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Alan speaks in a very symbolic and esoteric manner in some parts of his books. Although they can be read anthroposophically, passages speaking of Atlantis, archangels, gods, etc. do not need to be taken literarily to be meaningful. The more you read, the more you will realize he uses many different religions to express ideas in a symbolic manner and not in a religious manner. His writings are not religious. In some places his writings are meant to refer to religious events in a historical way. In some places he is using religious figures (from Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Paganism, Ancient Roman and Greek Religions, etc.) in a symbolic manner. However, at no point is he promoting a specific religion or speaking from a religious point of view.
I have kept the writing as close to one-hundred percent original so you will also find that he speaks of Australia often and some spelling or manners of speaking may be cultural. Any words I have changed are presented like this: <word>.
Also keep in mind that these books are written by a Waldorf teacher with decades of experience who also studied with a Steiner student himself, so he speaks to an audience that is dedicating their lives to the Waldorf method without exception.
Because of this, all of his views are not reflected in the Earthschooling curriculum and not all of them may be ones you want to embrace or are able to use. In all of Alan Whitehead’s writings the opinions are his own and may not align with Earthschooling or Waldorf Books. In some cases, we will be updating some of these chapters in the future with additional and/or updated information.
Ultimately, however, as I read through these passages I find I can distill wisdom from even those paragraphs that do not resonate with me.
We invite you to read with an open mind and heart and with eagerness to learn and discuss…
Fire in the Water
Brush & Ink Drawing – Class 9
The visiting Japanese student was 15 but looked younger. Edo was warmly accepted into the Class 9 community, even though she had minimal English. In her traditional obsequious way, Edo had tried to please in the other units she had attended; even coping text from the blackboard of which she didn’t even know the meaning.
Art Teacher spent some time on the introduction to this first lesson of a 3-week afternoon block on Drawing. In her own way she described these ‘Will’ block lessons as educating the ‘hand’ of the student – equally as important as ‘head’ main lessons, or ‘heart’ middles. She spoke of the fine, 3-fold balance of an holistic ‘learning program’ … a sterile term she thought, why not the word ‘curriculum’, from the Latin ‘curricle’, meaning ‘divine chariot’; that which contains the spiritually-rich content of every subject.
These metabolic/limb afternoon lessons devolve into four streams – Visual Arts, Craft, Technics, and Practical. All four minister to one of the four ‘bodies’ of Man – ego, astral, etheric, and physical – in the same order. Edo’s purple-black eyes seemed to glitter in recognition at this mention of ‘ego’, but Art Teacher didn’t notice, and continued her dissertation about Visual Arts being an ego-in-the-will study. This is self-consciousness (ego) through the fire (will) of activity.
Therefore, Visual Arts, first and foremost the ego block lesson, calls on the blood of the child/student – the ego lives in the blood. The blood is 3-fold in its essence; arterial, venous, and that which is the vehicle itself, the golden plasm – red, blue, and yellow. These are the 3 primary colors, those that, collectively, comprise the ego of Man.
These 3 blood elements are informed by one or other of the 3 Visual Arts strands of Paint, Sculpture and Drawing. AS it was a Drawing lesson Art Teacher was presenting, the forces of the venous, or ‘blue’ blood would be awakened. The 3 soul aspects of will, feeling and thinking are the tripartite paths of artistic consciousness for the 3 Visual Arts units. In Drawing it is Thinking that which depends so much on the blue blood, left-brain, right-side activity, which is the operative physiological factor. One can’t draw without thinking – or conversely, a drawing is a thought, or a series of concepts perhaps? Edo’s eyes began to glaze over at this point, as probably are yours!
A painting can be totally free of ideas, as can a sculpture – but a drawing without a recognizable thought is more likely to be mere design. Indeed, drawing is not just desiccated concepts; a skill with pencil, pen, chalk – or brush even – is indication of that faculty-of-the-future, Imaginative Cognition – picture thoughts! This will gradually displace the old, degenerating Aristotelian, logic-based thought life; that which has dominated Western Civilization for the last 2 ½ thousand years.
Art Teacher knew that the time for the opening of the flower of Imaginative Cognition (a term coined by Rudolf Steiner) was imminent. The crossing of the mighty evolutionary bridge not the 3rd Millennium was a signal that the hour was approaching – hence the importance of a consistent, intelligent drawing program – er, curriculum – from Class 1 to 12; one which was not mere handmaid to other subjects.
