I’m truly loving this after-school art journaling series and I’m going to be sad when the series comes to an end next week. We started today’s class by discussing what was currently hard in our lives. I shared that sometimes the pressures and excess social obligations of the holidays can be difficult for me and I have to balance it with a lot of down-time to read, write, make art, walk on the beach, and just BE. Some of the kids were slow to share, but they eventually contributed by talking about sibling relationships, assorted school subjects, and imbalanced friendships where they feel like they do most of the giving and conceding.
On the chalkboard, I had the following quote: “The bigger the challenge, the bigger the opportunity for growth.” And our project for today was focused on the metaphorical climb that we so often feel in life. How it can feel grueling and endless, but once you get to the top and overcome that hurdle, it’s incredibly rewarding. I showed the students 3 different techniques they could use to create their mountains: pen and line work, watercolor with line work/doodles, and collage—and then I encouraged them to interpret the project in their own unique way.
- We had one creation that gave me CandyLand vibes with its bright colors, unique doodles, and cat-shaped sun.
- Southwest vibes emanated from another page with a gorgeous color palette and gold line work.
- We even had a couple circular creations. The young artists weren’t able to articulate why they opted for circles, but on one of the projects, it almost looked as though the metaphorical challenges/problems we had been speaking of were compounded.
I am so impressed with the artistic intensity and ability of this group. They are incredibly curious and their styles are emerging.
Art journaling is such a powerful growth and self-discovery tool. Especially when it’s approached with intention like we do in these classes.
