oUt oF OrdEr! ...or Kick the Boy and Make Him Cry

Here it is, the art project that had the potential to be groundbreaking in his fledgling art development. It’s a large, oversized piece, about the size of him. Notice the striking contrast of warm and cool colors. Notice the grounding black shapes that make your eye dance from one to the other and move over the page. Check out the balance of the composition. Take note of how it is all so really reminiscent of Matisse. In this photo, you can’t even see that some of it is three-dimensional and there is truly some real depth to this piece. The only problem? Nothing, in the final product, that is. It is wonderful to most who view it. Beyond his years, one woman noted. The problem lies not in what you see here, but in the creation of the piece, the process, which is the part I, as a parent and teacher, value the most. This piece, made in an “art class” in which the teacher espoused “children are allowed to express themselves however they wish”. It’s about process, not product, she said. Buzz words of the day, I suppose. And they are all well and good until the mouth who says them literally pulls the pieces out of his hand and tells him he has done it wrong. You see, in all his excitement to get started, he cut the pieces out before gluing down the background.

Oh my, he was

oUt
oF
OrdEr!