Carper's (1978) seminal work has been used in nursing education for many years as a method for introducing students to the multitude of ways of knowing that support nursing practice. This manuscript focuses on the aesthetic pattern of knowing and the ongoing debate in nursing literature surrounding aesthetics, evidence and nursing practice. Writers will describe and critique a strategy used to introduce first year undergraduate nursing students to this pattern of knowing. The implications of the critique of the project and the ongoing debate in relation to Carper's (1978) work, evidenced based practice and nursing praxis are discussed.