The Art Engager

Today we’re exploring 9 different ways that looking at art can make you a better writer. Throughout the ages, looking at art has been a unique way of finding inspiration and creativity. If you go as far back as the Greeks, you can find examples of writing inspired by art, called ekphrasis, which means “a literary description of or commentary on a visual work of art”Art is a frequent source of inspiration for many writers and poets over the centuries. John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is a famous example and William Blake said that poetry and art are ‘ways to converse with paradise’.But how does this work for us, mere mortals with a keen interest in improving our creative or reflective writing? In this week’s episode I’m exploring 9 ways looking at and discussing art can make you a better writer.

For our last episode of the year, I'm sharing 3 slow looking activities for over the holidays. It’s a busy time of year and we’re all rushed off our feet. There’s also still a huge amount of uncertainty around right now just to add to the levels of stress and anxiety.Slow looking is a wonderful antidote to life in the fast line.Looking at something slowly and carefully is in itself a rewarding process. More than that, slow looking improves your observational skills, helps us to become less distracted and more focused and develop more patience. Ultimately, slow looking is GOOD FOR THE SOUL.I recommend choosing one or all of these activities to do at some point over the festive period - it will give you time out, time to slow down and time to notice the wood for the trees. You can do these activities on your own or with friends and family and children. Each activity should take no more than 10-15 mins. One is based on drawing, one on looking and thinking and one on writing. Choose the one that suits you best or the one that matches how you’re feeling today. I’d love to hear how you get on with any of this activities, Please share your thoughts, photos, sketches and or notes via Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #winterslowlooking

This week I’m delighted to be talking to Claire Bradshaw.Claire is an experienced coach, trainer and facilitator who brings a lot of positive energy and curiosity to her work. In today’s chat we talk about the values that drive her work, listening with full attention, the power of questions, and her passion for outdoor coaching. We talk about the similarities between her work and the work we do facilitating discussions around artworks with participants. We discuss the importance of listening skills and what good listening is. Claire shares a variety of tips for how you can develop your listening skills - including some practical exercises too!LINKSSupport the Show Claire Bradshaw websiteConsciously Connected NewsletterJulian Treasure 5 Ways to Listen BetterNancy Kline’s Time to Think and other booksJohn Whittington’s Systemic Coaching and Constellations: The Principles, Practices and Application for Individuals, Teams and Groups

Awe is an emotion that can be triggered by being around something larger than yourself, that’s not immediately understandable. It's that feeling you get when you look up and see millions of stars in the night sky; witness a beautiful landscape or set eyes on an artwork for the first time. Museums and galleries, historic settings and buildings can all provoke awe. And you can foster more of it in your programmes by thinking carefully about the artworks, objects you include, the questions you ask and the information you share. How about you try to sprinkle some awe-moments throughout your next guided tour or educational programme?So today, I’m talking about what awe is, why it’s important and sharing 6 ways you can create awe-inspiring experiences with art and objects. At the end I’ll be sharing 3 things to look for to check you’ve succeeded in inspiring awe in your audience. LINKSSupport the showDacher Keltner quote taken from Psyche - How to Fill your Life with More Awe Every Day Dacher Keltner & Jonathan Haidt Approaching Awe: A Moral, Spiritual and Aesthetic Emotion Dacher Keltner's 8 Wonders of Modern Life

This week on the podcast: I’m delighted to be talking to Jo-Anne Sunderland Bowe and we're talking about how to teach with objects.  Jo-Anne is director of Heritec Limited, a UK-based heritage education consultancy which works on European collaborative projects. Jo-Anne has a keen interest in object-based learning and creative and critical thinking. in today’s chat we talk about the values that drive her work and her passion for object-based learning and teaching.We talk about what object-based learning means and dive into the processes around it - collective thinking, collaborative action, inquiry dialogue and the acts of wondering. Jo-Anne discusses the many benefits of working with objects and shares her tips for how you can better engage your audience with objects. I hope our chat inspires you to think about how you might use objects of any kind to engage your audiences.LINKSSupport the Show Masterclass - How to use slow listening to engage the senses and make connections with objects Creative SchoolFlinders University Objects in Teaching and Learning wheelJo-Anne Sunderland Bowe on LinkedInHeritec websiteHeritec on Facebook

