ART teacher Theresa le Roux has a saying that her young pupils at Cooranbong Public School have come to know well.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And year 3 pupil Savannah Elyard knows exactly what it means.
"If somebody in the class says they need to restart their painting Mrs le Roux will just say 'It's nice from far, and far from nice'," Savannah, 9, said.
It means that any painting or drawing, when viewed with your nose on the canvas, will reveal imperfections; but the same artwork when viewed from a distance hanging on a wall looks fine.
Mrs le Roux said it was one of the guiding principles that she liked to establish in her classes.
"And I don't use erasers in my class," she said.
"I teach the children to draw over things to loosen up their art. And I'll tell them 'that's not a mistake, it's a creative challenge'."
She said even the old masters, such as Leonardo Di Vinci, were known to draw over their work at times.
Mrs le Roux hosts her Brushes Up art classes from 3pm to 5pm, after school, on Mondays.
This term, she's had 23 pupils from year 2 to year 6 in her class.
The term culminated in the Brushes Up exhibition which will be held at the school on Wednesday night.
Mrs le Roux said the classes were about more than art.
"For some of the children, it's about learning how to get rid of their anxiety and to discover something that they can do to relax and de-stress," she said.
The art classes were part of the Peaceful Kids Program at the school, which focussed on the value of mindfulness, she said.
"We talk about 'getting into your flow' and that language really starts to come through with the children."
Mrs le Roux said another key lesson for children learning art was to slow down and appreciate the details.
"I want the kids to not just look, but to see," she said.
"I want them to look at life, and at nature, and to use their eyes to really see. I tell them that we all feel with our eyes - that is, when we look at, say, the detail of a knitted jumper, we get a sense of what it would feel like."
Mrs le Roux said the exhibition had become a highlight on the school calendar.
"I think it really builds the kids up," she said.