“We were never allowed to do this at my old art class,” says M.
I’m not sure what he was referring to - getting messy, gooping paint over their paper mache land forms, or having the freedom to make his own creative decisions. But was clear that M was really enjoying himself. He was painting his hill the most beautiful bright green, using 3 different shades to add just the right amount of depth.
At one point, Naomi noticed his choice of brush, and offered him a bigger one, because he was covering a lot of area. But M knew what he was doing. “I’m trying to get in all the tight spots I missed with the bigger one.”
I commented on how bright and beautiful the green was, and H said, “Why didn’t you paint it purple?” Then quickly clarified the reason for his question, “Green’s not his favourite colour.” And M, deep in the heart of painting his hill vibrant green, answered, “It is in some ways... it is…”
Josh had a vision for a swaying bridge, and carried it through to the end. His design had a simplicity, and clear focus. As Josh saw all the other boys adding whimsical details and various materials, he stuck to his vision and worked hard at enhancing his bridge.
When David started out with the idea, he knew right away that he wanted a tube to roll balls through. He had experienced so much success with his marble track last term that he wanted to apply his skills to his next project.
During this project, ideas spread around the table like wildfire!
M: “look at all these strands. They look like spider webs.”
David: “Oh! You could make spider webs!”
M: “I’m going to call this Spider Town.”
The next thing you know, all the boys are working on creating those spider-webby strands from their hot glue guns, and their visions started to materialize.
Josh: “This is the old, old, bridge.”
David: “Mine is a goopy bridge.”
M: “Mine’s called Old Town”
H: “Mine’s called Old Park”
They boys were all on the same page with making their lands look old and each used a brown wash to “age” and darken their wooden elements.
After his bridge was finished, Josh added some little men.
Josh: “They’re all the same!”
“The general is going to wear black pants.”
“Look Rachel, these are their foot prints.”
“It’s a little army crossing the old old bridge.”
He then began to add more interest to his landscape, by puncturing his hill and adding tunnels inside. He had a great time working at making the holes.
“I’m beginning to see a faint trace of light in there!”
“Look at all this paper mache I can pull out! Oh no, I was pulling a wall!”
H’s imagination was sparked by Josh’s army of men.
“Mine are war people. They fight aliens, so your aliens don’t stand a chance” “They’re brown aliens.”
H began making booby traps.
“You put it there, roll it forward and try to knock that guy down there. Hey, watch this guys, this is called the alien blower!
“All these guys are running for their lives from this guy!” (the little alien)
Like H, David added more guys to his scene as well, he started to really enter into his creation, totally delighted and engaged.
“This guy lost an arm, because it’s called the dangerous island. This guy is sun tanning!!”
Finally, after all the little men were glued into place, and finishing touches were completed, M announced, “My mind is telling me I’m done.” Simply stated, profound. A good bit of wisdom for all of us, to pay attention to ourselves, and to know when enough is enough.