In an attempt to further my artistic growth I decided to participate in the Art House Co-Op Sketchbook Project. Here are the basics, you pay a fee and they send you an 8.5″x5.5″ Moleskin journal for you to fill as you see fit based on a preselected theme. I received my journal in June 2010 and didn’t put pencil to paper until a couple of weeks ago. In fact, it is supposed to be postmarked by January 15 and I will miss the deadline. I have given up and the reason is fear. I believe it is a common emotion for artists when faced with the blank page and it is worth exploring why this happens, and how we might be able to get out of our heads and simply enjoy the act of art making.

I am not quite sure what to make of the hesitation I feel when presented with a blank page, especially since we are born with an inherent need to create (according to Rollo May’s book The Courage to Create). How is is that we can be drawn to the creative process but then hit a wall when confronted with it? And if you think about it, that inkling that you aren’t doing something right happens when you come to a certain age; that dreaded day when you realize that what you are trying to render on paper doesn’t match the item  you are observing. You then consider yourself a failure at the task and put your pencil down, sometimes for good.

This happens to most children between the ages of 11-12 and it is known as the Crisis Stage within our creative development. Betty Edwards describes this stage as such: the beginning of adolescence that marks the end of artistic development among most children, due to frustration at “getting things right.” Those who do manage to weather the crisis and learn the “secret” of drawing will become absorbed in it.

I wish I still felt the freedom that I once had as a child with crayon in hand and a blank page before me, but I am passed that now. Instead I am faced with a desire to draw, paint, what-have-you, and yet hindered by fear. So I have to ask myself, how do I get past this? I thought that signing up for the Sketchbook project would help, but I felt paralyzed when I sat down to start drawing. While it is embarrassing to admit this to the masses, I figure I am not alone. In fact, since I am looking to become an art teacher I am sure I will face this with my students at some point during their time in my classroom. I ask myself, am I better prepared to deal with this issue since I am inflicted with the same struggle and feelings of doubt? Maybe, maybe not. I suppose it depends on your point of view, but I will be able to empathize with my students and in so doing hopefully overcome my own fears. And, perhaps I should read the book Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland to shed some light on the subject and provide guidance.

Once man discovered the ability to make marks, we began to illustrate our surroundings. Archaeologists and art historians have been discussing the rationale behind these drawings for years; were they simply a decorative element to a home environment, or more likely, guidelines for the hunt? Either way, we appreciated the need to document our observations, and began to develop the human aesthetic. As art students, we explore our independent voice, and the intrinsic need to create defines how we do so.

Each picture we draw and each canvas we cover in paint is an investigation into our personal aesthetic. There are two types of aesthetic; the things we like to look at and the things we like to make. We are defined by these aesthetic sensibilities. Think about the things that you surround yourself with in your home, your favorite clothes, or the color you paint your living room walls. Understanding the reasons why we feel the way we do when looking at a landscape or sitting in an uncomfortable room adorned with visually tense color schemes or patterns further informs our aesthetic experiences. This is not necessarily important to the art student in a grand sense, but they should have a general understanding of the color wheel and basic design elements when experimenting with their own aesthetic choices.

To better inform the art student as to their artistic preferences they must practice making marks, taking pictures, or working with graphics programs. They also need to have exposure to art historical exemplars as a spring board to help them determine what they like to look at. Until they have an understanding of what they like, they will have a difficult time determining what they like to make.

All four of these principles have their place in the art classroom and will allow the student to better understand themselves and the world they inhabit.

By guiding students through creative means, art provides communication methods beyond the confines of verbal correspondence. Allowing children to realize strengths outside of math, English, science, etc., gives them an updated perspective of the classroom and a new found confidence in themselves.

As demonstrated with the freedom of expression associated with the second principle, it is important to examine the effects of art on a society or group that cannot speak for themselves. Art provides a voice, and having that voice heard, is healing.

During the Great Depression in the United States a dust bowl had affected the Midwest and made agricultural pursuits impossible. For those reliant on farming as a way of life, many became migrant workers moving from place to place in order to support their families, and guarantee survival during this rough patch of our nation’s history. Through photography, the government found a medium in which to describe the plight of these workers and give them a visual voice.

