Question: Can drawing be used effectively as an aid to memory and imagination to improve the eyesight?
The idea randomly popped in my head, but when I was in 10th grade, a year after taking art class, I would sometimes draw things on paper. I would attempt to learn the details of what I was drawing, and then one day I discovered that when I drew I could easily "see" in my mind what I was drawing, i.e. a rose's petals, and be able to draw the same thing accurately every time on paper. Some people are able to draw abstract objects very clearly without having seen them previously, because their ability to visualize the object is very keen. So, can drawing be used effectively as a right-hemisphere method to further the mind's ability to visualize objects, and therefore improve eyesight?
Hell, anything that gets people out of their analytical left-brain mode is good in my opinion.
A lot of people go about visualizing wrongly and so can't do it very well. If you do it right, like you describe, and keep doing so while you're drawing, sure, I would expect it to be good for your vision.
To anyone who has trouble visualizing, it's just a matter of going about it differently, not learning how to do it as a new skill. People with vision problems approach it with the same forcefulness that they abuse their eyes with. If you want to remember a rose, to use your example, but can't, then assuming you've seen roses, the problem is probably partly that you've got kind of a mold in your mind that you want the rose to fit into. So let go of the idea of visualizing THAT rose in THAT way, and say to yourself, "Ok, give me something LIKE that," and you might be surprised.
Dave
Site Administrator
"Half of our funny, heathen lives, we are bent double to gather things we have tossed away." - George Meredith
I perhaps shouldn't have used the word "attempt". That word (and action) in itself is a strain on the mind. As I recall now, it was through repetition that I subconsciously memorized the rose's features. By repetition, I became able to draw it over the same way every time. Of course, I'm not a great artist, so I emulated what I saw others drawing... which turned out to be a rose. But when I repetitively drew a rose, I became skilled at it and was able to draw the rose very realistically, and for a limited time became able to draw certain other things with a noticeable degree of realism. The ability faded away after discontinue of use.
I've been studying right- and left-hemisphere functions; and my brain is so analytical that I've been known to figuratively analyze things to death; so that's probably very unhealthy for my left-hemisphere, because there needs to be a balance. So what I'm trying to do now, while improving my eyesight using Bates Method, is to encourage it with a left-hemisphere angle by trying things like reading upside-down, writing with my left hand, drawing, cooking, things that require creativity and do not necessarily require only one solution. But hopefully drawing will have a direct effect on the visual center of the brain.
There is a book somewhat related to this topic that you may be interested in - The Zen of Seeing by Frederick Franck, ISBN 0394719689. I had it out once from the library, and found it very intriguing but never tried any of the activities. The book is handwritten, which is unusual, and has many drawing activities related to what we perceive in nature. I have the book on hold at the library again, because I too am interested in stimulating more right hemisphere activity.
