I had the great privilege of dropping into a kindergarten classroom for a few days in spring as a guest artist, to help the class work on a special art project. Ultimately the finished work was for a fundraiser... one that provides added resources for the arts. I was the one, however, who truly benefited from this experience!
That tender, fleeting age of kindergarteners... when they are still sweet, open to new things, curious, and easily awed. The class listened intently to their instructions as we took things slowly. I used this gorgeous work from Sarah Golden as inspiration for the project.
Deliberately dividing the work into extremely simple steps, together we forged this path of discovery to a final piece. It was amazing to watch their excitement and their trust in what we were doing. Creating color blocks from special hues that I had mixed (not your average "from the bottle" colors), then drawing out stencils of the right size and shape (that was tricky I tell you)... and finally... to paint over all of their hard work with white?! I must be crazy... but still, they trusted me!
The results were amazing! But, what I did not anticipate was the audible "oooo" and "ahhh" that came from the class as I took them them through that final stage... THE REVEAL! I was instantly reminded of the wonder of art making, the surprise, the delight... the trusting of the process, the unknown, the pure joy, the final reveal. Oh the FUN in making art... thank you kinders! I sure needed that! We all need to be reminded of that from time to time.
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