To draw a thought, even something relatively simple, like a flower, is to release it from the prison of concept. The difference between a lifeless verbal or written description – of, say, a daisy – and a sensitive drawing of same, is the difference between a dead and a living idea. Of course, the better the drawing – not just naturalistic, but aesthetic – the more living the idea.
People with a natural drawing talent are already exploring the hidden pathway to Imaginative Cognition, or ‘picture consciousness’. It’s interesting that no-one could really draw before the Renaissance; a period of awakening being re-experienced, incidentally, by 15-year-olds. This great 15th Century leap forward in imagination coincided with the birth of a new Zodiacal Age, one which entered human affairs in 1413, as the sun preceded on its effulgent way through the constellations.
The new age also heralded the birth of a new soul faculty, the Consciousness or Spiritual Soul. It is this ‘spiritual’ factor upon which Imaginative Cognition will increasingly depend. Another interpretation of Consciousness Soul (semi-transformed Physical Body or Will) is ego-in-the-will, just like the Visual Arts! So many laminars of body, soul, and spirit go into the very human Art of Drawing.
“So, what’s this lesson about?!” asked Anna with impatience; her flushed heart-shaped face and wild, auburn mane contrasting with Edo’s impassive, porcelain features and satin-black hair.
“This lesson’s called Brush and Ink Drawing – like this!” Art Teacher, her own blond hair shining in the afternoon light, held up a beautiful print of Hokusai’s Ocean and Fujiyama. At this, the lovely Edo could not maintain her inborn restraint; she leant forward, dark eyes a-sparkle. Art Teacher pretended not to notice as she continued.
“You see, many people call this a painting, but it’s not.”
“It looks like a painting to me” said Alan skeptically.
“Brush & Ink is really drawing; it accords with all the laws of the ‘graphein’, meaning ‘to draw’ – or write – and contrasts with those of true painting – although, like some painting, ink is water-based. The brush is used as a soft pencil, capable even of fine-line techniques. There is no modeling or feathering in this kind of drawing – and there is no mixing of color – although one can tone a hue down from its original strength, such as a series of greys from carbon black ink.
I’ve brought in a pile of saucers for this mixing, and to transfer the color to the paper. We never work straight out of the ink bottle, rather dripping the brush into the tiny (highly concentrated) bottle and dripping a small amount onto the saucer palette.
These colors are so permanent that we never dip a brush which might have, say, blue ink on it, into the red bottle. A professional approach is to have a brush (especially the big ones) of every color. As we usually draw a limited color range with inks, this is not a problem. With small brushes, like the Number 3s we use to do our detailing, it is usually okay to change colors as long as the brush is washed clean between colors.
A good way to quickly recognize a correct color brush, is to dip the handle into the ink, or paint the ferrule. One mistake, such as the blue and red example above, can ruin a $5 bottle of ink in an instant, leaving us with an un-named, un-wanted ‘purple’. We prefer the deep violet ink crated by the manufacturer thank you!
So, this lesson is all about discrimination – and subtlety; Hokusai’s drawings are among the most sophisticated ever bequeathed to an art-hungry humanity …”
“Hokusai” corrected Edo “Him – ah – name Hokusai … Japan man, um, we think very good.” Art Teacher made a note to be careful about her Japanese pronunciation – especially with this bright-eyed, straight-backed girl in the class. She went on to tell the students what they would be doing over the next 3 weeks; of how, with this difficult art form, a nature theme seemed appropriate.
This would harmonize with the incipient Renaissance consciousness in the 15-year-olds; one where plants and animals were looked at for the first time, as they really are, right down to the whiskers on the rabbit. The students might bring a particular flower into the room; or take their drawing boards out to render an interesting tree – or even study a grasshopper from a photo, in view of redeeming it into art. Although there is a strong naturalistic slant to the lesson. Brush & Ink also lends itself to stylization – and originality!
The first drawing Edo chose, was a large pinecone. Art Teacher thought she’d have trouble with this (a drawing in black ink only); because to render the black area, one had to draw the spaces rather than the beautifully shaped see-covering protrusions. In other words, she would have to draw in negative. The cone sat on the easel (one which sloped at a comfortable 20 degrees), and Edo sat watching it.
Did she expect the brooding cone to wander off the page – or to speak to her even?! Both absurdities were suggested by the intensity of her gaze – a perception inward as well as external. Edo must have sat there, unblinking, and unmoving, for a full 15 minutes – a silken cocoon of tranquility spun around her, an insulation from the idle chatter and busy-body activity of the class.
