Students who paint together...

 

One thing that Heather and I have learned doing the Art Camp at New Humble Community School is the necessity of improvising. It would not have worked sticking to a rigid schedule. Each group paints at their own pace and we've managed to build in flexibility to account for it. We would have been lost without Melissa, or Mrs. Abrams as she is known to the kids. She has been around the whole time offering support and alternate activities during breaks and lunchtime. The word for Melissa is "invaluable"!

With some extra time with one of our groups, I decided to engage them in a collaborative painting inspired by the theme: The Joy of New Humble.

Each of us took a turn and built up to the point where multiple brushes were on the canvas at the same time. Student had to exercise patience, acceptance and trust. They did a great job. It's clear there is a lot of joy at New Humble.

I've taken it as a personal challenge to try and learn the name of each of the students. Without visual prompts I tested myself. I made a list and came up with 26 names for 26 students. Now, how many I will get right tomorrow is a completely different story.

My groups painted animals today while Heather's groups continued work on two abstract pieces. Everything will get finished up on Wednesday morning and a mini art walk will be created for the parents and family members who come for the closing. 

I've been struck by how supportive the students are of each other. Exclamations of "That looks amazing!" and "Great job" can be heard throughout the sessions. I stepped in to help on several animal portraits, but only when the students were visibly struggling. One student was near tears when their drawing went off in the wrong direction. I got a fresh canvas, sketched out the perimeter of the animal, and they carried on with a smile. The addition of drawing into this project elevated the level of complexity, and for some, the level of stress. Most importantly, they got an accessible introduction to an important skill.

We were invited to New Humble to provide a summer experience in the fine arts. It's been a joy to see the students jump in with both feet. When I asked my morning group to share something they liked from Day One, they didn't hold back. About half the group really took to Heather's texture project, while the other half loved playing with colours in their tree paintings. If success is measured in smiles, it feels like this experiment in creativity is a home run.