犯错的艺术

by Maryanne Higley Hamilton

翻译：Cass

犯错的艺术

by Maryanne Higley Hamilton

翻译：Cass

Track 8

“Mrs. Hamilton， l need a new piece of paper. I don’t Iike my drawing！ I drew the house too small，”1）moaned the new student standing at my desk. He handed me his art work， which showed twenty minutes of hard work and advanced artistic skill for a fifth grader.

“You have so much detail completed already. Let’s see if we can think of a way to fix it，” I2）empathized. “Mistakes are often a great chance to make your art work better.”

Students I’d had the previous year， some since primary school， knew two of the guiding rules in my art room were creative3）exploration and self-expression. New students were often4）insecure and easily frustrated， which sometimes led to5）torn-up papers or6）smashed clay.

“Let me tell you about a mistake I made while creating wall7）murals in someone’s home，” I began. “One was a painting in a little girl’s bathroom. After spending the morning planning and8）sketching， I painted a dog. I made him over four feet tall so that it looked like he was holding the bar for her towel.”

9）Gesturing with a paintbrush in the air I went on， “While I was putting the finishing10）touch on the black11）dog collar， the paint12）dripped on part of the wall where I shouldn’t paint.”

Nearby students exchanged smiles and stopped what they were doing to listen.

“It was a wall！ I couldn’t throw it away and start over，” I said13）dramatically to14）stress my awful situation. “I had to figure out a way to fix it.”

I paused a few moments to give him time to consider what he would have done， then continued： “So I studied the painting for a while until I thought of a way to cover the spot： I added a red heart-shaped dog tag over it， and included the little girl’s15）initials.”

“Did the little girl like the painting？”

“The next day， my16）client called me to tell me her daughter loved the painting， and she was thrilled when she spotted her initials on the dog tag，” I said.

“So when you make a mistake， make something good out of it！” repeated the other kids， who had heard me say this before.

Since retiring from teaching art in the public schools five years ago， I’ve maintained a friendship with some of my students and their families. I recently heard two of my past students， now in college， recalling

their experiences in my classes. They both repeated， “When you

make a mistake， make something good out of it！”

参考译文

“汉密尔顿老师，我需要一张新的画纸。我不喜欢我的这幅画！我把房子画得太小了，”新来的学生站在我的桌子前抱怨道。他把自己的画作递给我。对于一个五年级的学生来说，这幅作品凝聚了他整整二十分钟的苦心，展现了他超前的艺术技巧。

“你已经画完这么多细节了。我们还是想想看有没有办法能补救吧，”我带着同情的口吻说道。“错误常常是使你的画作更趋完美的良机。”

去年开始在这里学画画的学生—有些是自小学开始就在这里学习的—都知道他们在我的艺术工作室里，向来遵循两个指导思想：创造性探索和自我表达。新来的学生往往缺乏自信心、容易感到沮丧，结果就是他们有时候会撕碎画纸或者是揉毁黏土。

“让我和你讲讲我在别人家里创作壁画时犯的一个错误吧，”我讲起往事来。“那是一个小女孩浴室里的一幅画。我花了整个上午的时间规划、勾勒草图，最终画了一只狗。狗狗有四英尺（约1.22米）多高，这样看起来就像狗狗嘴里衔着挂毛巾的横杆似的。”

我手中的画笔在空中比划着，接着说道：“就在画狗狗的黑色项圈的最后一笔时，一滴颜料滴在了墙上本来我不该下笔的地方。”

旁边的学生会意地相互笑了笑，也停下了手头的画笔听我讲。

“那可是一面墙啊！我不可能把它扔掉再重新画过，”我非常夸张地说着，以强调我的处境有多糟糕。“我必须找到补救的方法。”

我停顿了一会儿，留给他足够的时间来想想能采取什么补救措施，然后接着说道：“我研究了一会儿那幅画，最终想到了能够掩盖那个点的办法：我在狗项圈上加了一个红色的心形狗牌，上面还写着小女孩姓名的首字母。”

“那个小女孩喜欢这幅画吗？”

“第二天，我的客户打电话给我，告诉我她的女儿非常喜欢那幅画。在发现狗牌上有自己的名字首字母时，她的女儿欣喜若狂，”我说道。

“所以如果你犯了错误，那么将错就错，创造出些好东西来吧！”其他的孩子们重复着我的话，他们之前就听过我这么说。

自从五年前从公立学校的美术老师岗位上退休以来，我和一些学生，以及他们的家人一直维系着友谊。最近，我听说我以前教过的两位学生现在已经在上大学了，他们回忆起我的课时，都会重复我的话：“如果你犯了错误，那么将错就错，创造出些好东西来吧！”

1） moan ［məun】 v. 抱怨着说

2） empathize ［'empəθaIz】 v. 同情，感同身受

3） exploration ［,eksplɔː'reIʃən】 n. 探索，探究

4） insecure ［InsI'kjuə】

adj. 缺乏自信心的，心神不定的

5） torn-up 撕碎的

6） smashed ［smæʃt】 adj. 打碎的

7） mural ［'mjuərəl】 n. 壁画，壁饰

8） sketch ［sketʃ】 v. 画草图

9） gesture ［'dʒestʃə】 v. 以手势表示

10） touch ［tʌtʃ】 n. 润饰，修饰，笔画

11） dog collar 狗项圈

12） drip ［drIp】 v. 滴下

13） dramatically ［drə'mætIkəlI】 adv. 引人注目地

14） stress ［stres】 v. 强调

15） initial ［I'nIʃəl】 n. 词首大写字母

16） client ［'klaIənt】 n. 客户

The Art of Mistakes