Embracing Play and Creativity

This week’s blog post is by Cathy Karp, Lead Art Instructor. She has been teaching art for over 30 years and is currently teaching K-8 art at Oak Meadow School in Littleton, MA.

Any teacher can tell you how important it is to take time to recharge your battery and get inspiration for the work you do in the classroom. I have been lucky enough to be part of a program called Art21 Educators. I joined in 2012 and it’s provided me with a community and support system that I couldn’t survive without! Each summer I attend an institute in New York City. A new cohort joins each year so it’s always a mix of old and new faces. This year was no different from past years, in many ways. There are artist’s studio visits, visits to museums before hours for a blissful and silent experience seeing art, and workshops and presentations by group members and other experts in their field. This summer the theme running throughout seemed to be ‘play’. I don’t think it was planned, but the activities built on each other and definitely were fun and playful. Sometimes it’s hard to remember to have fun. As adults, fun is something that is often seen as ‘child’s play’ or frivolous, certainly not appropriate for grown-ups.

As an art teacher, in my regular teaching job, and also in my work with Art For All, I think play and fun should really be thought of as essential parts of artmaking. If one of the essential parts of artmaking is self-expression then I would hope that play, fun, and even joy and happiness can all be part of the process. Taking risks, making mistakes, and experimenting are also important aspects of the process and teach important life lessons.

Recently I was talking to some of the people involved in Art For All and we were talking about what happens to the work that participants make after they leave the workshops. This is a question that all artists face. So what’s the answer? I don’t know, and I wish I did, but some of the possibilities are that work can be given as a gift. Work can be displayed permanently, or even temporarily in a spot at home. Art can also be recycled. Many of the best art materials come from the reject pile. 

This is my first blog post and I hope the thoughts in my mind resonate with your experiences. I am really happy to be working with the Art For All community and I’m looking forward to the amazing things we can all accomplish together.