Practice Persistence in Art

I want to share a video with you.  Click HERE to watch!

Think about the characters.  What do they have in common?  What challenge do they face together?  How do they react to failure?  What do they learn?  

Artists amaze me.  Making art is something we all do, but there are artists out there who have shown they will make art no matter what happens.  

Chuck Close became paralyzed, but he kept making art by adapting his process.  

Frida Kahlo made her difficult life, full of set-backs, her subject for hundreds of paintings.  

Some artists, like Yayoi Kusama, make art almost as though it was a habit, continuously producing paintings no matter what it meant for how her life looked to others.

Artists like Jacob Lawrence made art while working full-time in many jobs including military service (notice the Navy uniform in the photo.) , and while living in a time when people who looked like him did not get credit for what they did.   

So what does that mean for us?  

I hope that art class can be a place where you work hard on your projects because you want to.  I dream that my students will make art that is important to them so that they naturally show persistence and resilience as they try new things and fail, or as they experiment and find their way.  You will make mistakes, and sometimes you will have to review, revise, and even restart.  The important thing is that you try your best and that you keep going.

Your art projects require TIME and PERSISTENCE.   

Look back at your "finished work".  Does it work the way it should?  Ask a friend for feedback.  What can be better?  Be proud of your work.  You are an artist!