MANAGING THE ART ROOM

Krista Powell

"I can’t do anything right!”

One of my second-grade boys was struggling with his artwork again, rather than enjoying the process of creating. It was a pattern that had been developing over the last month. Any unexpected thing that happened would throw him completely off balance. It could be a line that curved out instead of in, a drop of paint that fell in the wrong place, or coloring that went just a little outside the lines. He dissolved into tears and was inconsolable for the rest of class.

As a recovering perfectionist myself, it hurt to see someone so small feeling oppressed by the imaginary need to reach perfection. In one of those “bolt of inspiration” moments, I told him exactly what I do when I feel like my art needs to be perfect.

It was beautiful to be retaught a lesson by the person who had learned it from me.

Itʼs Okay to Make “Bad” Art
I leaned in and whispered, conspiratorially, “I challenge myself to make the ugliest piece of art I can possibly make.” His eyes widened with cautious curiosity. I asked him if he would like to take that challenge. He nodded his head hesitantly, but a glimmer of excitement flashed across his face.

I handed him a sheet of paper, and as he walked to his seat, he accidentally tore it. I could see the despair bubbling to the surface. From across the room, I said, “That’s okay. Tear it again.” I exhaled a sigh of relief as he confidently turned the paper and gave it a good rip.

After he had created the weirdest-looking monster he could, I asked him if I could hang it up as a poster. I wanted it to be an example for other budding perfectionists. Over the next month, I was able to use it to help other students and to remind them of the conversation we had.

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Art Doesnʼt Have To Be Perfect
The next project we were working on was a piece of artwork inspired by Alma Woodsey Thomas. On our second day of painting, I noticed that student had become a talking billboard for the poster he had made. In the delightful way that a young child processes new information, he repeated what he had learned to everyone around him:

“It’s okay if the colors mix, because art doesn’t have to be perfect.”

“Don’t worry if the paint goes outside your shape. Art doesn’t have to be perfect, you know.”

“Painting is fun because you can just do it any way you like. It doesn’t have to look a certain way.”

Embracing Mistakes
His words punctuated a week when I had been worried and stressed about a million tiny things swirling around our art room. It was beautiful to be retaught a lesson by the person who had learned it from me. Art is a haven—a place to relax and embrace mistakes. It’s okay if it’s not perfect.

Krista Powell is an art teacher at Pleasanton Elementary School in San Antonio, Texas. kpowell1@saisd.net