Learning From a Toddler
How the direct methods of a toddler inform my painting. And Savannah, Ga. this weekend!
As a parent, the youngest child I’ve experienced—meaning 24/7/365—previous to Little Fawn was a four-and-a-half-year-old. At that age, the half makes a difference.
Needless to say, I am learning volumes.
Some of the things I am discovering are the similarities between infant and toddler behaviors and the loose approach I take to painting.
A toddler, at least mine, is very direct in her motions. If something is not working, it is discarded without hesitation.
If Little Fawn doesn’t like a certain kind of food, she will take it out of her mouth and drop it to the floor.
Likewise, if I don’t like a particular brush or palette knife stroke, I discard it and paint over it.
If Little Fawn decides she wants some water or a different item of food, she immediately removes what she has in her mouth and inserts the new item. There is no waiting to see how the previous bite turns out.
If I have a brush stroke that I like, I will not add anything to it to try to improve it. I stay away and protect it.
Little Fawn is not very concerned about gravity. She will stretch beyond her limits to reach something, only stopping when she realizes her reach is not sufficient.
When I am reaching toward something new, stretching, I am not concerned about failure either. There is always another canvas.
I Can Learn a Lot and Do so From a Toddler.
The Forecast Is Up and Down
But I think the organizers will be pressured to roll the dice on this third try for SLAM, the Savannah (Georgia) Local Artist Market.
I hope to see you there.
As a retired educator committed to lifelong learning, I eventually realized that I could learn more from the young children and dogs that share my life than I could ever have learned from any kind of class syllabus.
Marvelous how you compare the two. Sadly, I'm not so laser-focused. I probably need to learn to drop things more quickly.