In this blog post series, you’ll learn more about Snow City Arts’ incredible Teaching Artists! Every weekday, our TAs deliver arts education to children and young adults in inpatient and outpatient pediatric units at our partner hospitals. Through in-person and virtual workshops in creative writing, media arts, music, theatre, dance and visual arts, they actively engage young patients, transforming hospital rooms into arts studios.
We are so proud of their amazing, tireless work, and we hope that you get to know more about them in these interviews conducted by our 2022 Kellogg Board Fellow, Dana Faith Levin.
Gabe Andres is a Miami-born, Chicago-dwelling illustrator, painter, draftsman, and teacher. He brings visual and media arts workshops to SCA students at Lurie Children’s Hospital and Cook County Health (CCH). Gabe also is this year’s Kurcz Fund awardee, and with his funding, he’s building a portable multimedia hub at Lurie so that students can experiment with 3D printing, sound mixing, animation, and more. See more of Gabe’s work.
Snow City Arts: Is there an art medium you prefer or enjoy working with the most?
Gabe: There’s no specific medium I most prefer. I love chasing learning curves — I have mastery in drawing and painting, but right now I am totally immersed in digital art. I have a ritual where I draw Jackie Chan every day — he was the first person whose likeness I tried to draw when I was a child. Some days, I make an animation; other days, a one-minute drawing on a napkin. At this point, I have about 190 drawings. I want to get to 365 and then exhibit the art.
“Jackie Chan #156,” by Gabe Andres.
Who or what are your biggest influences?
Currently, my biggest influences are creators who delve into multiple mediums: Nick Cave, who currently has an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, does anything and everything; the same with Donald Glover, in the context of media. These are people who try different things and take risks. I am too pragmatic to be too daring, so admiring them is my way of paying homage to their risk taking. I also am influenced by animation studios and the work they do.
What does your artwork focus on?
Currently, my artwork focuses on animation and storyboarding. I’m working on an autobiographical film reel right now.
A screengrab of one of Gabe’s storyboards from his 2022 Art Party, “Collaborative Comics.” Participate in this recorded art party.
What is the hardest part of being an artist?
The hardest part about being an artist is that the world is hard! I don’t call myself an artist because there is still an air of exclusivity with the notion of being an artist. But art is different for everyone, and once the art world and the wider world appreciate that, and the barrier to the art world breaks down, then I will call myself an artist.
What have you learned so far working at Snow City Arts?
It’s hard to be in a hospital, especially as a non-medical element in the hospital, but once you walk into a student’s room, you’re in their space and there can be rapid transition from “Who is this?” to building friendship, which is really wonderful. The other thing I hear, and it’s true, is that you need to be infinitely flexible, and importantly, respect a student in all facets of your interaction.
What have you learned from the students you’ve taught?
Always ask what they want to do! And if “anything” is too vast, I start making weird suggestions, because there are enough people offering to color with them or do puzzles. I sometimes tell students “I’m an animator,” and ask if they want to make a cartoon or music video. Other times, I tell students “I’m a fabricator,” and make 3D models and ask if they want to design and print something. I try to use buzz words with the students, because that helps engage them and get them excited.
“Untitled,” by Litzy, age 18: a digital drawing created during one of Gabe’s workshops.
What is your teaching philosophy, or how would you describe your teaching style?
I am a giant child, and I want to let my students know that I’ve watched that cartoon they’ve seen, which is part of my main objective of getting the student to know I care about them, and I want them to know that as fast as possible. I want us to teach and learn from each other, breaking and building things along the way. In a sense, we’re looking for balance.
How do you come up with art projects for your students?
From the media around me, watching animation or music videos — that’s where this technique of rotoscoping came from. One student loved two very different forms of media, so we found a way to combine them. The students lead the way.
“Triple Axel,” by Victoria, age 10: a rotoscoping animation created during one of Gabe’s workshops.
Want to further support our Teaching Artists and the work they do? Donate to the Katie Kurcz Memorial Fund, which enables our TAs to intentionally reach outside of the hospital environment and across disciplines to pursue learning and collaborative projects that enhance their artistic practice AND impact their work with SCA students.
You can also read all our Teaching Artists’ biographies on our Staff page, or experience one of our TA-hosted virtual Art Parties over on our YouTube channel!
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