A Mom’s Report: The Effect Of One Simple Rule
Have you ever repeated the same instructions, or cautions, or guidelines to a student so often that you wondered, “Am I wasting my breath?” or
“Have I made that point already?”
I’ve had that with the art lessons I am writing for the ArtAchieve website. Almost every lesson includes the “drawing rules,” six guidelines aimed at helping kids avoid the pitfalls of perfectionism while at the same time helping them to focus more effectively on their work.
One of the rules is, “It is impossible to decide if you like your drawing before it is completed. THEN you can decide if you want to make a new drawing.”
After including this and the other 5 rules in over 50 lessons, I had begun to wonder if they really needed to be repeated in the new lessons I was writing. Was I beginning to sound like a stuck record?
Or are these rules so important that they never really wear out?
The answer came, unsolicited, from a mom who uses ArtAchieve lessons. She wrote (the highlighting is mine):
"My middle son brought you up a week or two ago. . . . He recently completed a stop-motion video for a contest, and I think he did a pretty good job. Out of the blue, he said to me, "If it wasn't for John at ArtAchieve, I don't think I would have completed that video."
When I pushed him to find out why, he told me that there were so many of the shots that he really didn't like, or the props that he wasn't happy with.
But I kept hearing the ArtAchieve guy's voice in my head, telling me that if I draw a line I don't like, I need to draw another one I do like. And that I can't decide I don't like it until I get it done.
I knew that I had some lines (or scenes) that weren't what I had pictured, but his words kept me moving on. And some of it did end up being cut from the final film, but some were in there, and they really did work. I can't decide I hate it until I get it together.”
“What a great life lesson,” the mom concluded.
That settled it for me. The rules will continue to be added to each new art lesson!
You can try ArtAchieve art lessons free to discover for yourself how effect these rules are. Get a free art lesson today!
Have you ever repeated the same instructions, or cautions, or guidelines to a student so often that you wondered, “Am I wasting my breath?” or
“Have I made that point already?”
I’ve had that with the art lessons I am writing for the ArtAchieve website. Almost every lesson includes the “drawing rules,” six guidelines aimed at helping kids avoid the pitfalls of perfectionism while at the same time helping them to focus more effectively on their work.
One of the rules is, “It is impossible to decide if you like your drawing before it is completed. THEN you can decide if you want to make a new drawing.”
After including this and the other 5 rules in over 50 lessons, I had begun to wonder if they really needed to be repeated in the new lessons I was writing. Was I beginning to sound like a stuck record?
Or are these rules so important that they never really wear out?
The answer came, unsolicited, from a mom who uses ArtAchieve lessons. She wrote (the highlighting is mine):
"My middle son brought you up a week or two ago. . . . He recently completed a stop-motion video for a contest, and I think he did a pretty good job. Out of the blue, he said to me, "If it wasn't for John at ArtAchieve, I don't think I would have completed that video."
When I pushed him to find out why, he told me that there were so many of the shots that he really didn't like, or the props that he wasn't happy with.
But I kept hearing the ArtAchieve guy's voice in my head, telling me that if I draw a line I don't like, I need to draw another one I do like. And that I can't decide I don't like it until I get it done.
I knew that I had some lines (or scenes) that weren't what I had pictured, but his words kept me moving on. And some of it did end up being cut from the final film, but some were in there, and they really did work. I can't decide I hate it until I get it together.”
“What a great life lesson,” the mom concluded.
That settled it for me. The rules will continue to be added to each new art lesson!
You can try ArtAchieve art lessons free to discover for yourself how effect these rules are. Get a free art lesson today!
Have you ever repeated the same instructions, or cautions, or guidelines to a student so often that you wondered, “Am I wasting my breath?” or
“Have I made that point already?”
I’ve had that with the art lessons I am writing for the ArtAchieve website. Almost every lesson includes the “drawing rules,” six guidelines aimed at helping kids avoid the pitfalls of perfectionism while at the same time helping them to focus more effectively on their work.
One of the rules is, “It is impossible to decide if you like your drawing before it is completed. THEN you can decide if you want to make a new drawing.”
After including this and the other 5 rules in over 50 lessons, I had begun to wonder if they really needed to be repeated in the new lessons I was writing. Was I beginning to sound like a stuck record?
Or are these rules so important that they never really wear out?
The answer came, unsolicited, from a mom who uses ArtAchieve lessons. She wrote (the highlighting is mine):
"My middle son brought you up a week or two ago. . . . He recently completed a stop-motion video for a contest, and I think he did a pretty good job. Out of the blue, he said to me, "If it wasn't for John at ArtAchieve, I don't think I would have completed that video."
When I pushed him to find out why, he told me that there were so many of the shots that he really didn't like, or the props that he wasn't happy with.
But I kept hearing the ArtAchieve guy's voice in my head, telling me that if I draw a line I don't like, I need to draw another one I do like. And that I can't decide I don't like it until I get it done.
I knew that I had some lines (or scenes) that weren't what I had pictured, but his words kept me moving on. And some of it did end up being cut from the final film, but some were in there, and they really did work. I can't decide I hate it until I get it together.”
“What a great life lesson,” the mom concluded.
That settled it for me. The rules will continue to be added to each new art lesson!
You can try ArtAchieve art lessons free to discover for yourself how effect these rules are. Get a free art lesson today!
