Written by @loretosocorro.
Lorena Navarro began giving drawing lessons in 2019, although she studied Social Work.
"Since I was little I was always drawing, it was my way of escaping and a hobby, until one day a friend suggested that I teach. All I know is that because I loved drawing and I am constantly in search and training».
You are an online teacher but in your beginnings you started teaching face-to-face.
«During confinement I adapted to the situation and that required giving classes online. At present, they continue to be taught in this modality, and we have resumed face-to-face classes in this new course”.
Have online classes brought you new students?
"They have been an opportunity to reach people who did not know me before. I have students from the peninsula and other islands, which would otherwise be impossible to offer my services. I invest that time in teaching.”
How has this transition to “online” turned out?
"They often tell me that my classes are very similar to a face-to-face class but we had to adapt to the system, with some basic rules, such as asking for a turn to speak with a button.”
Do you learn more with virtual classes?
"No, no... you learn the same thing in person as online, but there are people who prefer face-to-face learning.”
So what do you value to form the class groups?
"I pay close attention to the student's maturity and that it fits in with the rest of my classmates and that they are comfortable, of course. For that reason I also offer the first class for free, so that you can try without commitment and see how you feel”
What is your methodology?
" Very practical. It is learning the techniques by drawing. I try to apply a lot what has served me. I use manga to motivate them but I give them technical topics such as anatomy, lights and shadows, color techniques, costumes, volumes, character creation, expressions... The topics are the same for everyone and what I do is adapt them to every child.”
What goals do you pursue with your classes?
"What I am looking for is that we all enjoy the classes and have a good time, but, if at any time, someone feels bad or feels frustrated, I want them to know that they have the right and permission to make mistakes or to draw what they are feeling and not the content of the class itself.”
Kind of like art therapy?
"Art is creativity and therapy too. I have a class called "Draw your emotions" to learn how to represent anger, joy... it gives a space to meditate and talk. I work all the classes with that other, more emotional dimension.”
How is the dynamic of your classes?
"I work with an annual schedule. I put several references that have to do with the topic that I touch, they draw on what has been explained and, in addition, I review the drawings they have made".
Do you mark tasks for the week?
"There is no “homework”, but they know that the more they draw the more they learn. It is a way of taking responsibility for your own learning process. If they do something they show it to me and we comment; they even make contributions among themselves«.
Why among themselves?
"I want them to learn to observe and analyze. Listening and valuing other people's opinions serves to create constructive criticism. The interventions are respectful and begin with "In my opinion", and each one decides what to stay with."
Do you require a minimum level?
"Why set a standard? The drawing made by the person with a high technical level is as good as the one made by another student who is slower or with a less polished finish. The value of each work, in the class, is that of having tried, of getting involved and of creating from their own being. Being brave and daring to express yourself is already a merit.”
What is the next step in your journey?
"I want to consolidate the classes for children and adolescents that I already have and in the near future give a course adapted to adults.”
What will those classes be like for adults?
"I intend that they be classes where they manage themselves and that my role is more focused on advice, clarifying doubts and giving corrections. Retaking the watercolor classes for adults seems exciting to me because at the time he had a group of this type and it was a great experience.”
What is your goal as a teacher?
"Enjoy together with the students, see how they grow, learn and progress. That fills me with energy and illusion.”
Any challenge?
"Well, every year I set myself new challenges and for this year I would like to resume some face-to-face class, but it does not depend on me alone, but on the circumstances.
The silence feeds our gaze towards Lorena's notebooks and we discover tonalities that live only when she opens her notebooks.
"Although I use digital to draw, I am more of a notebook”.
Each sheet takes advantage of it by filling it completely with dynamic drawings.
"Me likes to draw characters in everyday situations and other times of fantasy. Some characters are my own, I create them based on the role-playing games in which I also participate with my friends.”
What is the color of Lorraine?
"My color palette stems from spending a lot of time researching, seeing which ones I feel most comfortable with, and looking at the work of many artists I admire. It was difficult to define it. I got carried away by emotions. If the drawing is very powerful, I use oranges, reds… I also really like to use blues and greens, so that the result is strong and striking.”
How did you discover the Manga?
"In high school. It was for some friend of the few who had an internet connection. It was something very new. Of hundreds of people we liked four. It was the weird."
Who are your references?
"I like many illustrators like Glen Keane or other very popular ones like Gretlustky, Isledari, ItsLopez… There are also artists and mangaka that I admire like Hiromu Arakawa or Natsuki Takaya.”
What are mangaka?
"The person who draws comics in Japan, the so-called Manga.”
Why teach to draw "Manga"?
"Because it is fashionable, it motivates students a lot and because I am also passionate about it. If I enjoy it, that is also transferred when teaching the class.”
Why learn Manga?
"It is a very striking type of drawing, full of colors, powerful and expressive designs.”
Reading Manga, what does it bring?
"You can enjoy the stories and also the illustrations of very interesting characters with intense looks and strong expressions. They are new, fresh and creative stories, from superheroes to things that happen in real life, like the day to day of a high school or a camping trip."
What values does the manga provide?
"Some basics of Japanese culture such as teamwork, effort, loyalty, fellowship and honor. Protagonists often have strong values.”
Read from back to front...
"In Japan, manga are written from left to right and from top to bottom. Publishers, I think, have repeated this here because, on a marketing level, it's very original and reminiscent of what the Japanese actually do."
Have you been to Japan?
"Yes, in 2018 I was twenty days. It was a great experience …-su look is smile-…beautiful, it is a beautiful country… It is true that there are many clichés, that they do seem like they are all very polite, very clean and tidy, but then it turns out that they are not as cold as I had heard.
With this dreamy moment remembering Japan we say goodbye to Lorena. We are sure that she finds what she is looking for in her classes: to motivate and that the girls, boys and young people who learn with her feel fulfilled, between papyrus, colored pencils, watercolors and crayons. This is called humanizing learning.
