BrushLive - School on Wheels
What an experience! When we decided on the theme of an African savannah many options and designs went through my head. After brainstorming how to facilitate 20+ students collaboratively painting on a canvas I decided on 2 important aspects:
I would provide some initial guidance for them by tracing animals onto the canvas.
Painting outside the lines is to be encouraged!
In the beginning of the event I could see students looking over at the canvas and wondering “can I paint on that?” I would smile and tell them to come join but there was hesitation. That was until the first student stepped up, put on a smock, grabbed a brush and started painting! Then the floodgates opened.
In moments there were maybe 3-4 students painting on the canvas at the same time and the energy, laughter and creativity was a sight to behold. Most students chose to paint the animals but every so often one would come up on a mission to go rogue and I loved it! One piece that I noticed was how curious the students were. They would walk us and ask me what animals were available. I would respond with the list (apologies to water buffalo) and you could see their minds turning…”do I go flamingo and giraffe?”
Something special happens when you have a shared experience with others. Even if you just added one single brushstroke you can step back and take pride in what you helped create.
Switching from the “I created” to the “We created” is such a valuable lesson and experience for us all.
