tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8654887465201994138.post4436092824056776447..comments2024-03-02T09:05:39.993-06:00Comments on Korinthia's Quiet Corner: Art of LifeKorinthiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15580286551375780490noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8654887465201994138.post-86235254184112469082012-11-27T13:56:06.101-06:002012-11-27T13:56:06.101-06:00I'm the same with the art supplies and books. ...I'm the same with the art supplies and books. My kids know not to ask for toys when we go into stores together, but yarn, pencils, origami paper or a book? They know I can't say no.<br /><br />I don't get why the arts are regarded as a frivolous addendum to education as opposed to an integral part of it. One of my favorite quotes of all time is from Stephen King in On Writing where he wrote:<br /><br />“It starts with this: put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn't in the middle of the room. Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around.” Korinthiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15580286551375780490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8654887465201994138.post-58402208387491814012012-11-27T13:38:48.859-06:002012-11-27T13:38:48.859-06:00Oh! So many thoughts are racing through my head I ...Oh! So many thoughts are racing through my head I don't know where to begin. <br /><br />In a random jumble of words, I'll start by saying I LOVE your mom's work. I'm especially drawn to the bright, bold colors, and the warmth. It's wonderful. What a blessing to grow up surrounded by such beauty!<br /><br />When we had children, we made a conscious effort to keep the toy sprawl from happening, for gifts to be given for birthdays and holidays only. I immediately exempted art supplies and books. Lil has run through more boxes of watercolors than any child I've known. We have Aquarelles and pastels (oil and chalk) and markers and crayons and you name it. Art is a MUST in this house. <br /><br />We have visited many an art museum, and frequent the National Gallery at least once a year. In fact, one of my favorite memories with Hannah was taking her to a traveling Monet the January before we lost her. She was about five and a half and was enthralled with all she saw. She had an affinity for the Impressionists (I have NO idea where she could have gotten it...:oP) and we spent many an hour looking up works of art and prints and such. <br /><br />Which brings me to the crux of your post, the cuts in funding in fine arts programs in schools. It boggles my mind this is the area folks are immediately drawn to when the axe needs to fall (this and gifted education). <br /><br />We NEED beauty in our lives. We need art and music and literature and poetry and all those things that may seem unnecessary until we suddenly don't have them. Rachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09317328366288947798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8654887465201994138.post-73569782079583993902012-11-27T09:39:04.061-06:002012-11-27T09:39:04.061-06:00Oh, I love the idea of "Dog." And as I&...Oh, I love the idea of "Dog." And as I'm thinking about it, I do remember an awful lot of dogs in that last show.... <br /><br />I feel very strongly about music education in the schools. So strongly that that has to be a whole other post someday. Technically my kids' public school doesn't currently fund art, gym, or music. It's all done through volunteer efforts or grants or outside efforts. I'll never understand why anyone wants to live in a community with undereducated children. Providing for all children better serves everyone. Apparently that's not as obvious to many as it is to me for some reason.Korinthiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15580286551375780490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8654887465201994138.post-20954189480179271462012-11-27T08:17:26.081-06:002012-11-27T08:17:26.081-06:00We still play a game called "Dog" in mus...We still play a game called "Dog" in museums--though my kids no longer need to be distracted, really. In each room, you hunt for the dog (there is, it seems, always at least one.) We played a variation that involved naked rear ends, and another that involved nursing babies. I lament the lack of art education in school--especially music, which I think is sadly neglected. Kids should take music theory, and they should listen to music, and learn to play music, and so on and so forth. I suppose I feel more strongly about music because I lack the expertise, whereas I can blather on about artists...but only because I had really really amazing art history instruction in college....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8654887465201994138.post-34683535850478443092012-11-26T09:29:04.157-06:002012-11-26T09:29:04.157-06:00Interesting, Sara! Actually, even if fine art of ...Interesting, Sara! Actually, even if fine art of the type that you associate with museums doesn't move you personally, there is still much to learn from it that is worth exploring, and it has probably seeped into your consciousness more than you realize. Anytime you make decisions about what color to paint a wall or how to dress your kids for a family picture you are relying on your knowledge of the visual world to help you choose. The more you know, the more informed and potentially enjoyable those decisions become. <br /><br />Our biggest failing would have to be sports. I offer it to my kids and they decline and I'm always relieved. I know in theory why sports may matter, but I cannot make myself care. That was part of why neighborhood recess struck such a chord with me when you and Mike invited us to join, because that's the closest to sports my kids get.Korinthiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15580286551375780490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8654887465201994138.post-39008819139939084512012-11-26T09:04:23.221-06:002012-11-26T09:04:23.221-06:00Thanks for this post. I find it really interesting...Thanks for this post. I find it really interesting to think about all of this, because I completely agree with you about the value of art int the theoretical sense, but I also am a person that has never been particularly drawn to visual art. I didn't grow up with it much, and I still am not a very "visual" person. Neither is Mike. When we sent Sam to kindergarten, we realized how "behind" he was in drawing and crafts and such, because there are a lot of activities I choose over art when I hang out with my kids (playing outdoors, reading, games, etc.), and Sam hardly knew how to hold a crayon. I know that visual art is valuable, and I can appreciate beautiful art, and I want my kids to be exposed to it and enriched by it, but it has never sunk into my heart the way it has for you and your kids. (Music, on the other hand, was always important to me, and I feel more strongly about connecting my kids to music. We finally started piano last year, and it gives me so much joy to see Sam messing around on the piano in his free time and actually starting to play things that sound pretty.) There are so many things we value that we have trouble fitting in to our life, that it's hard to push for the ones that don't have a particular draw for us personally. I'm curious what you as an art-lover think about this. Are there other things that you know are valuable, but don't focus on as much with your kids because they're not a personal interest for you? (Also - I am exactly why kids need art in school! My kids need to learn about and experience art from people who love it, so they can find out if they might love it too.)<br /><br />Anyway, thanks for getting me thinking! sarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08788232360532750416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8654887465201994138.post-1432413586877277302012-11-26T08:43:23.047-06:002012-11-26T08:43:23.047-06:00I love this post, Korinthia. I didn't grow up ...I love this post, Korinthia. I didn't grow up with art exposure, but when I got older it became an important part of my life. We've been taking Nathaniel to museums and art galleries since he was a few weeks old. Now he's two and he gets excited about what he sees. He also gets excited when he sees fluorescent dresses at H&M and stuffed animals at the drugstore, but whatever. :) He loves art time at day care and coloring, drawing, and collaging at home, and we proudly display his art everywhere. Music, art, photography, film, all of it...we want him to grow up surrounded by creativity and encouraged to express himself. Melaniehttp://www.inwardfacinggirl.comnoreply@blogger.com