Art Tip #8: Use the library

The library is awesome--it's a wonderful resource.

One reason I'm so well-read (besides currently working at Half Price Books) is that I've grown up at the library. Seriously, when I was younger, the librarians knew me and my siblings by name. We'd bike over there in nice weather and hang out for a few hours, use the internet and max out our library cards. (which by the way, if you didn't know, you can only have 100 books checked out at one time...and we had 3 cards maxed out once.) Beyond the obvious resource of books and magazines, libraries also have CDs, DVDs, local publications (like Vita.mn, which I love), notifications of community happenings, and free events. I don't know how many magic and puppet shows, storytimes, and musical groups I got to experience as a kid, but it was a lot. It was free entertainment, I had fun and I usually learned something too.

During college, I could always find resources for my research papers quite easily at the library. Sometimes I didn't even have to buy certain books for class, because my college library kept them on file! I could just check the book out for reading assignments and save a ton of money in the process.

Today, I rarely get to the library, but my Mom and siblings bring home wonderful things for me all the time. I've watched documentaries about the origin of coffee and being a Marine, stayed up to date on what's happening in the arts without paying the pricey magazine subscriptions, discovered great art books (like Art Attack) and new music...all for free.

I also make regular use of the American Craft Council Library to further my artistic knowledge and find inspiration for my art making. They have tons of magazines and hard-to-find books along with a helpful librarian eager to grow your art know-how.

Sadly, most people only view their library as a source of free internet these days and books are getting pushed aside to make room for more and more computers. That is a great service that they offer, but it's hardly the only reason you should step foot in there. You might as well go to a coffee shop if that's all you want. There are so many free resources and services the library provides that people don't even use!

So, make the library your friend. And like any good friendship, you have to see each other often.

Art Tip #7: Get a different view

Get a different perspective on things.

My 16-year-old, showering adverse, video game playing, Funyun eating, Mountain Dew drinking brother, Andrew, is my go-to art critic. Seems a bit strange, doesn't it? At first glance, yes. But I love asking his opinions about my paintings. Why? He's the perfect impartial art critic. Andrew doesn't care about impressing me, he doesn't give a rip about color theory, he's not concerned about who my artistic influences are...he just tells me what he sees and his honest thoughts. He's not afraid to tell me something looks bad.
A typical exchange goes something like this: "Art Critic Andrew, what do you think?" (said in a sing-song voice as I bounce into our computer room where my brother is bathed in the light of the Internet) Andrew glances at the painting in my hand, "Nice colors. It needs something in that corner." Me: "I thought so too. Thanks." And I head back around the corner to my "studio."
Seriously, it's that fast. He's got a great eye for detail and an instinctive sense for balanced compositions. We don't need to discuss art theory or go into long winded discussion about my material choices (though I don't mind doing that!). Andrew gives me a different perspective on my artwork. He helps me step out of my own head and look at a painting with fresh eyes. He's obviously not ignorant (I drag him to art museums as frequently as I can) and appreciates art. He's smart and has an inquisitive mind, so he can ask me questions I wouldn't necessarily think of.

The worst thing for an artist is to never hear criticism. Receiving nothing but compliments and head patting only serves to make you lazy mentally and creatively. Surrounding yourself with people who repeat your own opinions is very dull and unhelpful. It's hard to deal with at first, but critiques (even the harsh ones) help you see and deal with your weak areas. Andrew's not afraid to point out that I've used the same colors in multiple paintings, or that a piece definitely needs more fine tuning. Make sure you have at least one person who's not afraid to tell you like it is.

Art Tip #6: Don't give up

Don't extinguish their passions.

One of the saddest things I encountered when I was in college: students who were majoring in a subject because it was "practical" and not because they really wanted to study it. I heard many fellow students confess that they'd rather study something else, but Business/Psychology/English/Graphic Design was "more practical" and would get them a job. Um, okay? One of the main reasons that many weren't majoring in what they really wanted to study was their parents. "My parents won't pay for my education if I study something else. They say I won't get a 'real' job." Well-meaning advice that leads nowhere. If your kid is truly passionate about something, encourage that pursuit! To them, it is practical, because if they love it, they'll work at it with all their strength.

I had many people tell me I should study graphic design in college, so I could get a "real job." I was asked often, "What are you going to do with a studio arts degree?"
Guess what? I don't like doing graphic design! I'm not interested in sitting at a desk all day, making stuff on a computer. I don't enjoy doing computer programming, web design or working on tight deadlines. I love making things with my hands, getting paint all over my face, taking months to turn layers of random things into objects of beauty. If I had been a graphic design major, I would have probably dropped out. But I studied what I truly loved, and I kept at it even when I felt like giving up, because I knew it's what I truly want to do. And my parents didn't try to get me to choose another major "more practical" than studio art. I appreciate so much what they said, "Pick something and stick with it." They told me to work hard and excel in whatever field I chose.
Graphic designers are a dime a dozen these days--you really have to be amazing and multi-talented to stand out (like my friend, Reed). I have always wanted to focus on the studio arts, and I will have a career in it because it's what I truly love. My parents encouraged me to pursue that passion, rather than focusing on practicality alone.

