Art, Not Perfection

Art class as I see it.....

When the boys are in class and are given instructions on what to draw or paint I love to see what their interpretation of the instructions were.  In watching all of the children (and parents) in the class, I found it interesting that everyone wants to look at everyone else's work to see if their neighbor's art is better than theirs. 

I have a love/hate relationship with our art class.  Art class is test of my patience.  It's messy.  It's long.  It's interpretive.  I have boys.  Busy boys.  Imaginative boys.  (Did I already say busy???)  It takes every last drop of patience I have to take the boys to art.  We haven't ever missed a class, but, believe me - I've fantasized thought about it. 

You see, I'm a rule follower.  I'm a black/white kind of gal.  I've never been good at interpreting or creating art.  If there are assembly instructions, I can build it.  If there are numbers assigned to colors, I can paint-by-number.  If there's a pattern, I can sew it.  But to go all  willy-nilly with a paint brush....are you kidding me?  It's just not my thing.  I think people that can do that are awesome, but I have never developed that skill.

It's hard for me sometimes to watch the boys paint their assignments in art.  Their paper gets goopy with too much paint, not enough water.  Their are drips.  Globs.  Smears.  And, at times they don't follow the instructions at all.  But, I really want them to have this experience.  I want them to be able to develop this if it interests them.  I want them to have the opportunity.  I have to admit, I am sometimes tempted in class to pick up a paintbrush and swirl some paint around (but before I get too excited about it, one of the boys has a glob emergency). 

I love that they are creating, whether it follows instructions or not.  Whether the paint is mixed to the right hue or not.  Whether their tree looks like a tree or not.  The thing is, it's their art.  It's personal.  Their faces while creating it make our art trip worth while.  Their drawings or paintings don't have to be my definition of perfect - it's art. 

You'd be surprised at the kids & parents who walk out of the class either in tears or very angry.  I think the whole point of art is that it is interpretive.  I understand following directions to a point in art, but in the end one person's art vision is not the next person's vision.  That's the beauty of it, isn't it?  I'm pretty sure that frustration, anger and tears shouldn't be a big part of art class.  That's just my interpretation...