What Blocks Peoples' Ability to Make Art?

Questions for Week 9

When asked, "how do you best learn?" most people usually respond with either a technique, like, "in a classroom," or by naming their favorite sense, like, "I learn best visually." Unfortunately, this implies most people define "learning" as the ability to parrot the correct answer.

What is wrong with this? We believe that "parroting the correct answer" creates parrots, not students; dullards, not Einsteins. So how can we create more Einsteins? By asking questions which are intended to provoke the student's own questions. More important, we see this as the best way with which to reawaken in students the love of learning.

This week's topic is, "What Blocks Peoples' Ability to Make Art?" Would you like to actually awaken your love of learning about this topic? You can, simply by reading the teacher's questions and then, by asking yourself, "what questions did these words just provoke in me?"

"What Blocks Peoples' Ability to Make Art?"

Teacher's Questions (asked by Austin)

I feel my pencil dance around the page of my sketchbook creating lines that my eyes trace. My hands sing as the form of a person, the folded collar of their shirt, and the zig zag shape of their hair emerges upon the page.

• What blocks people's ability to pick up a pencil and make art on a piece of paper?
• What keeps a person from running their finger down a piece of paper to explore if it is smooth or if it has a rougher texture like watercolor paper?

I look at a piece of paper, or a collection of photos and paint textures that I made and can imagine creating an image. I move images around a surface and play with colors and shapes to until I have an emergence. When I am amazed at what I see, (hopefully) then I know the picture is done.

• Is the completion of a piece of art an emergence?
• What layers is a person in when creating art?

• Do injuries in and around art happen to children before age 7?
• Can recreating the scene of an art injury by setting up an art class with paper and drawing materials like pencils and markers help to find blocks around art and heal them?

A block around art that I hear often is "it doesn't look right."

• Are their common injuries and blocks in art?

Possible Student Response Questions (asked by David)

As far as your topic, I could probably ask a million questions. I, for one, can not picture myself drawing successfully whether it be with pencil, paint or charcoal. I would guess I have a few blocks around creating art. My questions are:

[1] I have seen the Bernie Book, and am sure on a financial planning level it works. As an artist why did you choose to not draw faces on the people in the book?

[2] The lack of faces in the Bernie Book disturbs me. Does this happen because I can't picture a face in its place? Does that mean I have a block about drawings of faces? Or a block about drawings missing faces?

[3] When I was in first grade I remember sitting next to another student named John. I was amazed at how well he drew. Although all we used were crayons, he drew as well as an adult. He had incredible fine motor skills. As I watched what created I looked and compared his work to my drawing. I could not understand how he created such images, or how he developed his talent or eye for colors. Was he born with this talent? Were they gifts? Was he somehow taught? Can a person such as me learn to draw? Do I need t heal my injuries around drawing to be a better artist? Can I ever be as talented as that classmate John? Or as talented as Austin Shaw?