Art Tip #5: Inspiration book

Create an inspiration book/box/folder/bulletin board.

Every artist hits a creative wall from time to time. Some will tell you to just work through it, and eventually you'll get your "art mojo" back. But it's really hard to make anything when your mind is like a blank page. Just figuring out what art supplies to fiddle around with can be frustrating when you have no ideas at all.

My solution is an inspiration folder. Anytime I find an image that really strikes me--I like the colors, or the idea behind it, or it always sparks fresh ideas when I see it--I tuck it into a small folder that has a bunch of clear page holders. Pictures from the newspaper, magazines, fliers, brochures from museums, random stuff I find. I never know where I might find that next inspiring image. When I get stuck in an artistic rut or am at a loss for new ideas, I just page through my inspiration folder. Something always catches my eye and renews my creativity.

Art Tip #4: Try something new

Try something different--go outside the box.

It's easy and comfortable to stick with what we know. Trying something you're not familiar with can be awkward, there's more possibility for failure (see Art Tip #1); you might feel stupid as if you should somehow already know how to do this. You have no problem whipping through a lesson on history, helping your kids concoct a science experiment, teaching them reading and writing...but when it comes to art, you're all thumbs and you don't know how to come up with interesting projects.
We can't be experts on everything, dear readers. And making art is not relegated to a few select individuals who can draw a straight line blindfolded.
Like I've said before, just try to have fun and don't over think what you're doing. Just try something new, shake up your status quo.
If you always pull out the colored pencils and drawing paper, try letting your kids play around with some watercolors instead.
A lot of kids like building things with Play Doh, take it one step further with some cheap modeling clay; most craft stores carry the easy bake or air dry varieties.
If your children like drawing, take them to a museum and have them pretend they're apprentices during the Renaissance, learning from the great masters' works.
If you're into sewing, let your kids play around with scraps and thread, let them create something on their own. When I was in junior high, I made some leaf shaped pins out of felt scraps one day just for fun.
If you always visit the same art museum for field trips, go to a different one even if you don't like the art. I really love going to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and I'm not a huge fan of the Walker, but I visit both regularly because it widens my understanding of art. (Just looking at their websites' front pages, you can tell they're very different institutions) And sometimes I'm surprised and discover a piece of art that really inspires me where I least expect to find it.
I could go on, but you get the idea: shake things up, don't settle in a rut.

Art Tip #3: Have a home base

Create a home base for art making.

At my house we have the Craft Cabinet, the home of all our art supplies. Over the years the materials have changed as my sibling and I have grown up, but it's still in use today, getting raided by my sister for assignments for her college classes and by me for my art projects. The Craft Cabinet has been a source of amusement and creative self-discovery over the years for us. If we wanted to make some art, we'd just open up the cabinet and pull out some crayons, pencils, glitter glue, whatever struck our fancy. And when the art making is done, all the supplies have one place to go back to, which makes cleaning up pretty easy.

Art Tip #2: Encourage a mess

Allow and encourage making a mess.

This goes along with my previous post on failure. If things are getting messy, your child is making something and (hopefully) having some fun. Now I'm not advocating paste smeared on the walls and play-doh stuck in the dog's fur, but when the creative juices start flowing things can get a little messy. If art is so regimented and neat-nick that there's no room for error, then there's not really much room for fun either.

Art Tip #1: Failure is good

Failure is a good thing.

Yes, you read that right. Your kids have to be allowed to try something and possibly fail at it. This is true in other areas as well, but especially so in art.

I still distinctly remember one particular art teacher I had at a homeschool co-op when I was little. She would come around, look at students' drawings, and then erase something she didn't think was right and re-draw it! I would get frustrated, because I thought it looked good and then all my hard work was replaced. There's a difference between helping students improve their skills and doing their work for them. What would have been better for this teacher to do: come around to look at the drawings, then suggest ways to improve my drawing myself. A student can't truly learn something if the work is done by someone else.

I didn't understand perspective, scale, shading, proportions when I first put crayon to paper. But I was allowed and encouraged to draw, doodle, paint, cut, paste, build, sew...and through the process of creating I learned. Not everything I made as a 7-year-old and make as a 24-year-old are masterpieces. I try new ideas and they don't always work. And that's okay. I take what I learned and I create again.