For our thirtieth episode, I’m delighted to be talking to Catherine Chastney. Catherine is an art educator and owner of social enterprise I Picture This. Catherine’s work focuses on bringing art and the joy of discussing art to older people, from creating conversations in care homes, to creating art cards during lockdown and working with people living with dementia. In this chat we explore the strong values that guide Catherine's work - she is passionate about that anyone can look at and discuss art, she loves using art to bring people together and to improve wellbeingWe talk to about the toolkit she has just published with the Wallace Collection for Looking at Art designed for anyone working or volunteering in care settings and, of course, her work with people living with dementia. Catherine shares some wonderful tips for discussing art with people with dementia - from creating trust seeking permission, active listening and creating space.This conversation will inspire you to think about how you might use art to bring people together, create conversations, forge connections and ultimately improve wellbeing. LINKSSupport the Show Masterclass - A dementia-friendly approach to art I Picture This on InstagramI Picture This on FacebookI Picture This on LinkedInI Picture This websiteToolkit for Looking at Art  

So in today’s episode I’m talking about how to develop a reflective practice in your work. A reflective practice is simply the art of thinking about or reflecting on what you do. It is a way of recognising, capturing and articulating what we’re learning on a moment by moment basis.By following any of the suggestions in this episode, you will develop a questioning approach to your work. You will stop and pause to think about why things are as they are and how they might be in the future. You will consider the strengths and areas of development in your own practice and consider how to develop your skills.First I'll share more about what reflective practice is and the benefits of introducing reflection as a practice into your work. Then I'm going to share 7 different ways you can use to develop your reflective practice  and 3 tips to get you started. LinksSupport the ShowEpisode 6 - 6 thinking routines you should have in your repertoire - including ESP+ICIPD Guide to Reflective Practice

Today I’m focusing on colour. Colour is one of the 7 elements of art along with shape, line, form, texture, value and space. It's a vast subject - but today I don't want to focus on colour theory or the science of colour. Instead, I want to get you thinking about how you approach colour with your audience during an art discussion. I’m going to look at different ways you can create discussion about colour with your groups to get them engaged in artworks. Colour is important because it can make you feel something, even if the artwork itself doesn’t at first glance. Colour is the hook to get audiences curious about artworks and wanting to know more. So, listen in for some different ways that you can engage your audience - any audience - in discussion about colour.LinksSupport the ShowColour Shape LineColour Shape Line videoArt Palette Google Arts and CultureColor Explorer Google Arts and Culture

Today I’m delighted to be talking to Kenia Santos - an educator based in Brazil with specialisations and interests in art history, philosophical inquiry, social and emotional learning, thinking routines and slow looking. We discuss how she uses thinking routines in her work to encourage and develop slow looking,  how she keeps her teenage students engaged for 3 hours in her art classes and how we can develop empathy through slow looking.Kenia is a passionate educator, slow looking enthusiast and a self-described art history nerd; a cat lover, free spirit and a friendly soul. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did! LinksSupport the Show Masterclass - How to Develop Empathy through Slow LookingCLIL - Content and Language Integrated Learning Kenia Santos WebsiteKenia Santos on InstagramKenia Santos on LinkedInKenia Santos Email

The traditional lecture-style guided tour is dead, long live the interactive tour! Well, it’s not actually, it’s still alive and kicking in some quarters, but in my opinion it shouldn’t be the way we think about guided tours in the 21st Century. Traditional lecture-style ‘walk and talk ‘ guided tours with an expert guide are still fairly common and in some places are still a standard way of ‘presenting’ an historic site, a city or a museum to the public.Things have definitely changed in the last 10 years since I started this journey of teaching others how to transition to a more discussion-based approach, but there is still work to be done.If you feel you talk too much on your tours or you overshare information, this podcast episode is for you. If you would like to have more interaction with your participants then today I’m sharing 10 easy ways you can implement NOW to make your tours more interactive - that means more of a two-way conversation rather than a one-way lecture.So, here are 10 easy ways to make your guided tours more interactive.LinksSupport the ShowEpisode 4 The 5 Golden Rules for Asking Brilliant QuestionsEpisode 10 10 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Asking Questions Episode 15 How to Use Artworks to Improve your Questioning SkillsThe TM WEEKLY Newsletter - every Friday in your Inbox!