Artists use visual communication methods as a way to inform the masses. Since art evokes an immediate emotional response that often leads to further discussion, it is important to provide students with a vocabulary in which to decipher meaning. In the classroom it is necessary for teachers to use quality exemplars with probing questions to get students thinking critically about the piece they are confronted with. This will create a group of ‘good lookers’ who are better equipped to observe and interpret the visual world.

There are many roads that we must travel throughout our lives, and not all of them are easy to navigate. By making marks on a page, art can lead us to discoveries about our fears, our joys, our hidden desires and most importantly, our imaginations. Every discipline has its place in our society and cultural development, and we should not ignore the balance that can be found between the arts and sciences. Too often our creativity is taught out of us by the confines of the ‘there is only one right answer’ mentality. By allowing art to lead us to alternate possibilities, innovation is born and therefore should not be ignored.

Self-expression is paramount regarding the art concept. How free do you feel when you hold a pencil, pen or other mark making instrument in your hand? Isn’t it wonderful to see the result of your labor in a tangible medium? Whether you are writing a book or painting a picture, the resulting emotions are the same; we enjoy creating, we are creative beings. We need to create, to let those feelings that so often are impeded by our inner logician, out.

Of course, that is not so easy. Many times an artist has been confronted by the blank page and sat there motionless before making the first mark. However, once they do they are released from their everyday rational prison and are free to explore that ‘other’; the other that resides in our dreams and occasionally peeks into our everyday lives. As with all things it is about balance, discovering that place where we can feel without hesitation and explore the colors & marks that accompany those emotions.

Imagine the freedom a young child can feel in the art classroom; each project serving as a guided ‘meditation’ of creative expression. As facilitators of art education we do not want to hinder creativity or imaginative exploration, but provide the medium in which to do so.

Chapter 1: Art Informs Us

Art informs us; it connects us to the past, future, and to each other. As a building block of our development we are educated by creative principles.

Within the context of art, we can look at works as informative ‘texts’. By researching and studying these texts we learn their vocabulary, thereby connecting to a time past, a possible future and to others around the globe through visual language. These creative principles allow us to develop categorization skills, an understanding of hierarchy and basic design elements via definitions of line, shape, form, color, etc. In the classroom we can arm our students with this knowledge so they can better interpret their environment.

That is all well and good, but how can we expect to visually ‘converse’ with others if we are unsure of our creative abilities? Luckily for us, the drive to create is inherent. “What genuine painters do is to reveal the underlying psychological and spiritual conditions of their relationship to their world.” [i] We possess a naturally occurring aesthetic that allows us to experience beauty and in turn, a desire to render it. From our minds to the pencil, paint brush, etc. we are expressing our interactions with the world in which we live, and that informs our every decision, every mood, and every encounter.

Let’s break this down even further. When discussing imagery it is imperative to understand how we interpret our surroundings from the beginning. One of the first ways in which we experience the world is through visual means. If you walk around any store – especially those geared towards children, there are a mass of brightly colored objects, large shapes and many other eye-catching ephemera to grab a young minds attention. This is because we are programmed to see first, understand later. Thus, the visual arts inform our every experience; if we are not experiencing visual culture, than our eyes are closed. We must help children and young adults wade through the overwhelming, visual mess that is contemporary society in order for them to learn how to distinguish the good from the bad, the important from the unnecessary.

The art classroom is a great place for children to be exposed to this way of creative problem solving. If they become armed with art vocabulary and other means of deciphering their world, they will be more equipped to function in a visual culture.

[i] May, Rollo. The Courage to Create (New York: WW Norton & Company, 1975) p. 52

Future Reading

“We shall not cease from exploration and at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” -T.S. Eliot, “The Four Quartets”

At the end of last semester, I had to write and design a book to finish my graphic design degree at GMU. I wrote a post about the grid and the importance of organizing your material within a large book layout. But, what I should have started with was the content.

Art Education: Lessons Worth Learning

Introduction

Life is a journey made up of experiences. As you travel through life, you can turn these experiences into adventures by stepping off the beaten path and walking into the unknown. For most of us, creating mystery is intimidating or impractical, and as adults, it may take us years to step off the pavement and explore a new area.

