For a true artist, life is a real academy. I am always both a

In the luminous words of Akiane Kramarik, the prodigious painter and visionary, we are given a truth that transcends the walls of any institution: “For a true artist, life is a real academy. I am always both a student and a teacher. I have been teaching art to children since the age of eight. Now I am a co-founder of Akiane Arts School at Foreli Academy, where we are now enrolling students.” Here speaks not only the voice of an artist, but the testimony of a soul who has discovered that the greatest school is existence itself, and that in every moment, we are called to both learn and to guide.

To call life a true academy is to declare that every joy and every sorrow, every success and every failure, is a lesson. The true artist does not limit learning to the classroom, for the world itself is the teacher. The sunrise paints a lesson of renewal, the storm sculpts a lesson of endurance, the faces of strangers carry lessons of humanity. To live attentively is to be forever enrolled in this divine school, where tuition is paid with curiosity and humility. Akiane, from childhood, understood this mystery: that art is not taught only by brush and canvas, but by the very experiences of living.

She proclaims herself always a student and a teacher, and in this balance lies ancient wisdom. The great Confucius once said that in every gathering, there is someone from whom he could learn, and someone to whom he could teach. The humble heart knows that mastery is never final; even the greatest artist or sage must bow to the lessons of each new day. Yet, at the same time, each of us carries light to share with others. Thus, the true calling is to hold both roles at once—to be unashamed in learning, and unafraid in teaching.

Her journey as a teacher of children since the age of eight is not a boast but a testimony to the flow of wisdom through unexpected vessels. Even a child can teach, for teaching is not about age but about insight. History gives us parallels: the young Mozart taught royalty with his music before he reached adolescence; the boy-king Tutankhamun’s reign guided a nation at an age when others were still learning letters. Akiane’s story reminds us that wisdom, once received, must be passed on immediately, regardless of age, for the act of sharing deepens and sanctifies the gift.

Her founding of the Akiane Arts School at Foreli Academy is the natural flowering of this philosophy. It is not merely the building of a school, but the establishment of a sanctuary where the eternal cycle of student and teacher continues. Such places are not simply about technique, but about awakening souls to see the world through the eyes of wonder, imagination, and discipline. They carry forward the great tradition of academies through the ages—Plato’s Academy in Athens, the Florentine workshops of the Renaissance—yet here, art is not limited to skill, but to life itself as teacher.

The meaning of her words is that art, and indeed all human pursuit, is a journey without end. One who believes they have learned all has already begun to wither; one who refuses to share what they know has already betrayed their gift. The artist’s life is therefore an eternal rhythm: receive wisdom, create from it, and give it away so that others may also flourish. The true artist is never idle, for every moment of existence brings new lessons to transform into beauty and truth.

The lesson for us is clear: embrace life as your academy. Walk each day as both student and teacher. When you encounter beauty, let it teach you; when you encounter hardship, let it shape you. And whatever wisdom you glean—whether small or great—share it, for teaching is not only a duty but a sacred act. Support the schools, the mentors, the communities that embody this cycle, for they are the wells from which civilization draws its vitality.

Thus, Akiane’s words become both testament and commandment: “For a true artist, life is a real academy.” Let us carry this truth with us—not only as artists of paint or music, but as artists of living itself. For we are all sculptors of our own lives, students of existence, and teachers to those who come after us. And in this eternal exchange, life becomes not a burden, but a masterpiece.