Viewpoint
Ikigai (eye-KEY-guy) –
Japanese term meaning that which most makes life worth living.
When asked what makes their life worth living, most people list personal factors -- faith, family, and friends. Thinking back over my experience both as a student and as a teacher, it seems to me that art provides just such a source of ikigai.
Young people often appear to understand the essence of ikigai even though they have never heard the word. Over and over again, we see children approach art with great enthusiasm. I recall arriving at an elementary school, and while opening the trunk of my car, hearing “The Art Lady is here!” Looking up, I could see a handful of students, their fingers curled through the chain-link fence, their faces transfixed with excitement. Clearly, they were anticipating something that makes their life joyful.
I, too, recall waiting with excitement and anticipation as the art teacher arrived in our classroom. The big brushes, thick paper, and creamy paint were a joy that allowed us to explore and create our visions of the world. In those early years, art provided a nonverbal language that embodied personal meanings; the images I created while standing in front of a child’s easel conveyed thoughts and feelings that I hadn’t yet found words to express.
I once thought that making art seemed like “too much fun” to be meaningful. Only after looking at my own experiences – and those of my students – have I come to realize that art can also teach important personal qualities: focus, persistence, and the opportunity to take risks and learn from mistakes -- to make revisions. Layered with these basic ideas – the importance of imagination, problem solving, and exploration – is a sense that art allows us to see other points of view – to step into the shoes of others.
In my travels, I have found art to be an important ingredient in the lives of people everywhere. Tribes, clans, and groups all over the world have been willing to expend enormous amounts of time and energy in order to create something they consider beautiful. As we study a broad range of art -- from Navajo blankets worn by chiefs, to Raku bowls in the Japanese tea ceremony; from the carved walking sticks found in Africa to the complex tessellations of Islamic tiles – we can see a common thread: the desire to create and place beautiful objects in our surroundings. To embellish, to design and create, to make beautiful – these ideals seem to cross cultural boundaries, linking all humans in common goals of expression. For many of the world’s people, art is a great source of ikigai.
I have come to believe that art teaches people how to learn (about themselves and others) while fostering both a love of learning and a love of creating. With these views and experiences in mind, it will be no surprise when I say that making art, teaching art, and guiding young art teachers to fulfill their greatest potential -- these have become the ikigai in my life -- a source of deep personal satisfaction.
In working with art teachers and teachers-to-be, it’s my hope that I can pass on this point of view so that they will also come to embrace both art and teaching as something that makes their lives worth living. Through this chain of ikigai, future generations will have the opportunity to experience art as a way to enjoy a more meaningful and enriched life.
Ikigai (eye-KEY-guy) –
Japanese term meaning that which most makes life worth living.
When asked what makes their life worth living, most people list personal factors -- faith, family, and friends. Thinking back over my experience both as a student and as a teacher, it seems to me that art provides just such a source of ikigai.
Young people often appear to understand the essence of ikigai even though they have never heard the word. Over and over again, we see children approach art with great enthusiasm. I recall arriving at an elementary school, and while opening the trunk of my car, hearing “The Art Lady is here!” Looking up, I could see a handful of students, their fingers curled through the chain-link fence, their faces transfixed with excitement. Clearly, they were anticipating something that makes their life joyful.
I, too, recall waiting with excitement and anticipation as the art teacher arrived in our classroom. The big brushes, thick paper, and creamy paint were a joy that allowed us to explore and create our visions of the world. In those early years, art provided a nonverbal language that embodied personal meanings; the images I created while standing in front of a child’s easel conveyed thoughts and feelings that I hadn’t yet found words to express.
I once thought that making art seemed like “too much fun” to be meaningful. Only after looking at my own experiences – and those of my students – have I come to realize that art can also teach important personal qualities: focus, persistence, and the opportunity to take risks and learn from mistakes -- to make revisions. Layered with these basic ideas – the importance of imagination, problem solving, and exploration – is a sense that art allows us to see other points of view – to step into the shoes of others.
In my travels, I have found art to be an important ingredient in the lives of people everywhere. Tribes, clans, and groups all over the world have been willing to expend enormous amounts of time and energy in order to create something they consider beautiful. As we study a broad range of art -- from Navajo blankets worn by chiefs, to Raku bowls in the Japanese tea ceremony; from the carved walking sticks found in Africa to the complex tessellations of Islamic tiles – we can see a common thread: the desire to create and place beautiful objects in our surroundings. To embellish, to design and create, to make beautiful – these ideals seem to cross cultural boundaries, linking all humans in common goals of expression. For many of the world’s people, art is a great source of ikigai.
I have come to believe that art teaches people how to learn (about themselves and others) while fostering both a love of learning and a love of creating. With these views and experiences in mind, it will be no surprise when I say that making art, teaching art, and guiding young art teachers to fulfill their greatest potential -- these have become the ikigai in my life -- a source of deep personal satisfaction.
In working with art teachers and teachers-to-be, it’s my hope that I can pass on this point of view so that they will also come to embrace both art and teaching as something that makes their lives worth living. Through this chain of ikigai, future generations will have the opportunity to experience art as a way to enjoy a more meaningful and enriched life.