Luckily children are more adventurous. The young seek answers to secrets that adults have long forgotten, from believing they can fly to climbing the largest tree in the neighborhood to see things no one else can.  And that’s how my journey with art began, when one day in a grade school art class, I remembered that you don’t have to stay within the lines, and it was then that I realized the pictures inside a coloring book are really just a path to leap from when searching for creativity.

As I explored my personal aesthetic, my artistic experimentations were somewhat obtuse and my mark-making skills clearly unpolished, but when it all came together, and another masterpiece was added to my portfolio, I would stand proudly by the refrigerator; my first art gallery.

Then come the distinctive memories of middle school art class. My family moved often, and it was sometimes difficult adjusting to new schools.  Needing a sense of belonging, a purpose, I turned to the art room. I felt at home on my stool, mashing-out a sculpture or trying to create an abstract collage. The actual art creations aside, it was the learning of techniques and the realization of what passion during this time that began to shape my love of art.

Now, if my one-word description for middle school was ‘awkward’, then my word for high school has to be ‘angst’. It is hard to say what was changing more, my family, my friends or my body. So let’s just say my artistic expression at this stage was fueled by finding ways to get the angst out. Everything was a canvas when no one was listening. Melodramatic, I know, but these are the emotions that teenagers experience.  You need an outlet. And I had my art. The ability to create something on a black piece of paper, on the side of a shoe, on a wall or a bathroom stall was something no one could take away from me. At this point, art was becoming therapy.

Not exactly ready to head out on my own coupled with the need to keep moving forward, I enrolled at George Mason University; a half an hour away from my house, I lived at home my freshman year. Looking back, I would have done it differently. Between vulnerable beginnings and a five year hiatus, my undergraduate degree process has taken some time; seven plus years in fact. In an attempt at pragmatism I felt that following a graphic design track would best suit my creative sensibilities. This way I could be artful everyday at the office while making a decent living. Possibly ignoring the aspects of art making that had drawn me to the art room to begin with. As I have continued my journey through the bachelor’s degree process, I have learned more about myself and my passions.

When discussing career options, I would not have mentioned art education or teaching of any kind two years ago. I am a graphic designer, and that was how I planned on spending my days from graduation onward. However, the longer I worked in a Marketing/Creative Services department, the more I felt I was settling for some watered down version of my artistic passions. Once the client gets involved with a graphics project the art gets lost, and the designer can as well.

Just about a year ago, I realized that what I enjoy most about art and its history, is sharing with others what I have learned. As if the information has to pour out of me before I explode trying to contain it. This is when I was introduced to the K-12 art education program. I had never considered the studio art classroom as a place where I would find myself in an authoritative role; mostly because I didn’t realize how teaching kids drawing, painting, sculpting, or photography resulted in teaching how them how to think. The more I learned about the process and the robust nature of art education in Fairfax County Public schools, I decided to turn in a new direction.

This direction has contributed to a new level of art appreciation. Slowing down and getting a varied perspective on art and mark-making has sparked another creative fire. I find myself drawn back into the studio classroom setting. While concentrating on graphic design and only taking the required studio courses, I had pigeon-holed myself. With a focus on becoming a designer, I had removed the artist label trying to find some comfort level that would match my abilities. This resulted in a self-inflicted stifling affect on my creative growth. And as unintentional as that was, it had become debilitating. The fear associated with not being able to make a still life come alive on the page had crippled me. However, as I began following the path of an art facilitator, I realized that the joy of art lies in the creativity behind the mark-making. With this new fervor for art making, I enrolled in a painting class. Sharing my personal experiences in a classroom setting will not only demonstrate the importance of life-long learning, but also let the students know that I have sat in their seat, felt their doubts, and wondered about my own creative abilities.

I look at the visual arts as having a positive effect on our lives; regardless of if/when/how we experience them. This book is going to focus on my art philosophy as established by these four principles: Art informs us, Art leads us, Art heals us, and Art defines us. With these as our guiding light, children and young adults will have a greater appreciation for the arts and how they influence and enrich their lives. Through a strong foundation, the art classroom can succeed in providing students a solid base for discovering themselves, as well as their ability to think critically and creatively about the world around them. To further address this ideological platform, let’s discuss each point directly and how they will facilitate an art learning environment.

