I never know what to expect when heading downtown every Tuesday night on my way to my art class, Studio Seven.
I have been going to this year long art class for seven years now and I have been exposed to so many different things.
However, I would not take my experiences from there back for anything.
Accidental Lesson #1
Edina is a bubble.
I know this is such a typical phrase, that really doesn't make too many Edina people happy, but to some extent it is true. However, in Edina's defence, you could probably say that about almost every suburb of a major city. In Edina, there are many similarities between people that live there. It doesn't sound like a good thing because it really isn't a good thing. So I learned that life is much more interesting if you leave the area that you spend the most time, even if it is comfortable, because you will be exposed to so many new things if you expand your horizons.
Accidental Lesson #2
There are many different types of people in the world.
In an art class, this is so important and makes the class so much more interesting. At one point in the painting unit last year there was someone painting a woman's face with bright green skin, flaming red hair, and string sewing the woman's mouth shut. At the same time, there was someone painting a cute little painting of a lake sunset landscape and a little girl painting her "kitty". That makes the art class such a good creative environment because anything is acceptable to try. In the world as a whole there are even more different types of people, but my art class has taught me how to celebrate those differences and learn new things from people different from me.
Accidental Lesson #3
It is important to stay on task in life.
When trying to complete a piece of art, it is important to concentrate. At my art class there are people; fabulous artists, that do not get anything done in class because they just can not focus or stay on task. I find them talking all of class until the art teacher sees that they have gotten nothing done all class and has a mini heart attack. This is same for life. If people do not stay on task, or work through something all the way, they will not get anything done. Even if they are great at problem solving, they will not be able to share that with the world until they try to focus and get something done. The only way to get something done is to just do it, worrying about it or procrastinating will only slow you down.
Accidental Lesson #4
Only Draw what you see.
This is an art term, but it is also true in life if you think of the idea metaphorically. If you only take things for what they are, and stop searching for something more, then life can be much less complicated. In a drawing, if you add details that should be there; but because of the angle are not, the drawing ends up not making sense. In life if you infer things about people that you think are there that are not a part of the person, you can run into a lot of conflict and miss communication. Taking things for face value sometimes is the only way to handle a situation.
Accidental Lesson #5
There is a reason for the way people act.
This is a hard thing to remember on an everyday basis when the people surrounding you are more than unusual. I have met some people at Studio Seven that are some of the most unusual or unique types of people I have ever met. Some even seem strange and a bit unbelievable. But, I learned that it is important to remember that there is ALWAYS a reason for the way people act.
Learning life lessons can happen at really any time or in any place. It is important to stay allert and try to learn something new out of every little life experience that comes your way.
