The last couple weeks I had the privilege of leading a collaborative project with the students at Mt. Hall Elementary, as part of their Arts in April program.
Some of the funds from the yearly Mt. Hall auction were designated to provide supplies for Arts in April, as Mt. Hall does not have a regular art program. The school invited members of the community to volunteer their time to teach their art form.
Some of the other volunteers were Paula from BeeHaven (flower arranging), a drama teacher, a fiber artist who taught crochet, and I'm not sure what else.
Students got to choose what interested them most, and I had 13 sign up for mine.
I introduced them to Wassily Kandinsky's famous "Color Studies," and we discussed how different colors make us feel.
Kandinsky was synesthetic (being able to see music and hear colors), and we discussed what different color combinations would sound like. Picture all muted blues and greens--it's calm, right? Maybe soft piano music or a chill lo-fi vibe. But throw every bright color in there together, along with lots of black outlines, and now what is it? A rock song? Something with a strong beat for sure.
Each student got their own set of oil pastels and a sketchbook, which they will get to take home to continue their creations.
We made concentric circles like Kandinsky's, each choosing the colors that made us feel happy to fill up our allotted space. For some, it was measured and patterned and very deliberate. For others, it was a frenzy of every color. Some blended carefully and slowly, and others filled their space quickly with bold, broad strokes.
We made a mess! We had fun!
Thank you to every person who donated to and bid at the Mt. Hall Auction. And to every person who buys my art, know that it is making it possible for me to use some of my time to do things like this.
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