88. Resilience, empathy, and joy with art educator Pete Young
“The joy I have now … [is] being able to foster young talent, to work with students and really hear them, see where they're at, and watch them grow."
Peterson (Pete) Young is an artist and art educator here in Vancouver. After moving to Canada from Taiwan and graduating from OCAD, Pete opened his own studio to support young artists in applying to art schools.
The more we spoke, the more I saw an interesting overlap with my own work in guidance counselling: I help students find their voice through personal statements, whereas he helps students find their voice through visual art. I wanted to learn more from Pete about his perspectives on art and education.
Here is our interview, lightly edited for concision and clarity. We touch on how Pete applies his industrial design background to art education; how to cultivate agency in the age of AI; and Pete’s stories of incredible student growth.
Rachel: Hi Pete! How are you today?
Pete: Hey Rachel, the usual response would be I’m doing well. But I’m not going to give you the usual response since your audience is looking for something more! I love to engage the world as an open book. Tapping into my vulnerability and sharing some of my innermost feelings is one of the greatest strengths for genuine human to human connection.
So, with that—it has been a tough stretch of three years. As a business owner, educator, husband, and now father to a son. It feels like I’m drowning in responsibility at times. Crests of waves hitting me and pulling me down. I definitely suffered from a burnout late last year. So I decided to change things. I wrote a plan this year: to be the ‘Consummate Man’. That I can turn things around, and I should be VERY optimistic, because the greatest change comes from within. I need to plant seeds of growth and positivity, and not water the seeds of fear and doubt.
So, spiritually, I’m doing incredibly well. I’ve grown in my faith, closer to God than I have ever been. Not saying that it’s easy, it’s been insanely hard. But I see it as God is giving me these seemingly insurmountable challenges so he can promote me to greater heights and revelations. Without fear, there’s no courage. In short, I’m trying to find joy that’s independent of my circumstances through my faith.
I have a suspicion that contrary to what the world teaches us, the greatest joy doesn’t come from the number of zeros in your bank account, your status, your popularity, but it comes from within. And in this stretch of my life, I believe what God is teaching me is that I should learn to surrender control. Not that we don’t strive for the goals, but if you’ve given your best at something, and it doesn’t work out—perhaps due to skill or character, it’s just that it’s not the right timing just yet. There’s no need to fret, just trust that it will all work out.
As a workaholic, and coming from an Asian background where you put in the work that will develop character and grit—it’s the trusting and surrendering that’s the most difficult.
R: Thank you for being so candid right from the outset! I totally agree that joy has to come from within, and it sounds like you’re making great strides this year.
To learn more of your story, can you tell us about your earliest memories of art?
P: My earliest memory of art goes to this distinct moment when I was 5. I was looking at my drawings, and it hit me all of a sudden that my figures don’t have necks. I would draw a head, and connect it to the body. Boom! What an insight! I was ecstatic and ran to my mom and told her of my new realization. I remember telling her that this is what EVERYONE is missing in their drawings—ALL artists. It’s interesting to note that my model of the world was so limited—because obviously it’s not that all artists don’t draw necks, it’s just that me, and the kids around me didn’t draw necks. It makes me think—you don’t know what you don’t know. What are the limiting beliefs that are holding me back to this day? It reminds me of this idea in Mark Manson’s book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, that we are just less wrong than before. So be open to change.
R: That is such a sweet anecdote. I remember having a similar revelation when I learned how to draw the illusion of perspective by placing a smaller character behind a closer, larger one.
Was there a pivotal moment when you knew you wanted to be a professional artist?
P: No. I didn’t know I wanted to be a professional artist. I never wanted to be a professional artist growing up. It never entered my psyche. I was a pretty decent student academically; around Grade 10 I began thinking about what I want to study in university, and I just knew that whatever it was, my studies had to involve the arts and implementing my creativity and expression. I was massively into hip-hop, sneaker culture, and basketball. It’s funny how the universe works—I ended up picking up this magazine called Kicks—and in a feature article where the designer talked about how she got into athletic shoe design, she said you need a degree in design, preferably Product Design. And that was it.
4 years later, I graduated from OCAD University with a degree in Industrial Design.
R: Right, I’ve found that with my students. Sometimes all it takes is one inspiration, the discovery of one direct goal that really resonates.
How soon after your art school graduation did you start your own studio, and why were you drawn to do so?
P: I founded Young Guns Studio fresh out of school, and honestly, at the time I was very lost. I wanted to be a shoe designer, but to be brutally honest, I didn't feel like I was good enough. In a way, I gave up on my dream, knowing that my skill wasn't ready.
The turning point came during my third year when I had the opportunity to help a student named Fiona get into OCAD during a three-week winter break. That was the first time I actually helped someone else out. It felt good, it felt right—being able to pass on knowledge to someone else and really put myself in her shoes. That's when I started to see a little bit of my superpower, which is empathy.
R: I was also attracted to education by the sheer satisfaction in helping someone and witnessing that lightbulb moment. You’re right, a teacher needs strong empathy to see that happen.
What were some of the early challenges and joys in founding your own studio?
P: I think in any career, there are always challenges. The early ones centered around self-doubt: Am I good enough? Do I have what it takes? Do I know enough about teaching to foster young talent? And then there were all the complexities of owning and operating a business. I knew nothing about it—my dad was the one who taught me how to do taxes, bookkeeping, and how to run marketing ads in newspapers.
