When was the last time you drew with crayons?
I hadn't drawn with crayons in over two decades, so I was thrilled to pick up a box of crayons and a coloring book on my most recent trip to O'Hare airport.
As adults, if we draw at all, we avoid crayons because they are imprecise and cannot produce quality results; they are designed for kids. They get your hands dirty, and their waxy scraps are all over the place. However, once you persuade yourself to draw with them, the limitations they impose become advantages; suddenly, there is no other way to draw than to be bold with the few colors you have. With only a few colors to work with, you start giving things strange colors and being really playful, which is amazing. Coloring within the lines no matters. It’s strange, but they encourage you to make strokes that are more courageous and creative. Whether you like it or not, you have to let go of perfectionism because it simply has no place with crayons.
This is how MK Czerwiec explains the power of drawing with crayons in medical education in Graphic Medicine Manifesto:
“After presenting to various groups on drawing comics - from those reticent fifth graders, to high-school students, to adults - one thing I have found is that crayons are the great equalizer. Despite the ubiquitous statements about <<not being able to draw,>> every individual in every one of those groups knows what to do with a crayon, and they pick crayons up with gustu - particularly medical students. I tend to open every workshop or group activity by asking the participants to draw a self-portrait in crayon as a way to introduce themselves to the group. (…) First- and second-year medical students in my Drawing Medicine seminar at Northwestern consistently demonstrate the power of the simple act of drawing a self-portrait in crayons. As they present their work to the rest of the class, much is revealed about the experience of being a medical student. They have drawn themselves under piles of books, or with a giant head disconnected from their body, or literally being torn between two identities - one doctor, one not. (…) Mind you, I don’t ask for any of this. I just ask for a self-portrait in crayons. It seems from this exercise, and the ones that follow, that medical students are quite eager to explore all that they are facing via this accessible visual realm (…).”
Crayons are on my desk even if I don't use them as frequently for my drawings because they serve as a constant reminder to be playful, let go of perfection, and keep my inner child alive.
