Our fall session got under way just after the start of a new school year. Returning and new students greeted the studio with sparkle and enthusiasm, as if their summer holiday had filled them up with effervescent creative energy. I decided to drape the whole session under one theme. Cities. Children from all three classes began with the city theme in mind. We began with ink and water colour paintings of a city street. Some turned into epic action packed scenes like “Dog Town” and “Stinky Town” Another depicted wonky rainbowy “Dr.Seuss” buildings, and all the others were each unique and special in their own ways as well.
From our two dimensional paintings, we dove right into building 3-dimensional wooden cities. This was another project that I had envisioned so clearly in my mind that ended up so different in the hands of the kids. Five of the seven kids made cities that defy all the boundaries of reality: Colourful, wonky, structurally impossible. Some roads were pink or yellow, some ground red, or purple. Why? Because there was no reason why not. Each child was uniquely engaged in their own cities.
One was a meticulous and simple farm that felt like a painting with the soft and natural palette of colours. Another was a wild and wonky world inhabited by a dog, a penguin, several strangely cute puff-ball creatures, and ruled by a band of teddy bears. Another city with the red ground had mysteriously shaped buildings that made you feel like you were on a different planet. However different they all were from each other, what was common in all of them was that every corner was inhabited by an idea, a vision of the creator.
We didn’t all stop at cities during this session. One of my students was far more interested in working on his drawing skills and animals. Tigers were a favourite subject, and we explored them with a variety of mediums. He also built and painted a little house, a train, and another little farm. Other students also stretched the theme into such things as a plush mountain range, and a swinging ball mechanism.
One of the highlights of this session was the imaginative story telling that took place. Two of the kids had such a blast creating and imagining their cities, and the story telling/constant chatter seemed to fuel their productivity. Dog Town was built alongside Stinky Town, and a dog from Dog Town lost his way and ended up in the sky above stinky town, and he screamed the loudest scream. Below, on the ground, there was a man with a head of hair so big, that there was a little door in it that lead to a teeny tiny house. And, because he was in Stinky Town, the same poor guy was getting sprayed by a skunk. Not too far away, an oyster house was sitting in a cloud of stink. And the biggest orange sun you’ve ever seen shone above a green stink cloud that lingered just above the buildings, and in the words of it’s creator, “It’s a hot day in Stinky Town.” Can you imagine the stench???
The hilarity of stinky skunkiness made it’s way to Famous Cupcake Land, where it rained cupcakes, and if a purple or black cupcake fell into the ocean 12 new sea animals were born, but if it was any other colour, the trees in the cupcake garden would “explode with skunk”. And because of this, only one person dared to live in Famous Cupcake Land. It was a very risky place, after all. Aspects of each other’s imaginings ended up as parts of their own. It was a good example of the power of collaboration. I asked them what they wanted to do for their next project and they thought wanted to try more small projects, instead of a big 5-week long project. And, I of course say hey, why not, everyone likes to mix it up. The boys expressed interest in making marble tracks. Looking forward to November!!!