Tuesday, March 6, 2007

On My Mind

Not everyone can draw. Like, say, me. And Drew. Drew can’t draw. Too bad he got stuck with a name that implies he was once able to. Unfortunately, drawing is a skill that is required if one wants to do well in, well, Art, for one. And French. And English. And Social Studies. And Science.
Seems that lately every teacher is requiring Drew to draw something.
“Mom, how do I draw a dike?”
“Like a river dike?”
“Yeah.”
“Like the one they built at Cultus beside Frosst Creek?”
“I guess…”
“I don’t know to draw hon. But I’ve got a great photo of the creek and the dike from last summer, can you use that?”
“No. It has to been drawn.”
“Can you google it and print off the image?”
“NO. She said it has to be drawn and coloured.”
“Too bad your dad’s not around. He’d be able to draw one with you….”

(In grade 12 in order to fulfill that artsy requirement, I took an applied design class, that – yes, yes, taught me how to hook rugs and tie knots. Mark, on the other hand, is a natural artist with untapped talent. The summer after we graduated, I’d make ornate macramé plant hangers (working at the Hobby Hut was a lifesaver – good deals on jute and polypropylene) while Mark would doodle with pen and ink in his sketchbook.)

Yes, kids. Dating was just that much fun in the ‘70’s…

Anyway -

That “Where the Red Fern Grows” game he made last week? He barely passed. The game was supposed to be a trail through the settings of the book. No white space. Start in some forest, move on to a river, then a plateau, then a valley or whatever. The game pieces? Where supposed to be the characters in the novel. OK. Well, I didn’t know that before we started. Thank goodness, because it would have frustrated me beyond my sock ball frustration. Drew and I are not illustrators. It’s not that we aren’t creative … we are. We JUST. CAN’T. DRAW. And to be honest, we aren’t interested in spending hour after frustrating hour trying to draw frog innards, a herd of oxen, or Mexican artefacts. I don’t think drawing is one of those things (like the times tables) that you will eventually get good at if you just keep at it. Either you’ve got it or you buy a camera.

His last art project was to design a running shoe. He loved that assignment and updated me weekly as to his progress. He meticulously chose the colour combinations, the style, the logo, the company name, the shoe style name, even the laces. He worked on it at school so I never did see how it turned out, but when he was done, he was pleased. Very pleased. He got a “C”.

His next Art assignment? He’s to design a cereal box. Make up the name, the packaging, the “hook”…

I love both of these projects. Great business/marketing assignments. But lets face it – the guy who has the ideas, HIRES an artist to render them.

I’m just hoping that at some point this year Drew will need to submit a macrame’d plant hanger, because he will ace that unit.


Three things I'm thankful for:
1. It was 18 degrees today. "It feels like a cloudy day in Palm Springs, doesn't it mom?" Drew observed. I so LOVE days like these.
2. We are hoping to see Bryce Canyon on this trip to Arizona. Bryce Canyon. Oh the memories from when I saw it as a teenager...
3. 'nucks won. Yay. 5 to 1.

Shalom,

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Even people who can draw can't draw, sometimes. In my class (a college design program) about 80% of the time students TRACE things.
So if the teacher isn't a complete shrew, I would suggest a good batch of tracing paper and plenty of reference material.
If a student is told to draw something, they ought to be taught how to draw first. Composition is another matter.
Good to hear Drew hasn't given up, regardless.

Anonymous said...

First timer. It made me laugh. I appreciated the polypropylene reference as I'm currently prcrastinating my polymers project. Good luck drew. I always hated the artsy teachers too!