”

The Brooklyn, N.Y. native has lived in Florida for 20 years. He lives in Boynton Beach with his wife, Emily, and two daughters, Sofia, 19, and Zoe, 16. A history buff, Wiskoff, 52, served in the U.S. Army infantry from 1997 to 2001, both to find himself and to honor his grandfather’s service during World War II. After the graphic design company he worked for in South Beach was bought out, he decided to give teaching a try. “Here I am seven years later, teaching art, which is what I wanted to do from the beginning.”

Although the state dictates curriculum, “I can jazz it [up]. How I teach it is up to me,” he says. “I teach students like I learned in art school, adjusted for their age. I make it feel like they are in a real art studio.”

With rubric-based assessments, students can let their creativity flow without pressures of testing. “It’s a release valve for them,” says Wiskoff. “It all goes back to letting them see you can do anything you want as long as you put in the effort, and I am here to help them out.”

Even outside the classrom, Wiskoff loves to doodle in his spare time. “It becomes a way to calm myself internally. It’s meditative.”