She slowly took up her brush, and with utmost care and precision, placed a tiny pool, like a shining black eye, on her palette. Then she began to draw. This she did with the greatest possible economy of line; a flick here – unhurried and uncorrected – a dab there. To Art Teachers’ astonishment, Edo did indeed express the negative spaces – the etheric aspect – of this wonderful form.
This was a very Asian talent, as artists from the more materialistic West see, not space, but substance. Anna saw no spaces, choosing to draw a stunningly lovely Matchhead Bromiliad. This was a duotone, using crimson and ultramarine only for these exotic flowers. Each stroke was a joy; a portrayal of her own red-blue blood duality!
Generally, a brush and ink drawing is finished in one sitting; but the nature of the medium suggests that it can also be worked on at a later time. The artist can use either a completely dry technique or moisten the area to be drawn on to give a certain softness. Ink washes are done this way, as in the sky on Hokusai’s masterpiece. Because of the impact and style, brush and ink drawing is favored in the commercial art world, where many slick illustrations in fashion magazines are done in this medium. (Unless on that insidious new invention, the ‘Painter’ computer program; that which is fast replacing the artist’s easel!)
Alan, always one to work alone if possible, took his board out to draw a particularly radiant Liquidambar tree. It was in full Autumn raiment; so, he used only those colors which would express this – umber, burnt sienna, orange, and brick red; all available as single inks.
He used a stipple effect, with only minimal line to suggest the branch structure. Naturally many of the color patches overlapped, creating hundreds more hues beside the original four. But he was careful not to dab wet on wet, as only a dirty puddle would result. Like many of these drawings, the subject sat on a sea of white.
A brush & ink drawing does not have to cover the paper in many cases, the image is nicely contrasted and complemented by the virgin white. This is another departure from painting, or most painting anyway, where the artist is required to cover the whole canvas/board/paper.
There was even a day when the class worked on light-colored card; this was also finely textured and gave some remarkable effects as it slightly changed the hues applied – as well as creating a particular mood. Colors such as sepia, powder blue and lavender were popular here. Sepia ink was a favorite with the students, providing an old-world effect, like that of a faded photograph.
“What does the word ‘ink’ mean?” asked Kathy one day. Art Teacher had to access her soul-archives before replying.
“It was, um, originally ‘enc’ – short for ‘encaustic’, meaning ‘to burn’. This is yet another quality which separates this medium from that of painting, such as watercolor. Drawing is, generally speaking, harder – in the sclerotic sense – than painting. It is more direct, more immediate, like a flame. Ink Drawing ‘burns’ into one’s perceptions, whereas (good) painting massages them. Encaustic art is – or more correctly was – one in which colored wax was drawn onto fabric, and hot irons applied. These melted the wax, impregnating the color – colored ‘encs’ indeed! This was a kind of inverse batik. So ‘ink’ means ‘to burn’; even though it is water based – we like to think of it as the Fire of the Creative Spirit – fire really can live in water yes?”
When Edo got the gist of what this unit was about, she brought in her own materials; matching hand-made brushes (her great-grandfather’s), specially ground inks – and tiny ceramic bowls for mixing. So popular were these, that the other students clamored to borrow them. That is until Art Teacher brought a stock of equivalent – Made in Japan! – materials. At least they had choice now; many students still preferred the quality – pointed – sable brushes, and wider range of colored inks – Edo was certainly a ‘minimalist’!
One day Edo removed her pinecone drawing from the display board; she placed it on her spotless easel and arranged her two brushes beside her ink dishes. Once again she stared at, not the actual cone, but her drawing of same. This time was different though; after a few minutes her ink-dark eyes closed. The casual observer might think that this diminutive Japanese girl was having an afternoon nap; but here was consciousness in her posture – her shoulders were awake!
On returning to the real world, she took up her brush with the now-familiar deliberation and began to draw. After a very short time, a little sepia-and-grey squirrel appeared, sitting on the pinecone!
The squirrel had a cheeky look, with black-button eyes – not unlike its creator’s! The tail was raised in the way squirrels do just prior to darting up their pine tree homes. In spite of not being an attempt at slavish copying, the little animal was alive – so very alive.
Alan strolled over to look; he stood wordlessly admiring it and stared down at the ever-humble Edo. She smiled apologetically and stammered. “It … um, rat? Sumting like dat?” Art Teacher shook her head in amazement as she placed her hands assuringly on her talented student’s shoulders and said.
“That’s squirrel dear – the animal’s a squirrel.” But then she thought “Oh Edo, you may not have much English, but Imaginative Cognition? Well, that’s another matter!”
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