Its time to share Olivia's Travel Art Journal from our trip to London last week. She really was absorbed by it and I always love watching her get creative.
A little rant...
I believe creativity to be one of the most (actually THE most) important skill to develop and nurture, and utterly essential to our future on this planet. I do not think Arts subjects get enough priority in schools, and alarmingly I think schools often crush the natural creativity in ALL of us; it's not entirely their fault as they are driven by the need to teach skills to fit in with exam board requirements.
I chose to take on a new kind of Art GCSE a couple of years ago: OCR Art and Design (Textiles Design) and it has seriously changed my practice and enhanced creativity back into what I teach, it is a very free and open course allowing a lot of independence of thought and action. I love teaching it and the students on the whole, love the freedom. However I also have experience in other areas where creativity is quite literally stamped on. Where the emphasis is on 'perfection' rather that 'trial and error'. Perfection is sought in endless line drawing, when it should be mixed up with other drawing skills that create less tension and frustration.
I would love to see Art subjects being studied daily as well as physical education, why on earth is Science held above these life-skills? We should not be pushing our youngsters toward academia, but rather towards a more human friendly balance that encapsulates a holistic view. Arts allow for expression and connection to the body and soul - if that isn't a priority then we are going to get into a bit of a mess in the future, or rather...we are leaving a mess for them to sort out!
---Rant Over---
Thank you for listening. I saw a really inspirational lecture via this blog the other day and it echoes everything I fundamentally believe. I have tagged it on at the end, it's long but worth it!
Sooooooooo...
Prety pictures time.
Some of her pages aren't quite finished but I love the work anyway. That she has made choices to tear, cut, rip or layer...these are all imporant choices to make to determine what works, what looks good.
Did you have a good experience of Art at school, or did you leave with the feeling that you 'weren't good enough?'
Love, me x
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