I worked in a children's and teacher's supply store once. I became excited about the books, games, and aids that were available for educating children and adults. The main specialty of this store was higher order thinking or also called critical thinking which involves logic and reasoning. It involves problem solving.
The longer I worked there, the more I understood the relationship between critical thinking and everyday things that we do, games that we play, conversations we have. We are solving problems constantly in our daily lives. Whether it's solving a mathematical problem for a final exam or figuring out how to get all of the dishes in the dishwasher, it's problem solving. Working at this store also reinforced my belief that we are all artists. And, as artists, we should not only strive to create, but also to respect the infinite variations of art, medium, type, etc.
There is physical, psychological, spiritual, soulful art in the world. There are puzzles, games, riddles, jokes, conversation, thinking and more that can be considered art forms. Working at this store helped me realize and appreciate that the form of art that I most enjoy, drawing, is not just entertaining, but also educational. And this is the approach I take when teaching students how to draw. We problem solve the task. And the more we practice, the better we get.
More to come...
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