Carving on the Right Side of Your Brain

I recently purchased the book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. I thought improving my drawing might also improve my wood carving.

The book points out that in learning to draw, children are taught to see things in symbols. Larger shapes are broken down into squares, circles and triangles that they can more easily draw. They put these shapes together and then do some fine tuning to get a final drawing.

Most people never get beyond this type of drawing which, although helpful in learning to draw, eventually creates limits preventing them from really drawing well.

Why? Because symbols are perceived from the left side of your brain, the side involved in language and reasoning, but drawing is a global skill which is best controlled by the right side of your brain. To improve drawing you must learn to break free of the left side of the brain and see and draw using the right side of your brain.

This is taught through the book with such exercises as drawing a picture which is turned upside down. When upside down, it is difficult for the left side (the reasoning side) of the brain to perceive the detail of the picture. It doesn't match the preconceived images so the left side of the brain doesn't know what to make of it. This allows the right side of the brain to work. You are able to draw what you see rather than be controlled by the left side of the brain which tries to interpret what you see into preconceived ideas and symbols.

Another thing you notice when drawing with the right side of your brain is that you lose track of time, you get in a zone where you are unconscious of what you are doing. You just do it.

This is something most of us have already perceived in some context or another. For instance, when driving occasionally you may find yourself suddenly much further along in your journey than you thought. Your mind zoned out while you continued to drive. There may be no conception of the time that has passed.

In sports you can also get this feeling. You forget everything around you and are just playing the game without conscious thought. When you are in the zone, you are generally playing better than normal.