The ABC's of a Charlotte Mason Education

A-Artist Study

Which view of artist study do you ascribe to? Do you see it as a lesser subject? Do you find yourself overly enthusiastic about sharing all the tiny details? Have you ever wondered why it matters?

Common Place Quarterly

Mar 14, 2023

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People tend to come from one of two perspectives when approaching Artist Study.

The first is the utilitarian view: “How does this contribute to earning power?” “Is it required on a transcript?” “If there is time after the “important subjects”, let’s tag in onto the end.” The short answer to this position is – education shouldn’t be utilitarian; it should be the building of a person, a feeding of all that it means to be human. Starve any of those elements - or prioritize some to the exclusion of others and you have a narrow (at best), maimed (at worse), individual. In our daily interactions with people, we want a whole person on the other side of those encounters. We sense that the benefit to society is greater with balanced and well rounded citizens. These should be the goals of education. Stability, usefulness, wholeness.

The second is the enthusiastic view: Yes! This is what education is about! Let’s embrace it – prioritize it, teach it - thoroughly. Let’s focus on techniques, eras, and influences. Let’s analyze the artist’s life, moods, and motivations. Let’s add this and that and a grade. Let’s nip it and tuck it and quantify it. In short, let’s stifle the life out of it – albeit with good intentions.

As usual we find a sane, centered approach in Charlotte Mason’s philosophy.

Artist Study is important because art encapsulates a significant aspect of what it means to be human. We create. We communicate. We seek to understand. We are moved by beauty, color, and form. These things are not limited to art – but art uniquely clusters them together. These human attributes don’t have to be taught- but do require space and fodder to develop in and on. This is where Ms. Mason’s ideas become vital.

Ms. Mason’s philosophy forms such a cohesive whole that the same principles pop up here and there – circle around and link arms amongst the various subjects. So how do they relate to Artist Study?

Children are born persons. They are born with what is required to process what they need, physically and educationally. Their needs will be different at 7 than at 17 – but so is their ability!

Masterly Inactivity of the parent/teacher. Children don’t require a middleman to turn everything into “lesson”. The artist has something to say – let him speak it directly to the child. Stand aside.

Education as a Science of Relations. An artist or a picture don’t have to be analyzed and dissected in order to be relatable. It is within people to form relationships given space and time. Carve out the space and time.

I have found that most people find the why of Charlotte Mason’s approach compelling. The What tends to be a bit harder to get at at times. There are some great resources here to help - but it is important for you as the parent/teacher to keep a firm grip on the Whys, the Principles.

There are no hard and fast rules. A bit of a biography may be in order, an art term may become needful vocabulary, some aspect of thought or history may be relevant. But are you defaulting to space? Are you comfortable with the silences required for connection? Is Masterly Inactivity defining your role? Is your goal for this time relationship?

Do not hinder the little ones, Jesus reminds us. As with most things, hindering can look like too much, but it can also look like too little. What is appropriate in this time – for this child? Allow yourself to be led by the Holy Spirit.

Jump in and begin. Follow the simple -Look, Tell, Look Again- model consistently enough that it becomes second nature. No curriculum required. The relationships it forms will surprise you and likely begin to steer future interactions. Relationships are like that you know – they often begin casually enough and then…

Sara Timothy 2023

Common Place Quarterly

A-Artist Study

Which view of artist study do you ascribe to? Do you see it as a lesser subject? Do you find yourself overly enthusiastic about sharing all the tiny details? Have you ever wondered why it matters?

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