THE ARTIST MINDSET IN THE EARLY GRADES
“Nemo dat quod non habet”
( You cannot give what you do not have)
-Latin Maxim
Any practicing artist can tell you that art first
begins in the mind, with artistic skills serving
only to create what is already seen in the
imagination. The skill of an artist can, thus, be
seen in how faithfully it can translate what he
or she imagines into a work of art. If there was
nothing held in the imagination--- no finished
picture, painting, drawing or sculpture--- even
just fleetingly, can the end product be truly
considered “art”?
A. Inspired by daily Experiences and Encounters
1. Exposure- The ability to see beauty every
day does not appear out of thin air; rather, it
often takes someone else explaining to us
how something simple and commonplace
can be beautiful, and in terms that are
appropriate for our developmental stages.
2. Context
it is almost a cliche to say that beauty is
subjective; that is, what is beautiful
depends on the individual. it can also be
said that beauty depends on the context--
we know it when we see or hear it, but
when something is framed within the right
context, it suddenly appears beautiful.
3. Age
Children are naturally drawn to the novel, the
unusual and the exciting. Bigger, bolder, faster,
brighter, louder are a guaranteed formula to
gain the interest of children.
B. Constantly Curious
- While curiosity is often cited as a characteristic of
scientists, it is also an essential part of being an
artist, albeit that while a scientist might be curious
as to what is in the design of a birds wing that
enables it to fly, an artist might be curious as to how
to make the wing “look alive” even when rendered
in a static, unmoving work of art.
C. Open-minded
Related to curiousity is “open-mindedness”, which is the
willingness to be exposed to new ideas and to consider
them on their own merits. it is the quality of not being
“locked down” by a particular set of rules or principles for
the sake of tradition, but rather a willingness to wrestle with
ideas and ways of doing things that might be very different
from our own---all with the attitude of learning new things to
add to one’s “toolbox” of techniques and perspectives.
Some areas where an open mind is an artistic
asset are:
1. Lack of resources
2. The idea of perfection
3. Critisism
D. ART AS AUTHENTIC SELF-EXPRESSION
- Art can be defined as any expression if the
inner desire to create beauty. Thus, the desire
to create something that is beautiful is the
defining feature of the artist. it is what makes an
artist -- and any work of art that an artist
produces is but an expression of the desire.
E. ART AS SELF-EXPRESSION
-Expanding this concept, we see that teaching art is
not limited to a simple technique--the how of art--but
must also include teaching it as a means for students
to communicate feelings, experiences, interests, and
desires--the why of art.
F. VALUING AUTHENTICITY
- Wrapped up in the mind and heart of an artist
is a desire for affirmation--some outside
validation that the work we produce is, in fact,
beautiful in the way the artist intended it. That
is, artists want to know that what they wanted to
express via their arts has indeed been
expressed.
G. ENJOYMENT IN THE PROCESS
-It would be very strange for an artist to not
enjoy the process of creating art--after all,
this is one of the reason why he or she is
an artist. An artist must enjoy the process,
plain and simple--or else pursue something
other than art.
