Lessons From an Art Experience
I have always had kind of mixed feelings about art.
I mean, I LOVE it. I love nearly all forms of it; visual whether painting, sculpture or drawing, performance, cinema, and literature…I appreciate it all.
But, I’ll be honest.
I really am not one that ever really thought of myself as overly creative. I always felt really hampered in by perfection and the belief that my best efforts weren’t good enough to qualify as “real art”.
This false and super limiting belief is one that I do NOT want to pass down to my children.
I wanted to encourage and nurture my kids’ sense of exploration and discovery when it relates to art.
I wanted to help them find freedom in the journey of creating rather than only seeking judgement and criticism over the outcome.
The awesome part about having a big old building is that we have plenty of walls.
Throughout our space, we have intentionally curated meaningful art. It just makes you feel good to be surrounded by stuff made by real people.
The back walls of our dedicated workstations are made of off-white slat walls. They were crying out for some color and so I had a fun idea; what if I and the kids each painted our own little masterpiece and then we’d feature them on the walls?
I figured this could have a few outcomes:
Our white walls would be perked with joy and color
My kids would enjoy the pride of having their artwork displayed in a very public place
We’d learn to embrace the journey of creation
Here’s how it went…
I bought 4 canvases and a bunch of acrylic paints that somewhat coordinated with the other murals already painted on our walls. Originally, I had wanted to have an artist lead us in a painting workshop to ensure we learned some proper techniques along the way. Then, schedules got hairy and we were on our own. We found a YouTube tutorial to give us a starting point.
This YouTuber suggested a good starting point is to pain the backgrounds of each a basic color first.
Each kid picked one and then we turned on the tutorial. Basically, the artist used a trowel to pull paint around the canvas. I thought this would be an easier technique.
Each kid had a totally different attitude before we event started putting paint down.
Brynlee, our daughter who was nearly 8 at the time, was simply STOKED. She lives for making things and the idea of having such a big canvas to paint not only didn’t concern her, but she was giddy to get started.
Our middle child, Carter, who is 11, tends to love art as well. He’s a nonlinear thinker, to begin with, so he usually has a great attitude when it comes to creating. He was also game to make this happen.
Andrew (ripe ol’ age of 13) was an entirely different story. Immediately he actually asked if he had to participate because he doesn’t “do art”. I simply reminded him that we were all born to create and if it helps to not think of it as “art” then don’t.
I tried to keep my shit together as we embarked on the “fun family activity” that was totally my idea.
As we painted, we all really struggled with the tutorial.
The more we tried to do what he did, the worse it got for us.
Finally, I stopped the video and told the kids to just do whatever the hell they wanted.
We were all using the same palette of colors and that was my ONLY requirement: that each piece had to have at least some of each color on it.
Here’s how they turned out and what each kid (and Mom, of course!) learned from this experience.
Our finished pieces as we
left them that first night!
Let It Go
Brynlee Undem, age 7
Brynlee really never had a struggle with this project. She didn’t overthink…she just put the paint where she wanted and how she wanted it.
Of all the pieces, hers has the most natural and organic feel.
It was so sweet and so special to see her little personality just explode all over this canvas through the medium of paint.
All The Rage
Carter Undem, age 10
Carter’s is named All the Rage because it’s a double entendre; this artwork is both the “cat’s meow” and was born out of a touch of rage. (not really the scary kind, but the big-feelings that are hard to manage kind of rage)
Carter was super frustrated as he continued to put down paint and it continued to not go as he thought it would in his head. He kept saying “I suck at this” and wanted to quit. He insisted his piece was “the worst” and we had to keep working through that. I kept reiterating that you can’t screw up art; it’s just not possible.
Finally, I “helped” him by taking this small foam roller and creating the lines in his design.
After he was done, I could barely contain my excitement for him. It’s just SO rad! He’s a pretty big fan of it now.
The Mamba
Andrew Undem, age 13
The kid who complained THE MOST ahead of actually doing this project ended up being SO thrilled with his piece that he actually kept saying, “Mine’s taste.” (Dear reader, that’s what the kids say nowadays when they think something’s great. It’s like how I said “rad” in the previous paragraph. By the time you read this, that will probably be wrong. I can barely keep up here.)
He was actually the only person who named his own piece he was so pleased with himself.
Yes, And…
Rebecca Undem, age 41
If you look back at the previous picture of our completed artwork, you’ll see that the one I’m standing next to here looks TOTALLY different. That’s because the next morning when I arrived at my building, I decided that I really didn’t care for mine.
Then, I remembered what I told Carter: “You can’t screw up art.”
So, I decided to employ the improv tactic called “Yes, and…” which simply means I’m adding to what’s already there. I just grabbed new colors and started adding to what I’d already done.
Mine isn’t a phenomenal piece but I love it WAY more than where it started and I thought the title and the entire philosophy is so helpful!
What lessons can we draw from this experience?
Attitude is everything. Whether you’re prepping for something or in the middle of something, you get to choose your thoughts and your feelings, so if you’re having a shitty time, check yourself. Reframe it.
“Yes, and…” is such a valuable concept for everything! Maybe we don’t have to totally scrap the thing we’re working on but we can build off of what’s there. Ideas can certainly be built upon this way and usually, when they are, they’re richer than we start with “No, but…”
Every person is creative and should find ways to explore the boundaries of that self-expression.
Every person deserves to have their artwork displayed on a wall. Honor their courage to bravely explore.
Comparison is the thief of joy. Keep your eye on your own paper.
I hope this little story helps you think differently about the challenges you’re currently facing right now. At a minimum, I hope you feel a bit more inspired to get messy, get creative, and just explore.
I also hope this story makes you think differently about the role art can play in our development. From communities and companies to individuals themselves, the experiences we have when we’re less inhibited, more open to exploration, and allow ourselves to be moved, challenged, and yes, even frustrated by a process, can be achieved through art.
That’s why at Growing Small Towns, we care so much about fostering art in human development; art makes us better.
Art isn’t just a “nice-to-have”’; it’s essential to our quality of life and our well-being.
This coming year, we’ll continue to explore all the ways we can be an intentional home to people that value the intersection of business and art.
Explore, express, and create; perfection plays no part in the equation.
So taste, amirite?
