by Carol A.
The snobbish truth is that I thought that there were reader-writers and visual artist types in this world. I suspected that the right-brained types maybe weren't so interested in communicating with words, and maybe were not quite as talented in getting their point across. But my viewpoint wasn't intentionally snobbish since, as a reader-type, who could casually throw off a college essay in an afternoon, I also felt that I was useless in the art world - and unable to even draw a straight line. (The grass is always greener....)
Then I started to grow into and with the internet. I started to see it as the miraculous teacher that it is. In the privacy of my home, I can try anything out - without the hassle of the commute, the peer pressure of other students, or having to persist through the occasional bad teacher. If you don't like a course you're taking or your enthusiasm for a subject wanes as you get deeper into it, you can simply stop with no explanations due. On the other hand, I'm not a total recluse - I do believe in human interaction, and the happy accidents that happen with real communication. Even in a disappointing class, you can meet a mentor, friend or contact that furthers your goals in life, and you can learn from the other students; from having the access to materials. Sometimes you learn life lessons from all the machinations you go through just to get to class! So when I do find a subject that I enjoy in an internet class, I pursue real world classes and opportunities with greater focus and passion.
What I have discovered is that I could not have been more mistaken about the differences between visual artists and wordsmiths. I should have known from my occupational expertise, and my years of child study team consultations, that learning is an individual pursuit and that there are as many pathways to learning successfully as there are people. For the most part there are not bad teachers - just people who teach in a way that is not conducive for your personal learning style.
The rise of the blogging world or at least my discovery of the blogging world that I can relate to, just puts the "final nail in the coffin" of my out-dated conceptions. I mean really, with teachers like Kim Klassen, Tracey Clark, Matt Kloskowski, Xanthe Berkeley, Scott Kelby, Julieanne Kost to name just a few - can anyone discount the ability of artists to teach? With writing out there, like our own Kelly's month-long writing exercise challenge (happening right now here), like that in my favorite photography journals Stone Voices, and Lenswork and with engines like Google, Goodreads and Pinterest to help you search out someone with expertise in just about any topic, you can find more instruction, passion and inspiration than you could read in a lifetime. Even if an artist writes only one wonderful essay about his or her personal passion - we all have access to it! That's why I love blog posts like Dotti's last one, that offer favorite blog suggestions.
At the last workshop I went to, art and photography books and journals were scattered on the coffee tables for us to page through whenever we had a minute. I purchased several when I got home. I have also spent some lovely afternoons at the library paging through some beautiful art and photography books and exploring new journals. An afternoon like that can open a whole new world to you.
So this post is just a long way of asking you for your book and journal recommendations, as a follow up to Dotti asking what your favorite blogs are. Would you add to my winter reading list? I'd be grateful!
"Everyone is a reader. Some just haven't found
their favorite book yet."
Ashley Lighthizer
