I took a morning out of my studio practice yesterday to teach a neighboring Montessori school about abstract expressionist, Jackson Pollock. I had no idea that I would be the one getting the education. Here are some of the lessons they taught me:
1. THERE ARE NO MISTAKES, ONLY HAPPY ACCIDENTS. Toddlers are rock stars when it comes to "action painting." They drip, splatter, pour and fling paint without questioning themselves for a second!
2. INFORMATION IS GOOD. BREVITY IS BETTER. I was prepared to present an absurd number of facts on the artist. It took under thirty seconds of excited squeals and overturned paint tubs to realize that concise was the only way to go! Let's just say that I may be reading my next artistic proposal to this group to see if it passes their attention test.
3. ART SHOULD BE SERIOUS FUN. Some of the kids pursed their lips and made tight little circles with paint brushes. Others dunked leafy branches in buckets of green and gold and danced around the canvas dragging and slapping it with total abandon. But everyone was sporting a grin and paint in their hair by lunchtime!
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