Blind Contour Drawing in the Classroom

My students did blind contour drawing for the first time last week. I learned about this drawing method after I started teaching, while reading ‘Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain’ by Betty Edwards. However, I had been taught to draw using a method that was based upon similar principles but was carried out in a different way.

I understood how blind contour drawing would help my students to focus more on what they were seeing and would help them to ‘turn off’ the verbal mode our brains often naturally gravitate toward when drawing. However, I did not understand how doing this activity would help them draw better in the long run. I was not sure how well my students would be able to control their line quality while doing this exercise. I also could not imagine my students really enjoying this exercise or focusing for very long while doing this.

I did some blind contour self portraits and actually enjoyed seeing the results. I realized that it is possible to capture contours very accurately while doing this, and I actually ended up with some interesting and expressive lines.

When we did this in my classroom, I was pleasantly surprised at my students’ reactions to the assignment. Some thought it was fun, and this exercise was so different from the way that we have drawn before in class, that it really caught their attention. I explained what a contour drawing was, and demonstrated by drawing a student’s portrait. I told that during this drawing exercise they would not pick up their pencils, and how this actually can help you gauge the distance between features (I think so, anyway). I emphasized the importance of slowing down and carefully observing all of the slightest nuances of a single line. I demonstrated this, and the students were surprised at how slowly I was expecting them to draw.

I then chose one student from each table to be a model, and explained what ‘outside contours’ and ‘inside contours were, pointing out that it was important to include both in their drawings, but they could decide where in the drawing they wanted to go from one to the other. The students then drew their models ‘in the air.’ Almost all of them drew the outside contours first, and then the inside contours, according to the models. In the second ‘air drawing’ I challenged them to pick a more unusual point to go from outside to inside contour.

We moved on to the actual blind contour drawings, using pencils. I had never thought of using a piece of paper as a shield, to keep the students from looking at their paper. This is something I had used in piano before, but never in drawing. The idea of putting the pencil through the ‘shield’ works very well, and was definitely a new concept to all of my students.

They did one minute, two minute, and five minute drawings. I was delighted to see many of my students fully engaged, trying their hardest to do careful renditions of the portrait models at their tables. Some students were drawing more slowly than they usually do, and my classroom was actually very quiet for almost the entire activity (which isn’t always the case). Many of the drawings they ended up with were descriptive in different ways than their usual drawings were, and were more accurate, in some ways, than drawings where they were allowed to look at their paper.

I think I would like to use this activity in my classes on a regular basis, and I see that as being a possibility since it can be done in short intervals. Our next project will be contour self portrait drawing, and although they will not have ‘shields’ over their hands, I will encourage them to apply the new concepts they learned from blind contour drawings to their self portraits. We will practice some ‘air drawing,’ and my hope is that they will take their time and pay close attention to the contour lines they draw to make their portraits.

Ideas Which Stand the Test of Time

Both students and teachers have asked my why it is important for us to study art. A colleague of mine commented the other day that art is fine for those who particularly enjoy drawing, but it isn’t really for everybody, and he has never understood why it is important for us to study art history. People with his point of view are one of my motivations for teaching art.

A prevailing opinion in our society seems to be that art education is superfluous, which is why it is one of the first programs to be ousted when budget cuts are made. Art is not tested in state and national tests, and I haven’t yet heard of a ‘Monet Effect’ (although statistics have shown that children involved in any of the arts tend to have higher grades and test scores). Some would ask, with such a limited amount of time and resources for to teaching our students, is it really advantageous to devote much of that to art education, especially to those who aren’t ‘gifted’ in art, or naturally interested?

I would definitely say that the enrichment provided to students by art education is vital. After all, our ability and need to work creatively is one attribute that makes us distinctly human. Since the beginning of time, people have used their creativity to make sense of their existence and world around them by describing it, reflecting on it, and asking questions about it. In our exploration, we have produced stories, poetry, plays, games, paintings, mathematical equations and scientific theories, resulting in everything from the Enuma Elish to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. It is important for us to keep asking genuine questions about life and our world, as well as listening and responding to those who have already given us their point of view. This is a significant part of our humanity.

The theme of exploration ties all of human activity together, which is one reason art has strong connections to every other field. We aren’t usually quick to group science and math with art. However, once you realize the common motivation for all disciplines, you start to see that each one is a voice in the same great conversation that has been going on for centuries.

How do we, as art educators, impress this idea upon our students? One of the first principles that has impressed me since I’ve started studying art education this semester is the focus of one main idea throughout a unit or year. A ‘unit’ to me has always been a set of lessons with a common theme, such as ‘The Middle Ages’ or ‘Africa.’ However, I am very attracted to using an ‘enduring idea’ as the foundation for a unit instead. An ‘enduring idea’ crosses over the somewhat artificial boundaries we have drawn around individual disciplines, and is significant throughout time. Basing a curriculum on this shows students (and teachers) that art is relevant to all of life.

Ideas in this category might include ‘the relationships between humans and nature,’ ‘similarities and differences between dreams and reality,’ or ‘the nature of time.' In teaching units based on questions such as these, the teacher should incorporate disciplines other than the visual arts which address the same question. For example, a unit on the relationships between humans and time could include discussing John Cage’s 4’33”, and The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali. Creating rhythm in music and in printmaking could also be explored simultaneously. Lessons should not merely touch on connections among disciplines or tip their hat to the enduring idea, but should be measured by how deeply they challenge students to think about the enduring idea, and by genuine connections made among multiple disciplines.

Putting together a unit based on enduring ideas will take more thought than the units I have been used to, but it is true that you reap what you sew. Such an approach will most likely produce better thinkers, who are more aware of how understanding and creating art is important to every aspect of life.