Bit by Bit to Create Art - column for Iron County Today, Jan. 2026

 Bit by Bit to Create Art 

By Sara Penny, CCAC Vice President 

     “With a big task, we don’t get overwhelmed. We break it down, and those become our milestones. That is the engineering mindset,” said Arvind Krishna, IBM CEO. This struck me because in violin teaching we strive for “one point lessons” where we focus on just one technical challenge such as posture or bow hold or getting the second finger in tune. This is more effective instead of expecting the student to make multiple corrections all at once. Learning something like vibrato takes months for many students. We have to balance the violin on the shoulder so the left hand can be relaxed. We have to feel the motion of the undulations to mimic the vibrato of the singing voice. We have to adjust the width depending on the intensity of the musical phrase. The same for notereading. This takes a dedicated step by step procedure and lots of repetition. Sometimes the math brain skills need to develop before the fraction challenges of the rhythms make sense, usually about fourth grade. However, the younger children can play with correct rhythms  if they have heard their professional recordings and learn the pieces in small bits. One task of notereading is recognizing the note letter name. Another task is knowing which finger to use and where to place it on the string. The ultimate objective is that the pitch is accurate. 

       Frustration is the learning space where we break through to new skills or understanding. Think of frustration as the learning moment and it reframes your effort. Tackling the problem bit by bit is the way to proceed most efficiently. When we get overwhelmed with our art we can take a step back and break up the challenge into manageable bites. It also helps to take breaks and come back to the problem or project with a fresh perspective. I am a fan of chocolate and walks. Albert Einstein used walking and his violin to reset his scientific mind.

        Resilience is reviewing options and trying again. It is not always comfortable. Often it helps having feedback from others. Sometimes a new viewpoint makes all the difference. I love that our local visual artists help critique each other and the results are a higher level of artistic achievement. Even writing these columns is a group effort because I always ask for proofreading and corrections. The reason music is best taught in private lessons is that every student has a different viewpoint and physical challenges. Some tasks are easy and some are hard, but it is different for each individual. My mother thought I should be able to teach 30 children at a time, but just balancing a violin is different for each child because they are all so unique.

       Creativity is seeing unusual connections. Art, as well as engineering, relies on that “ah-hah” moment. The ancient Greek scientist Archimedes understood buoyancy and water displacement because of a bath. His insights made it possible to determine the volume of gold without having to melt it down. I love the legend that he shouted “Eureka” after this insight. Wishing all of you Eureka moments as you pursue your art forms in 2026. Maybe it will be in a grand flourish and maybe it will be bit by bit, but it is definitely worth the effort.