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When I was a little boy, I began to draw. The usual house with tree and beaming yellow sun at first, but soon moving on to vehicles.
Eventually I colored in drawings of yellow school buses and blue city buses with various faces in the windows. Around age 9 my older brother who was 10 and a half, produced a magnificent drawing of a 10-point stag standing proudly on a high point of land overlooking a wide valley. Parents oohed and aahed over the splendid artwork. I gave up drawing.
Brothers are often competitive, and I saw no hope in ever-achieving such artistry. Two years later as my mom was clearing out old magazine collections, she was flipping through pages and stopped when spotting a full-page ad for the Hartford Insurance Co. My brother had traced it. I took up art again.
Decades later, I still wonder how often creative urges, and talent, are stifled by unexpected events, even well-meaning comments, or lack of encouragement.
I moved to this area 18 years ago to be involved in the arts, starting with many classes at John C. Campbell Folk School, spending a year touring museums and galleries from Maine to Florida, operating my own fine art gallery, and eventually becoming director of the Cherokee County Arts Council. This put me in a position where people saw me as the local authority on pretty much any topic about art, or the go-to person for those who-what-where-when questions about many talented artists in this area.
Got to admit, it is a role I enjoy, and have certainly spent hundreds of hours working to remain informed. Not surprisingly I often am asked to serve as a judge for an art show, but even more commonly, individual artists want to know what I think of their work. Now that can be tricky.
How can anyone, when asked to comment on an artist’s work, avoid the risk of discouraging the creative impulse? Children should certainly be encouraged to be creative, but even adults who might have taken up art simply as a hobby, should also be supported in their desire to produce artistic images or objects.
First, make sure you have been invited to critique or comment. Critiquing anyone’s artwork can then be done with three principles in mind: 1) Be honest, but 2) be kind, and 3) don’t speak without a knowledgeable background.
Do you know about color palettes, composition or materials used? If not, stick with comments that address the whole artwork. Does it make you think? Does it suggest a story? (If so, ask the artist if there is a story.) Does it have great eye appeal? Then say so!
As the longtime director of the Arts Council, I count it both a privilege and a responsibility to help artists become better at what they do, and making constructive comments is certainly part of the deal. But I remain cautious, since every time I’m asked, “What do you think of this?” I remember how easily I lost my own creative drive simply by comparing myself to someone else.
One thing, though, I know for sure. Every person who ever picks up a pencil or brush or piece of clay has the potential be become a really fine artist. Some might need much more work toward that goal, but we can all be honest when we encourage the aspiring artist to work to improve, and we can be kind when we delight in their current efforts.
What artists do you know? Can you find a way to encourage them?
David Vowell is director of visual and literary arts with the Cherokee County Arts Council.