Many of you know that my Scribbleprints started as doodles on the side of my notebook pages back in high school. Can't tell you how many times I was told by some irritated teacher..."This isn't art class, Gale." Well, new research suggests that maybe they should have let me doodle away. Doodling while listening to a lecture is not a sign that you're loosing focus, it's a tool to help you keep from loosing focus...and it actually helps you remember better! See more below:
Showing posts with label art thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art thoughts. Show all posts
Monday, February 20, 2012
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Creativity Crisis
I have a friend who has been teaching English to Japanese kids overseas (or did before she had Visa troubles). She talked to me about the difference in learning styles there and here. "The kids at the Japanese school are smart in one sense...they know a lot of rote learning and can spit out facts left and right--but ask them to do something creative and they can't do it."
I thought of that while reading an article by Newsweek titled The Creativity Crisis. It talked about how American kid's creativity (based on the Torrance Creativity Test) had been declining since the 1990's. And by creativity they didn't just mean artistic creativity, but creative thought--the ability to think of original and useful new ideas. That's a serious crisis.
The article talked about how various places around the world have started moving away from drill and kill education to focus more on creativity and problem solving skills. Meanwhile American schools have been emphasizing standardized curriculum, rote memorization, and nationalized testing. Members of one Chinese University commented to a visiting American that "‘You’re racing toward our old model. But we’re racing toward your model, as fast as we can."
When I was training to become a teacher I saw that push to make American Schools more like Asian schools. But I had friends from Japan and Korea who had grown up in those schools, and what they described was not what I wanted for our children. They basically gave up their childhood for their education...and it seems that creativity was a casualty of that system as well.
What do you think? Do you see this happening in schools? Compared to when you were a child, do schools now seem to do a better or worse job at fostering creative thinking? And how do your encourage your own children to think creatively? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
I thought of that while reading an article by Newsweek titled The Creativity Crisis. It talked about how American kid's creativity (based on the Torrance Creativity Test) had been declining since the 1990's. And by creativity they didn't just mean artistic creativity, but creative thought--the ability to think of original and useful new ideas. That's a serious crisis.
The article talked about how various places around the world have started moving away from drill and kill education to focus more on creativity and problem solving skills. Meanwhile American schools have been emphasizing standardized curriculum, rote memorization, and nationalized testing. Members of one Chinese University commented to a visiting American that "‘You’re racing toward our old model. But we’re racing toward your model, as fast as we can."
When I was training to become a teacher I saw that push to make American Schools more like Asian schools. But I had friends from Japan and Korea who had grown up in those schools, and what they described was not what I wanted for our children. They basically gave up their childhood for their education...and it seems that creativity was a casualty of that system as well.
What do you think? Do you see this happening in schools? Compared to when you were a child, do schools now seem to do a better or worse job at fostering creative thinking? And how do your encourage your own children to think creatively? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Monday, August 2, 2010
INTENT
Last week I wrote about definition in art...prompted by a question posted on the blog Scoutie Girl. Reading another artist's answer to that question prompted the following thoughts on "intent."
Penelope Bridge wrote about "designing with intention" - making some insightful points about the importance of "moving with intent" in both dance and art (I should warn you that her post contains some nude pictures of dancers...so consider who's watching in the background before clicking to read post).
I've always been one to consider the exception, and so naturally my mind jumped to the idea of the unintended.
Some of the medium and forms of art that I like best are those that are not totally under my control. I like the randomness of water colors. My favorite water color painting method is to create a shape from colorless water then dab colors into it. The result is extremely imprecise and the final artwork is often far from the original intent.
My scribbleprints are similar. They start as scribbles, created by moving the pencil or pen quickly and loosly. Whether I scribble with an intent for a particular shape (a tree or a cross, for example), or just scribble to create something random, the pens movement is not precisely controlled. Then I take those scribbles and add precision to them...meticulously fill them in with a deliberate controlled hand, scan them and change their colors online, use the patterns to fill new shapes. In the process I often find shapes and patterns that were not originally intended...this scribble resemples hair, these linen meet in the same way that the vein of a leaf does, ect. In what originally was random or intended for something else, I discover something new. So there is a dance between the intended and unintended in my work.
