After 35 years in the atelier, I am haunted by a recurring image: the bush of thistles.
I see it in the eyes of seasoned educators and weary adults—a dense, prickly thicket of no, should, and impossible. We speak of educare, of drawing out the light, yet we have become master architects of our own shadows.
Who participates in this artwork of battlements?
We are the spindle weavers. We spin the wool of bureaucracy and the dry yarn of exhaustion until we have built a fortress that keeps the world and our own joy at bay. We have traded the messy, breathtaking process of unfolding for the rigid safety of the thorn.
The Wind of Change
I believe that no pedagogy is more radical, and no course more nurturing, than the resurrection of the adult imagination. The sense of wonder is not a soft skill. It is the oxygen of the spirit; the wind of change that prevents the stagnant air of the status quo from suffocating our schools and our homes. When we refresh our awe, we do not just feel better. We balance the scales of our entire existence.
Finding the Thread
My work has shifted. The atelier is now a sanctuary for the grown ups who have forgotten how to play.
I am currently working with adults who are tired of the thistles, searching together for the beginning of the thread. It is a singular, glowing strand of creativity that, when pulled, begins to unravel the battlements and open the answers to our quest.
If we wish to impact children, we must first stop being the weavers of our own cages. We must learn, once again, to unfold.
Is the education system a loom or a wall? I am looking for those ready to find their thread. Let us discuss how we can dismantle the thistles together.
#Imagination #Atelierista #CreativeProcess #AdultEducation #EducationReform #PoeticPedagogy
Holly B.F. Warren
Atelierista Artist Mind Wanderer Writer Optimist 