Last week I went to a local gallery to see the "Picture your World" exhibition. Ruth Hoyt, naturalist and full-time photographer, worked with the Bexar Land Trust to provide kids an opportunity to represent what they saw in their world of nature. The disposable cameras didn't limit the kids, the process or the end result in any way. Their pictures showed an ability to see beyond landscapes and sunsets; their pictures showed maturity and depth.
In The Art of Travel, I read about John Ruskin, who taught "The Art of Drawing" between 1856 and 1860 at the Working Men's College in London. Besides teaching (mostly Cockney craftsmen) he was a highly regarded lecturer and writer.
And, at the end of each course, he reminded them, "Now, remember gentlemen, that I have not been trying to teach you to draw, only to see."
I think that may have been at least one of Ruth's goals as well.
Photo above from the exhibition, the work of Robert Bredvad.