Penelope Bridge wrote about "designing with intention" - making some insightful points about the importance of "moving with intent" in both dance and art (I should warn you that her post contains some nude pictures of dancers...so consider who's watching in the background before clicking to read post).
I've always been one to consider the exception, and so naturally my mind jumped to the idea of the unintended.
Some of the medium and forms of art that I like best are those that are not totally under my control. I like the randomness of water colors. My favorite water color painting method is to create a shape from colorless water then dab colors into it. The result is extremely imprecise and the final artwork is often far from the original intent.
My scribbleprints are similar. They start as scribbles, created by moving the pencil or pen quickly and loosly. Whether I scribble with an intent for a particular shape (a tree or a cross, for example), or just scribble to create something random, the pens movement is not precisely controlled. Then I take those scribbles and add precision to them...meticulously fill them in with a deliberate controlled hand, scan them and change their colors online, use the patterns to fill new shapes. In the process I often find shapes and patterns that were not originally intended...this scribble resemples hair, these linen meet in the same way that the vein of a leaf does, ect. In what originally was random or intended for something else, I discover something new. So there is a dance between the intended and unintended in my work.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Define ART
Scoutie Girl, a blog I just discovered, had an interesting question they were throwing out to artists and crafters. "Let me know how you define handmade versus homemade – or any other this versus that you’re passionate about."
This is an interesting question because defining the products I sell has been a difficult process for me--and not one I've worked out completely. The actual physical products I sell through CafePress and Zazzle and Printfection can hardly be considered hand-made OR homemade. I don't silk-screen the shirts myself, I don't hand-kiln the mugs and tiles, and the posters are prints, not originals.
But the designs are MINE. They are made by me...the result of my own creativity. So, am I, and all the other many artists who print through Zazzle, CafePress, Spreadshirt and all the other PODS part of the indie world or not?
This comes up most often when I'm trying to find places to advertise. This listing is for "independent artist." Do I count? At some indie listings my shop has received a welcome, at others it's been denied. I sometimes feel like I'm sitting on the fringes of the indie and corporate world, with my feet dangling on both sides.
And is this art, what I do? That's another "this versus that" question that comes up in my mind often. My Scribbleprints started at doodling (which is art, in some sense...my children's paintings and even my toddlers scribblings are art in their own way), and worked their way into something I'd call art without question. But my humorous designs are a different story. The pure font designs certainly aren't. (Yes, words can be art...but these are just typed in a graphics program, not calligraphy). Even the humorous designs that took some artistic skill to create don't feel like "art" to me. They're an expression of my wit...and as different from art to me as a joke is from a poem.
There are many other "this vs. thats" that stumble through my mind. Is what I do a business or a hobby? Are my scribbleprints "drawings" or "digital art" (since they start on paper then are scanned and edited and reworked and sometimes made into something else). Defining can be hard to do.
This is an interesting question because defining the products I sell has been a difficult process for me--and not one I've worked out completely. The actual physical products I sell through CafePress and Zazzle and Printfection can hardly be considered hand-made OR homemade. I don't silk-screen the shirts myself, I don't hand-kiln the mugs and tiles, and the posters are prints, not originals.
But the designs are MINE. They are made by me...the result of my own creativity. So, am I, and all the other many artists who print through Zazzle, CafePress, Spreadshirt and all the other PODS part of the indie world or not?
This comes up most often when I'm trying to find places to advertise. This listing is for "independent artist." Do I count? At some indie listings my shop has received a welcome, at others it's been denied. I sometimes feel like I'm sitting on the fringes of the indie and corporate world, with my feet dangling on both sides.
And is this art, what I do? That's another "this versus that" question that comes up in my mind often. My Scribbleprints started at doodling (which is art, in some sense...my children's paintings and even my toddlers scribblings are art in their own way), and worked their way into something I'd call art without question. But my humorous designs are a different story. The pure font designs certainly aren't. (Yes, words can be art...but these are just typed in a graphics program, not calligraphy). Even the humorous designs that took some artistic skill to create don't feel like "art" to me. They're an expression of my wit...and as different from art to me as a joke is from a poem.
There are many other "this vs. thats" that stumble through my mind. Is what I do a business or a hobby? Are my scribbleprints "drawings" or "digital art" (since they start on paper then are scanned and edited and reworked and sometimes made into something else). Defining can be hard to do.
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