Good Morning Studio Art Please do not get out any work. YOU WILL NEED: 1.A pencil 2.Your Sketchbook 2. Open your binder to your Gold Sheet

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

In 1961, Neurosurgeon Roger Sperry won the Noble Prize for his proof of the “Split Brain” Theory. The brain is divided into two hemispheres. The right hemisphere is the center for creativity and imaginative functions. The left hemisphere controls logic and planning.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Roger Sperry also discovered the corpus callosum. The Corpus Callosum is a structure (a thick nerve cable) deep in the brain that connects the right and left hemispheres of the brain, coordinating the functions and communication between of the two hemispheres.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain What happens when the right & left hemispheres are in conflict? TOGETHER: “Read the list of colors you see starting in the upper left corner!”

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain The Corpus Callosum must work hard in this exercise. Which hemisphere won the most?

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Most people show a “Brain Bias” meaning one side of the brain is more dominant or favored over the other in daily practices, activities and tasks. There is no difference in IQ in either right brain or left brain dominant people.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain Whole brain thinking uses the right and left hemisphere of the brain. Whole brain thinking can be achieved by strengthening and developing the non- dominant side of the brain. The non-dominant side of the brain could be developed and stimulated through a series of brain exercises.

Drawing on the Right side of the Brain Writer, Betty Edwards, wanted to teach people how to draw based on Sperry’s “split brain” research. Edwards teaches drawers that learning to draw means learning to see things differently – to see in ways not frequently used in ordinary life practices, activities and tasks.

Drawing on the Right side of the Brain She created drawing exercises to teach us how to “turn off” our dominant left hemisphere and “turn on” our non-dominant right brain. The exercises allow the right hemisphere to “lead” with tasks that the left brain does not have the ability to do. To be successful we must be aware of our childhood symbol system stored in out left hemisphere.

Drawing on the Right side of the Brain We learn the Childhood Symbol System very young and we we store these visual symbols in the left hemisphere. These stored symbols prevent us from seeing things right in front of us well enough to draw them in any other way but what our left hemisphere knows to be true at first. Drawing from the right side of the brain requires us to look at something for a long time, perceiving lots of details, registering as much information as possible to translate to the paper.

Drawing on the Right side of the Brain The Childhood Symbol System exercise Draw the first symbol that comes to mind with this list of words. House Tree Car Umbrella Bird

Drawing on the Right side of the Brain The right brain exercises allow us to focus on “mark making” over “item identification.” The key is to create a connection between what our eye sees as it travels over an object and what our hand draws as it travels over the drawing surface. Right Brain Drawing Objective

Drawing on the Right side of the Brain Upside down drawing: Using a pencil, in your sketchbook draw the upside down picture to the left. Label it “upside down.” When you are done, turn the picture right side up and draw it again. Label it “right side up.”

Drawing on the Right side of the Brain Which of your drawings look more like the original? If you are like most people, the upside down version will look the best. Why is that? When the image is upside down the left hemisphere is not able to recoginize or label the parts of the drawing and allows the right hemisphere to draw what it sees. Upside down drawing:

Drawing on the Right side of the Brain Upside down drawing: HOMEWORK Using a pencil, in your sketchbook draw the upside down picture to the right. Label it “upside down.” When you are done, turn the picture right side up and draw it again. Label it “right side up.”

Drawing on the Right side of the Brain In your notes page, scribble in the white space that you see around the red vase. This means you will not be drawing the outlines of the vase. You should see scribbles only, no lines! Slow down – REALLY LOOK! Communicate what your eyes see with what your hand draws on the paper! Negative space drawing:

Drawing on the Right side of the Brain In your sketchbook, scribble in the white space that you see around the black chair. This means you will not be drawing the outlines of the chair. You should see scribbles only, no lines! Slow down – REALLY LOOK! Communicate what your eyes see with what your hand draws on the paper! Negative space drawing: HOMEWORK