I think that Evemomma is quite succinct and correct in the various purposes that art serves.
And really, in
most cases, the last of those is ultimately the least important one to explore fully. Item number 3 on her list:
3) learning to express oneself visually, to make emotions concrete, to render ambiguity and complexity, and to more deeply tap into oneself.
This seems to be the single most important reason for
all people to be educated in a hands-on way about the arts. Otherwise, art appreciation would be fine for everyone, right?
The point is to understand the purpose that art can serve for us as individuals. For some people, that will include #4-- eventually, anyway, as they work as artists.
For the rest of us, that third item is critical as a means of coping with a sometimes overwhelming/bewildering world. I'd argue that those not fully in step with that world have the greatest need for artistic expression of some kind for just that reason, in fact.
All that to say
why I think that ultramarina's correct in noting that scribing is NOT a way to do this. I think that, if anything, it tends to reinforce the underlying internal messages driving perfectionism, which in turn emphasizes item 4, which is
mostly not compatible with art's purpose in numbers 1, 2, and 3.
Someone else mentioned the idea of "letting go of the editor" in the other art thread, and this really resonated with me because that is
exactly the advice that I've heard over and over again from: a) friends who teach art professionally, b) professional artists in a variety of media, and c) from mentors in my learning as a writer.
It's the trick to tolerating imperfection long enough to master ANY medium. Including the performing arts, truly.
I noticed that if I 'scribed' for DD (which I did only briefly when she was quite little), I actually dampened her own willingness to do things herself-- because she was then comparing her ability with mine and noting that MY output was closer to her "vision" than her own... or that she was assuming that it was "better" because I seemed less critical/conflicted about it or something.
Teaching kids a framework of "seeing" and teaching the technical aspects of how to CONTROL the medium, though-- those things are fine. I've had better luck with DD since making suggestions which relate to those two things and only mentioning how much I 'enjoy' various technical points, or her expression of ideas, in final products.
She, too, gravitates toward media where her imperfections are less evident to herself, I think-- photography and cake decorating are both fun for her, and she enjoys cross-stitching. (Less ambiguous, I think.) She also really likes to draw with a simple tablet and inexpensive computer software-- I think because she can instantly wipe away 'mistakes' and it's as though they never existed.
