Dragonfly Hexagon Study, Colleen Sproat, 2012

Another month and another guest blogger contribution: Please help me welcome Colleen Sproat from Weyburn, SK. Colleen is a retired elementary school teacher, avid quilter and recent graduate from my design workshop. Just when I was pondering the importance of experiencing the classroom from a student perspective, Colleen’s email arrived with reflections on her personal experience during the winter months in my studio.

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I Hear – I Forget, I See – I Remember, I do and I Understand!   Confucius

These words came to mind as I reflected on the experience of attending a design class with Anna Hergert.  I have been an elementary educator for over 30 years and taught with the philosophy that if I could involve my students with hands-on activities the learner was involved (not just observing) and therefore the concept was internalized.  Imagine my surprise when I experienced this style of learning in Anna’s design class!  .  Also, the realization that adults learn the same way as children! I was always on the other side of the desk delivering the lesson. In Anna’s class, I was experiencing the students’ perspective of learning and loving it!

Design was an uncharted place to explore in my world.  I was always delighted in seeing beautiful things but never thought I could create my own original beauty.   Anna’s design exercises were very basic and gave me the background I needed to pursue my desire to design.  I marveled after completing each assignment.  The exercises took more time than I anticipated but the result was the deeper understanding that was worth every minute I spent completing it.  The understanding that was acquired in the end was exciting!  For example, I knew what a color wheel was. I’ve seen it dozens of times in books. In fact, I taught it to my elementary students.  But, it was not until I made a color wheel, had to choose colors and placement on the wheel, did I really internalize color.  Sounds simple, but the doing component is key to truly understanding.  I could always understand concepts and never saw the value in recreating what someone else has done.  Until, I explored the elements of design.  Doing is not optional…..it is the cream filling in the chocolate!!! Who would want to miss out on that!?

Thank you Anna, for gently guiding me on my design journey.  Your passion for design is infectious!  I am so fortunate that you were so giving with your knowledge and willing to share your time and space with me. Looking forward to the next leg of this journey!!

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Thank you, Colleen for such an insightful contribution as a guest blogger. How apt for it to go public on the day I am entering a workshop experience as a learner…

15 Jul This entry was published on July 15, 2012 at 6:37 am. It’s filed under Art, Creativity Update, Design, Guest Blogger and tagged Colleen Sproat, Confucius, guestblogger, learning - a lifelong experience. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.