Stubbornness

Don't you love it when someone puts a label on something for you? That is exactly what the book that I referenced in my last post, Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education, did for me. The authors labeled the studio habit of mind Engage and Persist as embracing problems, focusing, and persevering. As an artist, I think I can say that there is ALWAYS at least one point in time in the process of creating and making that I want to start over. And throughout my public art teaching career, I continually saw my classroom as a place where I asked those important questions like: "How can you fix that? What else can you add? Why do you not like it?" And I continually answered questions with: "No, you cannot throw it away. No, you are not finished yet. Yes, that could be a solution!"

Though I have labeled this blog category as Teaching. And I have already paralleled teachers and artists. They both overlap into our lives in general. We really are all teaching and creating throughout our lives, aren't we? And those same questions I asked my students apply in my life.

Finally, I want to give credit to a former student, now colleague and friend, Matt TerAvest. He tells his high school art students to "be more stubborn than your problem." That's it!

So, this image is a close up of my Stubborn Superhero Sock Creature (http://www.stupidcreatures.com)!!

May we ask our selves and our students the important questions that encourage us to press on.