Category: Arts Guild

The year I moved back to LA the first thing I did was pack
the kids in the car and head to art museums. I had been teaching art for years,
but here I was in LA, an art hub for sure, and I wanted them to experience what
we had studied in books and on the web in all its glory! So that first summer I
sought out art opportunities for my children, enrolled them in week-long
workshops at the Getty, Otis, and LACMA… back to back.

Week 1 Taylor and cousin Cloe hit LACMA, got some really
cool t-shirts with bright orange graphics and got to wander behind the scenes
at the museum. Last time I was at Tracey’s I smiled at the sculpture Cloe made
of blocks of wood that is perched on a shelf with other works of art.

Week 2 at the Getty our kids came home with sculptures made
of meat trays, paper towel rolls, and yarn. Really? Tracey
and I raised our eyebrows, didn’t need words. Not sure what happened to those
sculptures.

Week 3 was Hannah’s turn to go to camp with cousin Cloe.
Otis Art Institute was on the schedule. When we arrived to pick our girls up, their faces were less than
enthusiastic. The girls had been given tempera, newsprint, and an easel and
were told to paint a dream… for three hours!

“Mom we have an easel in the back yard, do I have to go back
tomorrow.”

“No dear.”

That was the last summer I enrolled my children in art
workshops. Looking back, I know much was gained from those experiences that I
cannot re-create in our studio, but where was the canvas, acrylic and chalk
pastel on rag paper and clay that had to be fired in a kiln? Looking back, I must
admit I was a bit of an art materials snob.

I believe the creative work of children should be elevated
to a state of permanence. The
creative work of children is important. Striving for “perfect” is not the goal,
but elevating a child’s creative work validates their process and is a very
important goal. Back then I somehow came to the conclusion that using
sophisticated art supplies was the best way to achieve this goal.

But I’ve been enlightened by aluminum foil.

This past spring I wanted to teach the elements of sculpture
but didn’t want to simultaneously dive into the complexities of manipulating
clay or alabaster. So I taught my students to look at and think about 3D
objects and handed them a roll of foil. I think the results speak for themselves.

 

Taylor began tackling a concerto back in October. The process of moving from notes on a page to music was grueling, not only for him but for all the inhabitants of our home. For the piece to resemble music, he had to break the thing into sections to be played repeatedly.Whenever he made a mistake he would repeat that section… over and over, leaving notes to bounce off 1800 square feet of walls and tangle somewhere in the center of my brain.

I was relieved when the notes were at last learned, thought I would enjoy 3 to 4 melodic hours a day. Nope. The next stage was to add dynamics, which entailed playing Ravel’s ridiculously fast composition in fast motion… then slow motion through absolutely everything in between while stopping at sections where his fingers slipped to, you guessed it, fix each mistake three times. I pride myself a fairly patient person with broad musical appreciation, but any given section of this piece taken out of its entirety is fingernails on chalkboard. So this is how it went for three months straight.

When Taylor at last performed Ravel Concerto in G Major, III. Presto,

Presto… 

 

I was shocked, “What?!!!” I had no idea! Then his music teacher’s comment hit me on the head: “Taylor’s come into his own.”

My internal voice whispered in response, “Who was it up to before tonight?” It slowly dawned on me that the work of the teacher/mentor is implied in that overused phrase. As parents, Willie and I have never pushed or prodded Taylor to become a musician, but we have tirelessly encouraged him that his work matters. Taylor has worked hard to form this habit, but his teacher is right, he has at last embraced the work as his own.

Not only does Taylor play music, he writes music. Here is a recent composition:

 

Industrial Animation

 

This past week Taylor was sick and his one complaint was that he would not be able to work at his music… it’s true.

We are ridiculously busy in this world, at times too exhausted to chase our own dreams. As a teacher, my students readily share their dreams of being a prima ballerina or an astronaut or a paleontologist, or, in the case of my son, a performing composer. But what happens when we answer, “Yes you can,” pat them on the back and watch them while away hours on the X-Box? Dreams shrivel when students form enduring trivial habits.   

Becoming Juilliard material was never our goal. Fighting for a habit of purpose is costly in more ways than one, but we find a way. There is no doubt Taylor's skill serves him well and hopefully will encourage others to engage in the work of chasing a dream.

When the phone rang and a writer from the Los Angeles Times wanted to speak to Taylor… wanted to interview my son, I speechlessly handed over the phone. He has certainly come into his own, one note at a time. What I see developing in my oldest son's character is something that a standardized test will never measure.