The art teacher stood behind my six-year-old son with eyebrows raised, amusement thinly veiled.
He likes to draw, she said to me, with a smile.
What happened next was pure beauty. She knelt down beside him and gently redirected his attention to what he had drawn. She showed him how the trees deeper in the forest looked higher up on the page, how to add horizon to ground them with the others. She showed him how the leafy foliage overlapped to create a beautiful umbrella and how to use light and shadow to create individual leaves.
Do you see this trunk? There is brown in it, but look closer. What other colors do you see? There’s not only brown, is there?
She moved around the table, making similar points for other students. Each time she directed attention to the image being copied. Look, she said, or See.
She was not teaching how to draw. She was teaching how to see.
Read the rest of my post over at Laced with Grace ..And a big thank you to my friend Linda for encouraging me to participate in this lovely ministry.
11 comments:
Learning to see...we all need those lessons
so so true.
and I'll follow you there.
Lovely post, Laura. Whether it's visual art or poetry, or people, meaning is found by looking beneath the surface.
we miss so much at times ... impressive teacher
First. The picture. I sat and just looked at it this morning for the longest time. I wanted to hang it on my wall.
Second. Seeing. This is it, isn't it? This is what we must do.
And third. Thanks so much for the note. I don't even check my mail often, for real mail doesn't come but once in a blue moon. What a joy to find you there today!
Seeing, Noticing - to think of how we bring pleasure to the Artist by doing so. :) What a mom, what a teacher, what a son.
Dear Laura, I love this post. You have described how I feel about my ministry. I want to help others see Jesus. Could there be any greater mission in life?
that's an amazing picture for such a young child.
How to see... Lord, teach me accordingly!
Heading over to Laced.
peace~elaine
"teaching us how to see"
not through eyes of our minds, but of our soul
Blessings.
i like the pink with the brown
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