It was a bright sunny Saturday morning when the
children started to arrive. The Gertrude School was closed to public
school education in 1968, and reopened its doors in 1979 as the
Yosemite Western Artists Gallery, started by a group of retired
artists and those who were interested in learning more about the
arts.
Located in the
mountain community of Ahwahnee, not far from Yosemite National Park,
YWA quickly became a flourishing community enterprise dedicated to
the preservation and development of the arts.
The year was 1982,
when a group of mothers of young children approached me on the idea
of starting a summer arts program that became known as Discovery.
Since both my wife and I were artists, former teachers, and members,
we approached the YWA board with the idea that a children's art
program could keep the club alive by adding new members each year -
the parents of those children whom participated. With YWA
sponsorship, Discovery took off like a bird, and through the years
has contributed to the general education of the children in this
mountain community.
Every Monday
through Friday during the summer months, children ages 6 through 16
arrive with snack sacks, and would place them on shelves in the
refrigerator in the kitchen. This was one of those mornings. Laying
out sets of "Crayola Markers" and sheets of 12" x 9" white sulfite
paper, I said, "Draw anything you like," I wanted to get an
indication of how well these children could draw. Some would scribble
aimlessly. Others held markers so tightly in their hands, that their
fingers turned white around the edges. There was at least one child
who was quite proficient at creating recognizable images. The
majority tended to rely upon stereotypes of stick figure, lollypop
trees, gabled-roofed houses, and suns with radiating spikes. They
worked judiciously scribbling a line object here, and another one
there. They seemed to take an inordinate amount of time filling in
the color, or just swishing color around the page to suggest volume.
It all appeared as random selection with no visible thought process
of composition in mind.
After collecting
these first efforts, I said, "I haven't taught you anything yet, have
I?" Eyes and heads would roam from one to another, wondering what to
say, when one brave soul replied, "No. These were pictures are from
our imagination." "I see. Where do you keep your imaginations - under
your arm pits?" They all laughed. The ice was broken, and the journey
began.
All children are
born with a tendency to scribble - on anything. Some quickly become
observant of their external environment. Others must be lead to
observe their environments more critically. "You have to learn to
see. If you draw what you see, rather than what you remember, your
drawings will improve."
"We will start
with a warm up just like athletes do. No artist just starts drawing a
composition on a sheet of paper." The children look at one another,
wondering what is coming next. These children have never had any
formal training in drawing or painting. This is the first time they
have heard anything about learning to draw. They came in with the
mistaken knowledge that some people can draw, and others can't.
"Anyone who can tie a shoe lace can learn to draw, and draw well," I
would declare. This was a stunning revelation to them. Most couldn't
believe what they were hearing. "Anyone can learn to draw," one would
ask? "Yes. Shall we prove it?" They were motivated, and ready to try.
"In this warm up,
I want you to stand over your paper, using a whole arm movement. Hold
your marker in the middle of the stock." "What's a stock," one would
ask? "The stock is the length of the marker. Grip it around the
center. Now we will draw a circle in the air with our markers. How
many sides does a circle have?" This stops them cold for a moment.
"One?," someone ventures. "Count, one, two, three, one, two, three,
in waltz time. "What's a waltz time?" "It is a dance step in three
quarter time with the accent on the first beat like this. ONE, two,
three. ONE, two, three. Got it?" They are hesitant and unsure of
themselves at first. "Use your whole arm. Like a dancer! ONE, two,
thee. ONE, two, three. That's the idea."
"Did you fall
through the air? Could you make a circle in the air without falling
down?" They laughed and nodded. "Now, we will keep making circles in
the air, and counting out loud as we lower the marker to the paper.
"Round, and round, and round. ONE, two, three. ONE, two three, they
count.
For most, this is
the first time they have ever drawn a reasonable circle without the
aide of a compass or template. "Fill the sheet with circles in all
sizes. Overlap them. "What is overlap." "Try placing circles over
other circles in different sizes. Where they cross, there's your
overlap.
"How many sides
does a square have?" In unison, they say "four." "What's the count?"
In unison, again, they sing out, "One, two, three, four. One, two,
three, four." They quickly get the hang of this new routine. "How
many sides does a triangle have?" "Three," they sing out once again
in waltz time.
What transpires
here is an introduction to the process and skill formation of basic
drawing techniques; something rarely learned in the elementary
classroom. Soon these children will be released from their ignorance,
left to draw anything freely and with ease.
Once a child
learns to draw what he or she sees rather than what is remembered,
the sooner that child gets a grip on the real environment, and learns
to manipulate any medium with control.
By introducing
techniques in stages, gives children time to learn incrementally.
They are not likely to become overwhelmed by having to produce a
picture on the first go round. It would be like asking children to
listen to a Stravinsky concerto, and then asking them to create a
concerto of their own without ever knowing where middle "C" is
located on a keyboard.
From da Vinci to
Nicholaides, artists have analyzed and perfected drawing techniques,
passing this knowledge onto their students. These approaches have
served artists well through the centuries. This short description of
an introduction to drawing, is only one of many professional
techniques available to children. All we have to do is implement
them.