Today was an unusual day in art class. One student walked into the glass door. (Gently, no one was hurt.) A couple sat at the table staring at ribbons, while others seemed to be made of rubber as they bounced off the trees and each other. It seemed everyone was in LaLa Land. That made me queen of LaLa Land! I repeated some of the things teachers had told me when I talked in class and I ran around fetching things for students who seemed unable to move about freely. Finally, they settled into their individual work spaces as I read them a book I love, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A.Wolf. It’s art class and reminders to consider point of view are never out of place.
Each of the students made a portfolio for the artwork they have created in class. After sorting through and claiming their pieces from the now giant group stack, they devised ways to attach ribbons to tie the sides off and keep artwork from falling out. There were no fines for excessive use of duct tape. Then they began to paint some representation of how they see themselves in the world. We have an owl-loving ballerina and a nature girl who loves the sun, sky, mountains, and lake. One student depicted what he called his well of power. It is gold in there. Two others chose to depict alien creatures they had first created in a video game which are their avatars in that world. Then everyone worked together to tidy up the work areas and we enjoyed a little extra La La time as their moms visited in the driveway.
Alena, who was just visiting, was coming up with ideas for paintings as she walked away “Paint a car with a doggie in it.” And as she climbed into her car seat, she reached into her tiny bag and pulled out a fluffy stuffed doggie. LaLa Land is nice place to visit.
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