My grand-daughter, Mela (now six), has taught me another lesson when I joined her for the first time at the beach.
When walking on the beach I always look for shells--perfect shells. As I joined my husband and grand-daughter walking on the beach, he whispered to me that he and Mela had very different ideas of shell hunting. She was bringing him all kinds of broken shells to put in the bag to take home. I started hunting for my perfect shells and she was bring me all kinds of shells fragments. I explained we were looking for whole shells and showed her examples. At first, she said she liked the ones she was finding. She kept bringing me the broken shells commenting on each on: "Look at this one! It has all colors swirling on it! . . . Grandma Jodi, this one looks like a bird! . . . This one is smooth . . . Look at the shape of this one . . . " She was seeing the beauty in each shell, but after watching us for awhile--with our example of seeking "perfect" shells, she started to reject shells saying, "This one is ugly!" and throwing it. I suddenly realized she had been right all along in seeing the beauty in the "imperfections" and although the shells she had picked up were not perfect, they were actually more interesting than the ones we were collecting. I began really looking at the shells/shell fragments. The variety of textures, color, patterns and shapes were so much more interesting than a collection of shells made up homogeneous samplings of a few varieties. I had to undo the brainwashing I had just completed on my grand-daughter! Together, we began looking and talking about interesting shells whose beauty was shown in their differences. Accepting the shells as they were and seeking and admiring their unique beauty and qualities. Isn't that the way we should look at people? By not seeking to group everyone into categories of sameness, we can begin to appreciate people for who they are--seeking and admiring uniqueness, special qualities and strengths. I am grateful to have grandchildren who can teach me to look and exam things in a different way. Adults think they have everything figured out (me included) when in actuality, they can learn so much from curious and creative children.
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When I look at my grandchildren's artwork, I see a reflection of their world.
What they are thinking, What is important to them, What and who influences them. Starting around age six, my grandson, Luis, created artwork that was very perceptive. When he created art for someone, it always has a connection with who he intends to give it to. He loved drawing, painting, and using clay--he just loved creating. He would create artwork for me that had hints of who I was to him. He draws pictures and puts labels like PEACE on them, or draws pictures of us at the beach or doing things together, or of me teaching school--he knows me well. My granddaughter, Mila, at age four just drew a drawing which, as an afterthought, she said was for me. No connections there. She drew a frying pan and someone cooking. What was influencing her? She was watching one of her mother's friends cooking eggs on the stove. How did I fit into to this? Her mother was on a video call (WeChat) talking to me and handed the phone to her. Mila desperately wanted to have a connection with me, but because I haven't seen her in over a year, she had very little to go on. So, she brought me into her world. I see my grandson every day, and my grand-daughter maybe once a year. Connections between people . . . that is what is important. Even the little ones know this and try to create connections with those around them. In my teaching this next school year, I think that I will concentrate on making connections with my students and having them make connections through their art with others. I will continue to strive to provide opportunities for them to connect with students in other cultures. This is one way that we can work on achieving peace in the world--through connecting students with art and writing. In my personal world, I need to work on those connections with all of my grandchildren. Like my students, I will need to make an extra effort to connect with those that are far away. In the case with my grandchildren, they are hours away. Maybe, I should do an art exchange with them. |