“Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” SEEING AS AN ARTIST “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain”

Header Date: 9/16/15 Course Title: Art I: Unit/Chapter: Basic Design Topic: Seeing as an Artist

State Standards Covered: Standard: 2.4 Review and refine observational drawing skills

Effective Communicators Quality Learners SLO’s: Effective Communicators Quality Learners

The Big Question Why important: Why is it important to know how to draw well? Answer ____________________________

ANYONE CAN LEARN TO DRAW Drawing is not a magical ability

Drawing Accurately Is a Matter of Learning to Process Information in the Special Way Used By Artists

This Way of Artistic Seeing is Achieved by Using the Right side of Your Brain When You Look at Things. Let Me Explain ……….

The Human Brain Has Two Sides or “Hemispheres”, One is the left side, the other is the right Each side is responsible for a different mode of thinking Right Left

PRACTICAL ARTISTIC LEFT SIDE RIGHT SIDE Non-rational Math Language Creative Nonverbal Reason and Fact Intuitive Symbolic Thinking Holistic Controls Right Hand Controls Left Hand Step-By-Step Problem Solving Sees Likeness Between Things

In Most People, the Left Side of the Brain is Dominant Trained from early childhood to think symbolically in terms of letters, numbers, etc. Left brain interprets all images into simplified visual symbols. Results in childish, “stick figure” like drawings.

You Need to Trick Left Brain into Giving Up Control to Right Brain Ahhhh Right Brain in Control !!! Then you can see and draw images as they really are, rather than reverting to childish symbols

Through the completion of perception changing exercises such as this one: What do you see? A Vase? Two Faces?

VASE OR FACE? When you see the vase, you are using the left side of your brain When you see the two faces, you are using the right side of your brain

Practice Seeing the Image Both Ways, Until You Can Consciously Make the Left to Right Brain Shift

Essential Question Why should you think with the right side of your brain when you are trying to draw realistically ? Answer: ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________

dmyers@maricopaschools.org