Here are some life lessons I learned pertaining to art:
One time in kindergarten I was assigned crayons and a piece of cardboard. “Draw something and we will cut it out for you”. Others made jets, fire trucks and race cars. I made an abstract construct with asymmetrical lines jutting down out of sequential blocks of color. “What am I supposed to cut out?” The teacher said. I didn't know. This was my first lesson about people’s perception of the usefulness of art.
In fourth grade, for Halloween, the class was to make black cats out of construction paper and glue. We were to follow a pattern. I noticed the day they were put up that my cat was not included. “Look at your cat, it is poorly cut, and you can see all the glue”, my teacher said, after school when I asked. “That’s why I didn't put it up with all the others”. This was my lesson in craftsmanship.
In college, my professor chose to show my first series of work in the display case outside the art department. “Oh, how awful!” exclaimed an older woman, passing by. This was my first lesson in art appreciation.