"We must infuse our lives with art." - Maya Angelou
Courtesy of my husband, the photographer.
At one of the first art workshops I attended, I heard the following story:
A teacher asks a class of kindergarteners, "Who here is an artist? Who can draw, who can paint?" The whole class raised their hands. The same teacher asked the same questions of a class of Grade 5ers. "Who here is an artist? Who can draw, who can paint?" One or two hands raised into the air.
At some point, and I know it was the same for me, a lot of people get the attitude or impression that they can't draw, they aren't an artist, they aren't creative in an output kind of way. That attitude stays with them and keeps them from expressing themselves in a "visual" way, definitely from sharing them with others. I always thought my drawings were clumsy, bent and pinched in the wrong places. They were nowhere near as good as my sister's, some friends'...
I distinctly remember starting to draw again, doodling in my notebooks, journals, beginning in high school and moving on through university. I can picture specific images: heart-faced girls, loons and wolves, eyes, trees and swirls. But what a gap, or a waste, until that time. I think part of my job as a teacher is to instil the confidence in my students to pick up a pencil, to doodle, draw and share. Their creations are unique and to be celebrated. Worthy of display. Time to regain the assurance and pride of a kindergartener.
Stick that on your fridge and show it.
"I can paint like a master in quite a short time, but I need to spend my life learning to paint like a child." - Picasso
Self-portrait, Meaghan in the sky
