The Private Eye Journey

"Genius is the capacity to see ten things when the ordinary man sees one."

Ezra Pound

This week I decided to try The Private Eye with all of my classes.  This is where you take a jeweler's loupe and look closely at an object. As you are looking you ask yourself, what else does this remind me of? You also draw what you see, not what you know. Your descriptions become the bones for a poem.    It  was a very eye opening experience (no pun intended)!    It's with a great hope that I say it was an exploration that I believe may transcend a 45 minute art period.  Just giving the children time, precious time to sit and look at an object and explore the possibilities, explore the connections their minds make between their object and life...wow.

My Hand (like a battlefield)

..like holes of mines

form each day

red blood holes
 from lost soldiers.

cannons fire 

through the night

Chris, 4th grade

* The Private Eye loupes are wonderful but you could easily and successfully do this activity with a regular
magnifying glass or by simply looking.