Drawing in the Classroom

Drawing is a key component to any high schools art curriculum. That is because with drawing you learn about a variety of skills and concepts (perspective, composition, contrast, value, shading, etc.) that can be translated into many different mediums. Plus, it is probably one of the cheaper ways to teach students these concepts. When teaching drawing it is important to remember baby steps. We all dread the day that we have to set up a still life drawing, but lets face it, it is an essential step in learning how to draw. It is the beginning exercises, like cross-hatching an entire page and still lives, that allow people to build their skills. I once had a teacher compare drawing to a muscle, saying that you could not just one day decide to bench-press 200 pounds, you slowly have to train and build up to it. Also, the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. This could not be more true for drawing. You have to slowly build your skill and practice, practice, practice.  It is important to remind students that everyone will start to build their own individual style. It is also important to expose students to many different styles of art so they have a wider appreciation. 

I chose this print by MC Escher because it was the image a teacher once showed me that made me want to learn how to draw. I know, I know, it is a photo realistic drawing, but hey, it made me want to learn how to draw. As I stated before it is important to show a variety of images to students, because this MC Escher drawing may have pulled me in to drawing, but a much more abstract drawing could work for someone else.