E-Mail Us

Fall Quarter Essay — August 2007

The way of the small 'a' artist
by Andrew Rush   ©2007

“Art is the lie that reveals the truth.”   Pablo Picasso

In the schedule of this TDS Newsletter, I am offering a new drawing course called Drawing as Communication:  from observation to intention. The inspiration for such a course grew out of two experiences: first, from the many ‘what’s next’ questions coming from our growing body of ‘drawers’, people who have completed our Drawing Fundamentals program and want to continue; and second, from realizing how my own drawing practice involves a rhythm between my outer vision (drawing from life) and my inner vision (contemplative studio work). The essay below is my exploration into this inner/outer rhythm.

When people ask me about The Drawing Studio programs, my formal reply is that we offer a comprehensive and serious studio education into the nature of visual intelligence as a life-enhancing domain. True enough. But what is equally true is that the underlying education—called ‘learning to observe’—opens up issues far beyond what one expects drawing to be about.

At TDS, the journey begins with the two eight-session studio courses that meet weekly, called Drawing Fundamentals (Parts 1 & 2). They are presented by some very specially prepared teaching artists* who are themselves passionately engaged in the adventure of drawing, as well as experienced in working with students from all ages and walks of life.

These drawing sessions are based upon three practices: a) how to observe our visual world in a systematic way; b) how to communicate what we see by mastering the tools and physical skills of mark-making; and c) how to assimilate in one’s practice the visual languages of art already in place historically in our world.

Many of our ‘drawers’ often repeat one or both of these courses, immediately or somewhere down the line, as a way of absorbing the lessons more deeply. Because as one learns to draw, a channel begins to open up between our inner and our outer world that is as unsettling as it is exciting. In other words, how and what we observe ‘out there’ can challenge and even upset our own ‘in-here’ world of thought, feeling, and personal history. With that realization comes an end of innocence about a ‘right way’. In its place is born a new model, in which we become creative participants in the world that we see. I refer to this broader inquiry as entering ‘the way of the small ‘a’ artist’.

I consider this ‘way’ not like a ‘road’, but more a three dimensional ‘space’- available to each life, but dormant until nurtured into action. I believe the interest in learning to draw is a first ‘call’ from this inner space. As a ‘space’, it has no name, nor has it anything to do with one’s age, gender, profession, how you make a living, or how other people see you. It is however the home of what we sometimes call the ‘creative’ self. It manifests, that is, becomes visible to oneself and others, when one chooses a practice; it then develops through a work ethic of integrity and discipline; and it can actually illuminate the rest of one’s life because it freely expresses and connects us to a larger view of life than one’s personal profit or ego. And most interesting of all, around a life lived from such a space is a quality we sometimes refer to as the presence of beauty.

Sometimes I think that pursuing an art practice may be our last hold-out against the overwhelming demands of living in a commercial mass culture, a cacophony of electronic noise that throws up huge barriers to keeping in touch with our inner lives. Given such a world, in order to cultivate the way of the small ‘a’ artist, each of us needs both the steady mentoring and the company of other small ‘a’ artists who share a community of interest and a respect for each others’ efforts.

There are lots of art courses in the world. But it is our working context at The Drawing Studio to provide this permanent community of interest that honors ‘the way of the small ‘a’ artist, with a pathway of studio courses, workshops, seminars and exhibition opportunities—all in flexible formats that are custom fitted to busy adults with full lives, as well as retired or home-bound seniors, or teens in school.

At TDS our teaching artists recognize that art skills are not so much learned as absorbed, in a patient process of practice that takes as long as it takes. The climate they provide is one of structured art practices, encouragement, models of different kinds of art skills, companionship, and a gentle mentoring process without grades or time limits.

This then, is the way of the small ‘a’ artist – a rhythm of seeing, contemplating, and expressing one’s experience in a living art practice, nestled quietly within the obligations of our more public life. Come join us anytime.

Andrew Rush

*The other day I heard one of our master teachers at The Drawing Studio, Cynthia Miller, call herself a ‘teaching artist’. I now use her phrase in my own speaking. I am not an art teacher, or an artist who sometimes teaches. I am a ‘teaching artist’.

©2007 Andrew Rush. May not be copied or reproduced in any form without permission