Tag Archives: Art

Let your hands do the talking: representation and abstraction

Posted on October 29, 2013 by

Following on from yesterday’s post, i’m on holiday this week and spending some time teaching my niece to draw. I’ve been wrestling with the notion of how to move her (at the age of ten) from direct representation to more … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Creative, Learning, Painting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How to learn to paint

Posted on October 28, 2013 by

I’m on holiday this week, down in Devon with my niece and nephew. Ten year old Megan has asked me to give her some painting lessons, a thought that fills me with fear, not least because i don’t really know … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Creative, Learning, Painting | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The languages of learning: fragrance

Posted on October 29, 2012 by

I’m sat drinking a Turkish coffee in the Arab quarter. I fly home tonight, but today is a chance for reflection. It’s hot and humid, as it has been everyday. There’s a faint scent of cardamon, a dusky kind of … Continue reading →

Posted in Coffee, Complexity, Concentration, Craft, Creative, Language, Learning, Memory, Science, Stories | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Heading North: Painting in perspective

Posted on March 6, 2012 by

I realise that i’m grumpy when i paint. It’s not that i’m in a bad mood, it’s just that i’m very focused. The thing about watercolours is that they’re alive, or rather, they are until they dry, so you’re on … Continue reading →

Posted in Concepts, Creative, Ideas, Message, Narrative, Painting, Permanence, Perspective, Reflection | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Interpreting modern art: providing structured storytelling approaches for children (and an adult).

Posted on February 14, 2012 by

I’m stood in a large room, surrounded by giant, towering model lighthouses, slightly phallic and painted in bright colours. Around the walls are half a dozen painting by Alfred Wallace, whose naive style is well known: childlike drawings of boats … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Interpretation, Narrative, Storytelling | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Innovation in the learning experience. Why it never hurts to think about doing something different.

Posted on December 2, 2011 by

Yesterday’s post about interactive stories got me thinking. Innovation can sometimes be driven by technology, but it doesn’t need to be. Innovation can be as cheap and easy to deliver as ‘doing the same old thing’, but, because it’s innovative, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Instructional Design, Learning Methodology, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

How do we learn from art? Observations on interpretation at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Posted on November 8, 2011 by

I know it’s art, because it’s in a gallery at one of the premiere cultural institutions in the world, but to me it just looks like a pile of bricks. Continuing the American theme as i work my way around … Continue reading →

Posted in Interpretation, Museum Education | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Process and art. How storytelling for training needs both.

Posted on November 2, 2011 by

Training is an art of storytelling, shaped by a mixture of process and art. The distinction between process and art may be a false one. Arguably any creative or artistic venture can be mapped as a process, although simply following … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Creative, Learning Design, Storytelling | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment