Drawing Isn’t Child’s Play
HipHop, Standing Stone School, and Drawing
I was invited to share the making of my artwork for Wab Kinew’s book, Go Show the World, A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes with the Grades 4, 5, and 6 at Standing Stone Elementary school in the Oneida Nation of the Thames community near London Ontario. It was a great opportunity to see drawthinking in action.
Go Show the World’s text is a rap song. I shared my rap portraits with each group, a large group of grade 4/5 first, then a smaller group of 5/6 and a grade 6 at the end. No problem calling out all the artist names from all the groups. This was our icebreaker, our shared cultural connection.
Illustration is not just flat pictures crushed into a book, it can be found on a coin, a bus, or a t-shirt. I wanted the kids to see images as serving different purposes in the world in which we live. Our world is drenched in visuals and we don’t teach it’s language.
100 minutes! When I accepted these book talks, 3 sessions of 100 minutes stared back at me. In a College drawing studio I can read the group energy change like a sailor reads the current, but a group of 9-11 year olds?
First, I decided to not talk down to them. I despise the idea that art making is accessing your inner child. No, we are not returning to childhood, we are doing some of the things kids don’t do, like worry about mistakes or hesitate to start. Don’t even mention that horrible word doodle—it’s what a child does in the toilet and has nothing to do with the magic of drawing.
The kids were more than alright! They were awesome. Each one of them created their own unique approach to subject matter, design, colour and media handling. Maybe our education system can prepare our students for the real world by placing these critical visual tools into their hands, instead of crushing every creative bone in their body. (Don’t get me started on Plato—another post to come).
They were engrossed, learning from each other, engaged in healthy competition—-the kind that supports doing more, rather than feeling less capable and bailing out. The worst new idea in education is using game theory to ‘reward’ progress. The rewards here were not hollow but evident on the paper.
It was an inspiring experience and a hopeful sign that drawthinking sparks ideas and kindles a creative fire. Drawing is profound because it is both physical and cognitive. It is a resonant practice that connects our senses to thinking. There is nothing better to help us embed the content we are engaging with. Drawing is serious play that offers tangible benefits that could partner with language learning, math and science.
As I ended my presentation, I said to the students it was time to stop talking about drawing and start yelling through their pencils. I hope they continue to speak through the language of drawing. Thanks to the amazing students, Principal Faye Antone, LST/Math and Literacy coach Carly O’Brien, Librarian Adrienne Talbot, and the staff at Standing Stone School for an awesome day.