Playing Around

Photo by Matheo JBT on Unsplash

In March I offered an enso workshop for art teachers in my district. We had a great time that included discussion, mindful breathing,  lots of painting and generally making a mess of things. We talked about how enso painting fits into a Japanese aesthetic context, and how it is also relates to the "action painters" of abstract expressionism. Especially relevant is  the notion of  wabi-sabi,  the embracing of change and imperfection. 

We began the practice part of our workshop with some focused, mindful breathing, to help us become fully present. The silence was refreshing  after a very busy school day. I then demonstrated the traditional enso, where the artist completes a circle in  one focused movement. I also showed examples of ensos that I had done in other media, or combinations of media, to illustrate creative options for elaboration. After some practice on newsprint, my colleagues immediately began playing with heavier- weight paper, trying out effects with mixed media or additional imagery. They couldn't suppress their natural creative impulse to experiment- and it was wonderful to see them playing with this simple concept, and trying different artistic elaborations. 

 As a result of our workshop, one of my colleagues  Joelle Imholte implemented an enso lesson for her high school students. She recently showed me some wonderful examples of their work. For her lesson,  she included some guided mindfulness practice and then let the students play with paint, colored pencils, and ink to create their ensos.  She related their joy in playing with this simple shape as they  tried out  a variety of materials and approaches. 


Play is not a word one hears a lot about in education, but it is vital to the creative process, and to learning in general. But in an educational culture which is focused solely on learning targets, play, and its concomitant children, "failure" and "time wasting",  does not get much air time. But the price we are paying for this tight focus may be huge. Aren't joy, fun, and experimentation important parts of learning? As psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison puts it, “Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.” The greatest  joy for me as a teacher are the times when I feel the freedom to play- whether it's  playing with ideas during a philosophy discussion, playing with paints in an art room, or brainstorming ideas with my colleagues.