As for joy—being an open book—I have to say it was so difficult, so hard that there wasn't really much joy in the first couple of years. But looking back, the joy I can recognize is still very much the same joy I have now: being able to foster young talent, to work with students and really hear them, see where they're at, and watch them grow. These small moments in our journey together where I think, "Wow, that's a huge win." Maybe the student doesn't see it, but I do. That's where the joy comes from—seeing them grow in confidence and ability.
R: For sure, those are the best moments!
As a small business owner, I imagine you’ve had to create and pivot many aspects of your studio on the fly. Are there any ways in which your creative skills influence your approach to your business, and the type of art education you provide?
P: Absolutely. What we learned in school is the design process, and the first stage of that process is to have empathy. That's really powerful because it's always reminding me that I have to understand what students need. And students' needs over the last 16-17 years have really changed and evolved rapidly.
This speaks to the second point, which is agility. In design, we're taught to be very agile, to be on our feet and able to adapt to change, and to treat problems as opportunities. That really serves as the foundation to the type of art education we provide. It's never a situation where you "set it and forget it." Every learner truly has their strengths and weaknesses.
I truly imagine an immediate future world where we can really cater to each student's nuanced learning style. We hope to always think about innovation and embrace change, as difficult as it may be. I hope that mindset—as the principal of the school—can influence my staff and also inspire my students.
R: That’s great. I often hear about high school Applied Design, Skills and Technology (ADST) classes teaching the “design thinking” process, but I never thought about how that has to begin with empathy. No matter whether we’re working with students, clients, or an abstract creative problem, we need to understand the fundamentals and the roots of their needs.
According to your studio’s website, the primary mission is developing student agency – which I know is increasingly difficult in the age of AI-generated artwork. There is also the problem of information overload on social media, which leads artists to compare themselves to others.
Are there any methods you’ve found that help students overcome these challenges? In other words, what do you think best cultivates an artist’s sense of agency?
P: It is very, very difficult for all of us, not just students, but for each human being. There are two things that we work on with the students.
First, we try to help them understand how to cultivate their individuality and creativity through understanding two circles: the primary source and the secondary source.
The secondary source is how you receive information indirectly. For example, if you want to paint the pyramid of Giza in the background of your work, you're most likely not flying out to Egypt to see the pyramid in person. That's using a secondary source—you know the shape, but you don't know the physical feeling of it. You don't experience the other senses: standing in the desert heat, realizing how massive it is in person. Secondary sources are always filtered.
The primary source is what we really need to cultivate. It's literally you standing there in front of the pyramid, taking it in using all your senses, bringing a sketchbook or voice recorder, and using your own humanity to process and make sense of it.
The other way we cultivate an artist's sense of agency is by questioning them—always guiding them with "why" questions and taking them through a deep reflective process. It's not about coming up with something you think the world wants to see, but being authentic to yourself. Forget about what the world wants to see for certain parts of your design process. First, as artists, you need to figure out who you are, which is a lifelong journey. To create great art, you have to be authentic to yourself and align with your own sensibilities, curiosities, and talents—discovering your inner strengths and doubling down on those things.
R: I love that idea of the primary source coming from direct, unfiltered human experience.
After 16 years of running your studio, as well as your own creative practice, can you share some of the moments that have been the most fulfilling? I love a good wholesome story.
P: The most fulfilling moments actually aren't about myself—they're about seeing students' growth and witnessing their wins. Recently, a student showed me a video she took last year of another student named Jeff finding out about his acceptance to his dream school, ArtCenter. He had already applied once and didn't get in. He worked on his portfolio a second time, made it even more robust, worked even harder, and got in on his second try.
It's knowing the amount of—not even just work—but the trials and tribulations, the setbacks we overcame. We persevered and didn't give up. We had tough conversations, and I had to press his buttons. It wasn't easy. There were many moments of doubt that he had, even that I had: "Am I good enough to lead him and help him get into his dream school?" I still have that acceptance letter framed in my office because I truly gave 120% of myself to mentor Jeff and see his win.
ArtCenter is actually my dream school, but due to economic circumstances, my parents weren't able to send me to the States. So I'm so happy for these students because they have the opportunity to learn among some of the world's greatest professors, faculty, designers, and artists—and to be in a cohort where everyone is equally driven.
Another story: I was giving a parent seminar in March, showing portfolios and case studies, including one from a student named Freddy. He had created this entire world with three rings of the last city that's above water. Watching this minute-and-a-half video made me very emotional because I vividly remembered day one of Freddy's journey. He had come such a long way. He was a new immigrant, didn't speak English that well, and couldn't understand much. After his first class, he told me, "Pete, I'm so lost. I have no idea what you just said or taught." To see him work incredibly hard for three years and put together such an impressive body of work—there's nothing more fulfilling than that. I have so much hope that these students will go on to do wonderful things and inspire others, just as I want to inspire them.
R: Those stories are wonderful. Your deep care for your students is inspiring me, too!
Lastly, what are your plans for future ventures, and where can people follow your work?
P: I'm a huge car guy, very passionate about cars and really anything that's shiny and moves. I want to work on a car project—I bought an E30 BMW E36 M3 as a project to treat as a moving canvas. I'm excited to paint on it and collaborate with other artists, seeing it as this moving and evolving canvas or sketchbook that continuously reflects the stories around it. I love the idea of an object transcending being just an inanimate thing, becoming something that's very much alive.
Readers can find Young Guns via our website, Instagram and YouTube. We host a weekly drawing club open to everyone, and we are growing our online course resources here.
Inspired by Pete’s stories of growth and change: what’s a personal win you’d like to celebrate, art-related or not? Feel free to share in the comments!