Monday, April 27, 2009

Discover the Artist Within

This evening was the first class of "Discover the Artist Within" which I teach at Evergreen. It is always fun to see who shows up and why they are there.

Tonight's group recognized the power of art to heal as many students found themselves pleasantly distracted from the chaos of their lives. One student mentioned that she felt transported to another realm and it felt good.

In the artistic development of children, the first art representation is a scribble drawing. I have found that starting adult students off with a scribble drawing, eyes closed, helps them to reconnect with childhood and reopen that door to creativity. It was interesting to note that a couple of students were uncomfortable with this lack of control and realized the parallels to their life. Another insight was the felt need to fill the paper and frustration that the art medium, colored markers, caused because it was not capable of doing this. Where did this need for control come from?

By the end of the class, there were several "ah has" and a unanimous "this was fun!" I find it curious that adults forget how to have fun.

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