Research on the human brain’s vast potential and dual nature of the left and right hemispheres discovered by psychobiologist Roger W. Sperry inspired the educational work of Betty Edwards. Sperry was awarded the Nobel prize in 1981 for his innovative studies of the brain in 1968. Visual and perceptual thinking is mainly located in the right hemisphere while verbal and analytic is established in the left. In order to tap into the right hemisphere, or R-mode as termed by Edwards, one must “present the brain with a job that the verbal, analytical L-mode will turn down” (Edwards, 1989, p. xiii). The left hemisphere, or L-mode, approach is more common and familiar in most individuals because language generally dominates. Learning to draw involves learning to control how the brain processes information. As an example, not talking while drawing can help an individual achieve more success. Using the visual tools of the R-mode to draw also encourages greater accomplishment. Drawing and seeing are intertwined. According to Edwards (1989), “Drawing is a global skill requiring only a limited set of basic components” (p. xi). These basic components include the perception of: edges, spaces, relationships, lights and shadows and the perception of the whole. Through these components, a person can learn to draw in a very short time. “Drawing is a skill that can be learned by every normal person with average eyesight and average eye-hand coordination – with sufficient ability, for example to thread a needle or catch a baseball” (Edwards, 1989, p. 3).
Edwards’ book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, contains exercises designed to assist in the mental shift to the R-mode. This shift creates an altered mode of awareness, allowing the student to see things in a different way which in turn empowers the student. Setting up conditions which allow the mental shift of information processing helps the student to see well. This drawing mode may seem much like daydreaming, but actually reinforces the visual and hand-eye connection for drawing success.
Click HERE to take a Right Brain/Left Brain Quiz!
The WHOLE BRAIN link.
Click the picture below to take a Right Brain/Left Brain Art Institute Inventory!
Edwards’ book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, contains exercises designed to assist in the mental shift to the R-mode. This shift creates an altered mode of awareness, allowing the student to see things in a different way which in turn empowers the student. Setting up conditions which allow the mental shift of information processing helps the student to see well. This drawing mode may seem much like daydreaming, but actually reinforces the visual and hand-eye connection for drawing success.
Click HERE to take a Right Brain/Left Brain Quiz!
The WHOLE BRAIN link.
Click the picture below to take a Right Brain/Left Brain Art Institute Inventory!