I regularly volunteer as an art teacher for a second grade class. And sometimes, I think I learn more than the kids I am supposedly instructing.
A recent lesson was about the color wheel. We started out with the primary colors – red, yellow and blue – and then proceeded to mix secondary colors. Then the kids quickly sketched out ceremonial masks and then painted them. Some of the kids could have spent the entire sketching their masks but we gave them only three minutes so they could spend most of their time painting.
In class I find myself repeating the same phrases over and over, from lesson to lesson – many are applicable to my work.
“You guys, just go for it. Just get something down on paper, you have to start somewhere.”
“It’s art. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just wing it.”
“Don’t worry if you make a mistake, work with it. Make it part of your piece.”
“Coloring in between the lines is way overrated.”
Lessons to take to heart.
