How to Develop a Daily Slow Looking Practice

Slow looking is not only an important part of my work, it is also a personal practice - something that I’ve been doing regularly for the last few years. I’m really interested in developing my observational skills and I’m also fascinated by what happens when we spend a longer period of time looking at something.

Our general approach to looking is, however, flawed and we try to look at things as briskly and efficiently as possible. 

We need to slow our looking down and give our brain the time and space to focus on what is in front of us. 

Developing a daily slow looking practice will enable you to improve your observational skills and start noticing more details.

And if we are better at this ourselves, as educators, then we are in a far better position to guide others through the process of slow looking too.

So, here are 6 ways you can start to develop your own daily slow looking practice - I’ve included a number of ideas, some outside, some inside, some to do with art, some not. The idea is that you pick one of these activities and you do it every day for a few days and see what happens. After a few days you should start to notice a difference! 

Links

The Intelligent Eye, David Perkins

How to Use your Eyes, James Elkins

On Looking: 11 Walks with Expert Eyes, Alexander Horowitz