Separating layers of reality
There are moments in a life project where everything aligns perfectly. When you feel you are at the right place at the right time. When who you are is well perceived and made use of. This extraordinarily satisfying realization just happened thanks to one of those miracle students who surprise you with an exponential development.
There are many ways to reach progress in teaching (a better definition would be: handing over the spark of understanding and experience). One is through the combination of intuition (listening to the inner needs of the student – the one who wishes to learn – and adapting accordingly, and the transmission of practical tools that will eventually provide access to mastered skills, including self confidence and motivation, and from there, a well owned autonomy.
The power of greys
You never know when the breakthrough will happen. In this case, the exercise of translating an ivy leaf into a monochrome graphite drawing led to a quantum leap, proving that all the steps taken were perfectly integrated, opening the royal path to color.
Old school teaching in art tends to have the students draw and think in black and white for a couple of months before they play with color to try to re-present what they see. A way of simplifying the layers so that they can be acknowledged better by the brain. As if we could peel reality and learn more about every part of it before putting it back together.
When all falls into place
Somehow, in this case, magic happened. The superposition of layers, the reconstruction of reality, from observation to reconstruction, all matched perfectly. Nature’s beauty obviously reached the heart of the one who looked at it and drew it, making the aspirant artist become one with the observed object. As a result, the first, but not the least surprised and pleased is the student who trusted the bold teacher who believed this could happen.
