After School Art Mentorship – 2

[Part One]

The students gathered for our second meeting, each one excited to paint, share their sketches, and explore more art opportunities.  Earlier in the week, I had drawn them a small flyer to remind them of our meeting.  I also called each student’s home to remind their families that we were having our second meeting. All twelve of the students came with eager minds and happy smiles.

After finding seats, I set the agenda for class; introductions, a poster contest, setting the subject for our final project, and color wheels with acrylic paints.  The students were very excited to see themselves mentioned in my previous post. The older children wrote down EAL/LA’s web address to share with their parents at home. I also printed and distributed a flyer for Antonio R. Villaraigosa’s African American Heritage Month Poster Contest. We discussed the rules of the contest, where to find information on the inventors, and supplies the students might need for their posters. I allowed each of the students to choose the support for their poster from a variety of papers.

With poster supplies and rules in hand, we began to discuss our final project.  I explained to the students that our subject could be anything as long as it related to school and the community. Many of the students shared ideas. After discussing famous landmarks, what the Antelope Valley could look like in the future, war planes, and more, the group settled on the theme of space exploration.  The aerospace industry, an air force base, and NASA helped establish the comminuty there today.  Hopefully I can get someone from NASA to visit our small group of artists. I know the group would love to hear more about space and space exploration.  I also know that some of the teachers in my district have NASA contacts.

We spent the last hour painting. The student were overjoyed to get their hands on heavyweight paper and paints. Most of them had no previous experience with acrylics as a medium. I allowed them to explore its elasticity and water soluble properties as we painted. We discussed color, identifying primary and secondary colors, and discussing how to make tertiary colors.  Everyone had fun mixing the paints – some more than others. We let the paintings dry overnight.

Over the last week, students have been coming in to discuss their posters. They all seem encouraged, both artistically and academically.  I sent them a nugde today – another hand drawn poster.

My favorite parts from the last couple of weeks were the calls I’ve made to each of the families’ homes.  Every parent I connect with is overjoyed to have their student exploring the arts.  I’m looking forward to calling homes again.

Next week – watercolors!  I will also attempt to contact NASA for a school visit and will start searching for a venue to show our projects. Stay tuned.

This entry also appears at LifeasGood.com.