Art Room Parables Preview

This is not an arts and crafts blog.

Let’s just get that straight right off the bat.  Nothing I write here will give you amazing ideas for rainy day crafts to do with your kids.  I won’t be sharing nifty photos from my Pinterest account.  If you don’t have a creative bone in your body, that is fine with me.

I teach elementary art, and I’m quite clear with my students that the word “crafts” is not to be used in my room.  Crafts are what we did at church camp.  I am not a camp counselor, or a crafty, creative mom.

I’m a teacher.  I teach art.

It sounds like a simple job.  Child’s play, really.  What’s there to know about smearing some paint or chalk on paper?  Who cares?

There was a time when I would’ve agreed with you.  But the most important things I teach have nothing to do with paint or paper.  Every day, quite by accident, students are reminding me of truths I forgot long ago.  The most important lessons we learn together are about the fine art of living.

That’s what this column is all about.

When Jesus told a parable, they all had some story or everyday context, which was laced with deeper meaning.  He told stories about farmers and carpenters and shepherds.  I’ve never been any of those things, but I still understand the truth the teacher was communicating.  These parables are about an art teacher.  But even if you haven’t picked up a paintbrush in decades, the lessons are universal.

It’s one thing to make your life look more crafty or creative, so you can post it on a blog or a virtual pinboard.  It’s entirely another to make your life actually more beautiful.