Observing

We spent the weekend working in the mezzanine, building some closets under the slant of the roof and setting up our office desk. It looks like a big mess so there aren't many pics I feel like sharing but hopefully soon. The closets will give us a place to stash our stuff and help us organize our papers, HUGE priority because we keep losing things.

Before I forget I wanted to share a drawing story. Last week S had his little girlfriend over to play and she loves drawing. I know at the mom's night out I go to I talked to her mom and she said she might like to do our atelier on Wednesday because she adores drawing and she's very talented for her age. So when Lola came over both kids sat down to draw and I was kind of listening in nearby while I cleaned the table. S went over and got his Playmobil ambulance and started drawing it with markers, looking up and down, doing all the details. He even drew the nubs of the tires. Lola was intrigued so she started observing him and then she started trying to draw the ambulance the same way by looking but she got frustrated really fast and stopped. She crumpled the paper and started again but still couldn't quite get it and crumpled another piece in a fit. Meanwhile S was busy adding stripes and other details and this was driving her nuts. Finally she threw a huge fit, "can you come and draw this for me Christine!" I came over and sat beside her but of course I ignored what she'd said. I wasn't going to draw it for her. I'd noticed that while she was trying to do what S was doing she'd not spent much time observing the truck, she just wanted it to sort of happen. Since "trucks" aren't in her drawing repetoire she couldn't do one and she didn't realize that by looking at this one she could draw it.

I worked with her and finally she did a pretty basic version of it but it was like pulling teeth to get her to slow down and take time to look. Her patience was really stretched. I realized then and there that there is a big unlearning process for observation drawing. She needed to learn to let go of her desire to reproduce stock images just like everyone. She's only five but she already has the little file in her head for drawing and she had the need for approval that goes with it.

It's never too late to start unlearning. Last time she came over she grabbed a bird off my bookshelf and drew it with no prompting, just picked it up and sat down. When her mom came over to pick her up she looked at the bird drawing Lola had done which was actually really good, and then she turned to me and said "see she's such a little artist. She doesn't get it from me though. I can't draw anything!"

Here's a good link which explains why this kind of drawing is so important for everyone.