Way back when the leaves were still green and the mosquitoes were still at large, I participated in Arts in the Park. I brought an interactive “Community Canvas” that I had outlined a design on, then let those attending the park concert help me fill in. When I took that first canvas I didn’t anticipate the amazing response it would receive.
Shortly after that night, I was invited to take part in Minot’s “Artists in the Schools” program. I think this program is genius and I think every town should be doing it. It’s just that great. Here’s how it works…The arts council puts together a catalog of local, working artists that offer specialized art sessions in classrooms. Teachers can browse the catalog and choose a session that fits in with what they are studying, or parents can purchase a session as a gift for their child’s classroom. {Isn’t that just the best teacher gift idea ever?!}]
I’ve put together a list of sessions I thought teachers and kids would like and enjoy and had them added to the roster. A “Classroom Canvas” being one of them. Same drill as a community canvas–it’s just done in a classroom, not a street festival or event.
So yesterday I had my first ever Artists in the Schools session. Mrs. Nelson, the first grade teacher that had requested me said she wanted something “owly” and fun to match her classroom. I painted the outline above.
When I first arrived, I was a little nervous about how it would go. This was my first time, after all.
But kids never fail to amaze and surprise me. They were so excited about the big piece of art they’d be making. There was no complaining, no fighting, and no rogue artists who painted as they pleased. The were great at following instructions. It was precious to see how hard they focused to stay inside the lines. Once they had gotten started I barely had to help at all. They got the idea and did a great job. However, I really had to laugh a couple times at the comments I heard them making:
Did you know most owls are actually brown?
Owls aren’t ever pink in real life?
Why are these leaves two different colors?
[spoken to me] You should be Olaf for Halloween.
I love your shirt. [I was wearing a plain gray t-shirt]
They painted in groups of 3-4 students at a time. For the rest of the class, I printed up coloring pages of the picture we were making as a class. On the canvas I’m pretty bossy about what color goes where, but on their sheet they could color any way they wanted. These may have been my favorite part of the day!
When they were done, it looked something like this–sorry for the blurry photo!
As I was cleaning up, a boy came up and gave me a hug. When he turned around he accidentally knocked a painty pallet off the table onto the carpet. I picked it up and was met by the infamous classroom, “Um-m-m-m-m-m…” One kid said, “Mrs. Nelson is going to be so mad….”
“Okay, everyone relax. Mrs. Nelson isn’t going to be mad. I’m going to clean it up, just don’t walk over here for a minute. We don’t need painty shoes too.” Little did these kids know, this isn’t my first paint-on-the-carpet-experience. But, as soon as the words left my mouth Mrs. Nelson walked back in. Immediately a little boy went and grabbed her by the hand. Without a word he led her over to the painted carpet, pointing the whole time. Tattle tail.
Big surprise, it was no big deal. I just had to share the story. Those kids crack me up. I had so much fun. Today I reoutlined the image. Monday I’ll be taking it to it’s new home in Mrs. Nelson’s classroom! I’m so pleased and proud of how it turned out, and I’m so grateful to have had a chance to hang with such an awesome class.
