Creating A Classroom Climate Condusive To Art

What makes an artist? Who are artists? Does everyone have "an inner artist" waiting to be discovered? I don't think these questions matter in the context of art education. I look upon art education as I do any other subject. Throughout grade school and high school I had to take required physical education courses. Never in my school experience did a PE teacher say, "well, only one of you students is potential Olympic material". A child did not have to be an athlete to meet the requirements of PE and health classes. Not to mention, I remember substitute PE teachers who were less than athletic themselves, following the lesson plan to instruct us to run around the gym and do various exercises. No harm was done, and benefit was gained. However, I have observed students with natural artistic ability being separated from their classmates with comments like, "he can draw", "she has a natural color sense", etc., etc., etc., I think that these types of comments place a barrier in the less naturally gifted art students to hearing what the art lesson is about, and give the naturally artistic students the impression that they can just breeze through the lesson without challenging themselves. The first step in presenting a successful art lesson is to intentionally create, by word and action, an emotionally neutral safe environment in which children of all degrees of natural ability can be open and curious to what is being presented.