Art and science - Perspective

So you want to be creative? Then be part of the "creative class". Or even better, be part of a "creative community. Create new products and ideas, and make a difference!

It is very important to learn about the creative process. Certainly art is an easy way to do this. It does not matter if your artwork is not a masterpiece, what is most important is that you start to understand your creative process.

You are sitting with a white sheet of paper, or a blank canvas. Now observe how your mind works. How do you choose what to paint or draw? How do you go about doing it? When do you stop thinking, focusing instead on doing it well? Or, do you continue to think, rotate the ideas in your mind, erase a drawing or use another color on top of the old one? When is the work complete? Are you satisfied and happy? If not, how do you improve?

If you were a scientist, you might work in a science lab. The way you think to create scientific experiments is not too different from the way you think when creating art: once you understand how you create you will see how to use this ability in many ways.

For your science class you need to learn about a microbe or a galaxy. Why not draw it? You will remember it better. You can draw a plant you want to learn about, or an electric circuit or the brain of a rabbit. You can combine what you know about science and art in order to do better in both.

The art and science partnership is an interesting and important subject. ICAF and the Qatar Foundation organized a symposium on the subject in Doha, Qatar in October 2003. The symposium brought together art educators, physicists, neuroscientists and education and curriculum experts. They talked about their research, which took place in classrooms with students like you, and in labs with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the human brain. Their findings were exciting, although some were difficult to comprehend. This issue of ChildArt presents some of these findings and ideas.

We want you to benefit from what researchers and educators are saying about you and how best you can learn by combining the arts and sciences. These experts agreed that there is a profound connection between the two disciplines that are often taught by two very different people.

If there is something you have difficulty understanding, you can contact us. Just send an email to childart@icaf.org with your question.

Our world today is rapidly changing, and education must keep pace with it. Teachers as well as students need to be creative and innovative. You can show this issue to both your art and your science teacher. And if you would like to learn more about the symposium in Qatar, please visit the website: www.InnovationsInEducation.org

COPYRIGHT 2004 International Child Art Foundation
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group