Primary Students Build Community Through Art
by Laura Weishaupt
Using paint, pastels, and a lot of teamwork, the 7- to 9-year-old students in Room 18 turned a recycled canvas into a vibrant, colorful mural that embodies the spirit of community in both process and product.
"This project really helped the children understand what it is to collaborate," said demonstration teacher Hasmik Avetisian. "It's a representation of each person's different ideas, but as a whole it's also an interesting, complex work."
The mural, which measures 8 1/2 feet across and almost 4 feet high, was created as part of the primary level social studies curriculum, where "community" is a key concept.
Avetisian began by discussing with the children what an artists' community is and how to share a space. The group talked about the need to respect materials, tools and ideas. Then they created the mural in layers, working one hour each week for five weeks. To begin, they drew black lines in abstract shapes and patterns. Next they added acrylic paint in a variety of colors, with each child using different shades of just one color at a time. Finally, they highlighted the shapes with outlines in pastels.
Because every child worked on every part of the canvas, they all had to keep in mind some basic rules. "They really had to be aware and honor each others' work," said Avetisian. They also had to be able to step back periodically and look at it anew, each time gauging where they could make a contribution. For example, "as they drew their designs, children needed to connect them to the others without disturbing the integrity of the previous work while in the process making something new," she said.
These are practices that tend to be difficult for young children, said Ava de la Sota, assistant principal and Cool Tools coordinator. "But you can see from what they created that they were able to work it out. They were interspersing and moving throughout the process. That sense of flow shows up in the finished artwork," she said.
"This was a wonderful community-building experience," Avetisian said. "When you step back and see what the children have created it's very powerful."
