First I want to say how awesome the boys are who have been participating in the Art Garage. After the reorganization we were cleaning up in the garage and the boys offered to go mow the neighbors yard again. It was purely their idea and it had once again gotten pretty overgrown. They all worked together. The mower was set a bit too low, and so they tried to work around it by lifting up while mowing. It gave a bit of a patchy look, and it took them about two hours, but they got it done. I was so proud of them. The saddest news is that these boys are moving away. This is not uncommon at the Art Garage, and it is an issue that the school district has delt with for years as those in my community tend to move around a lot.
Marco, Zy'airah, Boi-Boi, and Duke, and Anthony and Elijah have all moved and now my beautiful neighbors are moving to greener pastures. They will be missed, and of course are always welcome back. I do get some of my old members coming by when they are in the neighborhood, and it feels good that they stay connected. I am also on the move myself. I have been travelling to share some of my work with the alternative educators at the AERO conference. I am camping out and have had the chance to see such beauty. Art and beauty go hand in hand. Beauty is such an important part of being able to withstand adversity. When I experience beauty I feel there is goodness in the world. Isn't it important that we look for beauty around us?
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So I shared how the kids reacted to the Art Garage getting a new door. Basically, they were not impressed. Mainly I think it was because they weren't able to paint on it. So I decided to let them paint a patch of the concrete floor. We had to first clear some space in the over-crowded hoard. We cleared the stuff out of the garage, making a huge pile on the lawn. Then used the old door panels to make some shelves. The best friends of the Art Garage all showed up to help. It was amazing. It was a rainy Wednesday. Hard to paint, but the kids made their first pass, which I am sure they will each add to as time goes on. I would like for them to comment on their peers sections too, writing words of inspiration, or admiration. There is a lot of potential here. Most importantly, they were able to reclaim the space as their own. The ownership is so important as they will care for the space and materials naturally when they feel it is their own. There is a great power in ownership. So the door of the Art Garage has special sentimental value to me since it was done by the kids. I had asked them to simply paint the small squares in the rainbow colors I had at their disposal, when Boi Boi picked up a loaded paintbrush and started painting the whole thing orange. And there we had it, an orange door. I at first was nervous about what the neighbors would say, but eventually I grew to love it dearly. But the problems began last winter when the garage wouldn't open. Then the rotting wood and rusted frame started to show. Finally the side door simply bent in half and would not close. I decided to bite the bullet and get a new door. I chose a door that would let in lots of light so that if it rained we could close the door and still work. It looks beautiful. Once the door was installed, we had visitors at the art garage. I could see that the kids were not overjoyed. They immediately asked if they could write their names on the new door. They asked if they could paint the windows. Change is hard, and it probably feels like I made an executive decision without them. I remember when my dad shaved his beard. I was so sad. I thought he should have at least consulted me. Well, I am sure that as time goes by, my art garage members will start to love the new door as much as I do. I did get used to my dad's clean shaven face afterall. Happy Belated Father's Day to all the dads out there. ?I love the fact that we are focused on Social and Emotional Learning in schools today. The initiative of the Peoria School District especially, with the creation of a department dedicated to this task gives me great pause for reflection. What would it truly look like if we met the social and emotional needs of the children in the world? Honestly, sometimes I think we have become too abstract about the subject and forgotten the basics of goodness. Dr. Martin Seligman started off his career studying Learned Helplessness. He then had a brilliant insight. Our entire world of psychiatry and psychology has been so focused on what is wrong with a person and how to fix it. Seligman asked what if we flipped the script and asked what is right with a person and how to we enhance those qualities? Hence, the field of Positive Psychology was born. My favorite project of his was work done with Christopher Peterson in an 800 page manifesto called The Handbook of Character Strengths and Virtues. Trying to find the best inside of each of us is probably one of the most important parts of becoming human. It is the key to our survival as a planet. We can start this early on, but it doesn't mean we need to give our kids Seligman's 800 page volume. Probably the best way is simply through friendship. There is a wonderful program called The Virtues Project, endorsed by the United Nations, this is a simple program using a list of 52 virtues at its core. I like to use the program loosely, giving kids new chances to find the positive in their friends. So our next project...Friendship bracelets! I remember loving to make friendship bracelets, and especially to give and recieve them. But to add a special twist, we will talk about what it means to be a friend, what qualities you like best in a friend, and then you can choose colors of thread, and beads that relate to those qualities. Looking forward to next week! My neighbor recently decided to do something good in the neighborhood. What inspired him? I like to think that the Art Garage might have had something to do with it. A number of folks have come out to help the Art Garage and have shared their feelings of being inspired by what is happening here.
Inspiration is such a wonderful word. It means to breathe in the divine. Inspiration is often associated with creativity. To be inspired to act in the world to create positive change is to contribute to our highest good. I believe we are evolving towards goodness, regardless as to how it may seem some times. In my neighborhood it can be easy to become despairing. There are some spaces that have been abandoned, several empty lots, and homes that have become uninhabitable. Well my neighbor decided to make use of one of the lots by planting a community garden. Our friend of the Art Garage, Pam, came out to help with plants and guidance. What an amazing step towards goodness. Last weeks activity was to draw your future self. The kids did amazing work. They sketched out their image on paper first, then took their time. They used the sketch to paint what they had envisioned. This use of steps and learning to follow a plan is actually harder than it seems.
Suddenly, one of the visiting members from the Urban League offered to give the team the program they had used. Some of the members wanted to jump on board. It seemed like an easy solution. But it didn't connect to their original vision. If we keep our original vision alive, and trust the process, we will always be successful, even if it looks messy in the process.
So I pushed for the kids to push their vision to the end, and most of them were quite happy with the results. I know I was. |
Abigail LarrisonEducator, Scientist and Art Maker. The purpose of all life is to spread joy. What brings more joy than making art? Archives
November 2023
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