Learning to Draw...Drawing with Children

When was the first time you picked up a pencil and felt like you could draw? I wass 33. Sure, I had drawn as a child, and even a time or two in high school. But there wasn’t anyone that showed technique or could explain highlights, shadow, and line to create a drawing I would qualify as art. Children begin to notice how their artwork looks around 8-10 years of age, as brain development begins to “compare” our work with those around us. We either summarize that we can or that we cannot draw. Children will either be introduced to a drawing class and gain confidence, or most times, feel as though they can’t draw, so they won’t. I did know that my work didn’t look “real” or exciting, but rather flat and uninteresting.  So, like many others, I didn’t think I could draw, and definitely didn’t consider myself an artist. That was then and oh how my thought process has changed. I believe that anyone has the ability to draw, it just takes the write teacher to help you along the way.

When I re-enrolled in college to begin my career as an art teacher, a requirement was to take a drawing class. Of course I was so nervous. I had to face the inner child that told me I didn’t know how to draw. What a life changing event this class was to have on my abilities, my outlook, and how I would teach others. In a room full of adult, this teacher could break down elements and design into the simplest forms, giving everyone (no matter what their skill level was) a place to dive in with excitement as nothing seemed too difficult to achieve. These skills would then be incorporated into our sketches and create a drawing you didn’t realize you were capable of. I was so moved and enlightened by her teaching method that I designed the philosophy of Studio 4 Art around it.

Her beauty was the ability to translate that their were no right or wrong ways of drawing, and making sure she celebrated each individual for where they were in their process, and always had something kind to say about each work and would question areas that may need a little more work with “hints and tips”. Teachers are everything in art making (and any subject). If you have someone that can connect with you, that you feel safe becoming vulnerable in the learning process, and that you can see a reward through new applications and personal ability, you are going to feel successful and keep practicing. That is what Studio 4 Art is about. Celebrating where each child is in their creative adventure, asking inquisitive questions along the way that don’t have a set answer, and scaffolding their learning by introducing a simple art technique or two that they feel more empowered by.

So, if you have a child that isn’t feeling competent or is shy about their art ability, send them our way. We are sure that we can assist and encourage a child to feel good about where their abilities currently are, and feel excited about what they can learn through more experimenting and knowledge about art techniques. Self confidence, self awareness, and learning to take leadership over their learning is a definite win in our art classes.

The Base of Success is Failure as Failure leads to Success

Why are we afraid to fail?  I have been contemplating this idea for a long time.  I think my pondering is initiated by the kids creating at Studio4Art and ask, "You can't fail in art, right?"   Many, if not all art teachers share this wisdom with their students.  When students are told this, it is usually in the form of whatever you made is fine because there is "no failure in art", or it is used to alleviate fear of getting started with the project.  I believe that the essence of what they are saying is there, but the true value and full interpretation is being lost, mostly because the explanation of what failure is in art (and in life) has not been vocalized, explained to a degree of what failure can be.  Failure is all a part of the creative process and is in no way bad, "messing up" is okay, it is how we learn.  Instead the sentence is said, and everyone moves on with the art project.  My thought, art is a perfect place to share that you can make a bad piece of art, known to some as a failure, believe me I have tons.  But, bad art, the failed pieces, are the reasons that you either choose to push creativity, not giving up and keep exploring on the same piece, or you learn what you don't like and change it for the next piece.  My college professor explained that you have 1000 bad paintings in your career, be thankful when you get one of them out of the way.

Art is process.  It cannot be gained by simply following a step-by-step instructional project that just creates fear to explore and damages the value of oneself to have the capacity of creating from their own imagination.  Many, many ideas, explorations, art projects and inventions follow a process, it is called, the creative process*.  And the creative process embodies that there will be failure, except it isn't looked at as failure, as much as it is seen as a part of the process.  The more creative you are, the more each pass at what others see as failure, you see as a stepping stone to push further.  Failure is not negative.  It should be looked at as a place of discovery and the acceptance and reward of change.  Remember the phrase, try and try again?

Now change...That will have to be for the next post, because as an observer, the reality that we have a difficult time accepting change, is a big one.

painting: Artist Javier. Middle School teacher learning about oil painting with his class.

*Creative process
  Incubation
  Convergent and divergent thinking
  Creative Cognition Approach
  The Explicit-Implicit Interaction (EII) theory
  Conceptual blending
  Honing Theory
  Creativity and everyday imaginative thought