Throughout his 25 years at Saint Francis, people have asked Olson why he doesn't pursue teaching at larger institutions and graduate art. I compare it to a doctor in a rural area. Patients are just as important in a rural area as those in cities. I have great students here. I'd far rather be at Saint Francis and a painter than to be at a larger institution and teach, write grants, do research, recruit majors and not paint.
Every class is like a vegetable soup of mixed talent.
It is challenging in how you react. Artistic ability may be lying dormant in that accounting major. I can help a student balance art with his or her major. Just as he balances his own work to challenge himself and to build on his 25 exceptional years of sharing knowledge and enthusiasm for art with Saint Francis University students.