Art Blog - Tales from the Art Side

The title of this article might suggest that I'll be exploring some kind of compelling Freudian doctrine concerning moral phobias. I'm afraid, however, that my topic is nowhere near as intriguing and will entirely circumvent discussing either the id or the ego. This is a blog about teaching kids art, and thus the values of which I speak are the light and dark variants of tone. Admittedly, the concepts of tint and shade appear rather innocuous, but it has been my experience that these artistic principles unsettle the nerves of a vast majority of beginning drawers. While this fear may be more pronounced in some students, it often manifests itself in the same predictable behavior… Continue reading… 2 comments

Before my own children were born, I would spend my summer breaks teaching kids art. Only instead of big kids, I was teaching little kids, typically four to six year olds. I've often said that after nine months of teenagers, teaching little kids was like desert. While I do love my high school kids, and the depth in which we can explore the arts together, they lack a few of the admirable attributes found in their toddling counterparts. Try as I might, I do not believe I have ever managed to inspire those tiny artists as much as they did me. Paul Klee understood this when he noted, "Children also have artistic ability, and there is wisdom in their having it! The more helpless they are, the more instructive are the examples they furnish us… Continue reading… 7 comments

A few months ago I wrote about the propagation of what I have often called The Drawing Myth and its role in the spreading of misinformation concerning the accessibility of drawing as a learnable skill. This is a fascinating topic for me and one which I find myself returning to with each new semester of teaching kids art. The beginning of this school year was no different, and in fact, I found myself just this week delivering my Drawing Myth speech to a collection of eager new faces. My mind is often prone to wander while my mouth is delivering familiar words, and I'm often just as prone to allow it; I'm curious to see where it might go… Continue reading… 8 comments

CONTINUING THE ADVENTURES OF TEACHING KIDS ART ! I've mentioned before that most dreaded assignment I give any of my students is the notorious self portrait. No single project garners more gripes and groans than the ominous chore of being left alone with pencil, paper, and mirror. It should come as no surprise that this is one of my favorite projects to assign, not because I'm sadistic and enjoy torturing my students, although they would argue otherwise. There are actually two main reasons for my enthusiasm with the self portrait; the first of which is consistently seeing students perform far better than they ever imagined… Continue reading… 6 comments

I really love teaching kids art, especially drawing. Part of the reason for my enthusiasm, as I've been rambling on about in my last three blogs, is the fact that there is almost as much aesthetic philosophy to the course as there are hands-on skills to learn. As a result of my eagerness to teach the course, I do a fair amount of recruiting to build interest in the class since it is often overlooked. What's interesting is that the class is almost unanimously neglected by students for the same reason. Even more unfortunate is the fact that the reasoning behind the rationale to not enroll in a drawing class is fundamentally inaccurate. So one of the professional responsibilities I've taken upon myself is to do what I can to try and dispel The Drawing Myth… Continue reading… 9 comments

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This is a popular phrase that, no doubt, everyone has heard casually tossed around in conversations of various topics. However, its application to the subject of teaching kids art might seem less obvious. In fact, to be of any use in an aesthetic debate, I propose this statement needs to be reorganized. I suggest that, artistically speaking, the sum of its parts are greater than the whole. Or perhaps more succinctly, the whole is great because of the sum of its parts. Before I pontificate myself into a philosophical quagmire, allow me to try and develop something that resembles a point. Much of what makes a piece of art great are the smaller details within the work, rather than the image as a whole… Continue reading… 4 comments

Originally published April 17, 2008 http://artid.com/members/mize/blog/ It seems that a large portion of my work in teaching kids art is trying to convince students of the validity of concepts that, on the surface, seem quite contrary. Often times, it is only after these paradoxical notions are fully understood that a student will begin to see any real progress in their work. Add to this conundrum the fact that, in art, many of the significant lessons are not entirely logical or concrete. They are really more like intangible perceptions to reflect upon during the creative process; allowing them the opportunity to influence and inspire the direction of a piece. Perhaps my favorite of these vague theories is the importance of learning to see… Continue reading… 0 comments