Happy living and learning, L

The article is titled “Where its @” and discusses a recent acquisition by the MoMA in New York; the @ symbol. I was intrigued. When does a typographic symbol become art? Wouldn’t this be tantamount to a museum acquiring the letter “a”? And if that is the case, what would stop any art institution from claiming rights to other objects on the keyboard, such as F5? What I am getting at is this; How does a typographic symbol become art? And if it is, then what isn’t art in the eyes of the MoMA? Now, I am not trying to start a great debate on an individual’s personal aesthetic or how they define art. But rather, to get an understanding of the @ symbol’s value and has it increased due to the MoMA placing it on their walls.

First, I think it is important to get some background on the symbol itself because with any work of art it is important to get a sense of its history. According to a How Stuff Works article “What Do You Call the Symbol Used in Email Addresses?” the @ symbol does not have clear origins. It appeared in accounting practices as well as handwritten manuscripts as shorthand. So perhaps in this case the creator of the “work” is not important.

Next, how about deciding that it is worth the weight of the institution of the museum. Since its inception the museum has been the cultural center of art appreciation and the determination of quality, high-art. They tell the general public what art is important and why they should care. So in this case, what is it about the @ symbol that deserves wall space?

“According to Michael Beirut, a noted graphic designer and partner at Pentagram in New York, the acquisition is “more important for MoMA” that it is for the @ symbol or the public at large. “I think it’s meant to be sort of a provocation to get a conversation going about the new role communication plays in the world of museums,” he says.”

Using historical examples, such as Duchamp’s Fountain, 1917, the role of art in a museum can start revolutionary thinking about art’s definition in the social consciousness and how we perceive its importance in the world. Perhaps the @ symbol is a virtual readymade; not possessing physical mass or form, but high-design as determined by the MoMA.

“Inserting @ into MoMA’s collection , Antonelli wrote, “relies on the assumption that physical possession of an object as a requirement for acquisition is no longer necessary, and therefore it sets curator’s free to tag the world.”

Hmm, tag the world. This gives a whole new definition to public works of art.

L

The authors, Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman, describe creativity as a two-fold activity:

“To be creative requires divergent thinking (generating many unique ideas) and then convergent thinking (combining those ideas into the best result).”

That seems to be a reasonable assessment of the process. I would say that in conjunction with expanding the use of creative teaching & learning methods in reading, writing, and math, we should ensure that the students are getting art as well. Instead of limiting access to the art room, enhance the students experiences within it.

Now that I have completed my undergraduate studies in graphic design, I will begin my graduate program this fall in art education. Within that program we focus on what the arts can teach us beyond that of painting, drawing, the color wheel, etc. In the introduction course we were given an article called “10 Things the Arts Teach” compiled by Elliott Eisner. It discusses the value of art education and how it relates to developing students into critical thinking adults.

Given our visual culture and the ever expanding world around us, not only will it be important to distinguish good/bad design, but we will need to be a society that thinks creatively. In order to do so, curricula across the states needs to reflect that goal by increasing student’s exposure to the arts. Expose your children to art outside of the classroom. Sadly, many primary school children are lucky if they get art once a week for 45 minutes. Visit local museums and take part in their museum education offerings. Have discussion with your children about art and what they think. Never underestimate the creativity of a child when they are moving a crayon while working out a composition. I am currently a summer intern at the Greater Reston Art Center and have had the opportunity to witness these types of explorations among the children attending summer camp and visiting the gallery. It is amazing and I hope that by exposing our children to these types of activities, we can also learn from them.

Happy appreciating, and creating, art.

L

Upon reading this article in the Washington Post I began to think about how I have wrestled with the art vs. design question. As a graphic designer, I was happy to separate myself from the fine art crowd, feeling that design focused on the practical side of creative expression. With visual literacy being so important in this day and age – discerning good & bad images and developing strong critical response skills – isn’t it true to say that being able to read a painting, sculpture, or other type of artwork is as important as recognizing successful design?

This article specifically discusses two art exhibits and how the artists’ choice of medium and execution play into this question of art vs design. It is important to ask ourselves these questions every so often in an attempt further develop our design sensibilities and to recognize the ways in which we have grown as creative individuals.