Warrior-Painters (K-2nd Grades)

We started this class practicing mindful listening and focusing on the things we could hear OUTSIDE the art classroom.  I opened the doors to the room to let the sounds from the hallway drift in.  After one minute of using our ears to detect every noise possible, I asked the students to identify what they heard.

Here are some of the responses:

"Doors closing"  

"Voices"  

"A chair scraping across the floor"  

"Laughter"

"The crinkling of a piece of paper"

It is incredible what we notice when really focused on the present moment.

We've been looking at Japanese Sumi-e painting.  I've read that many Samurai swordsmen practiced Sumi-e painting because the strokes used were similar to the strokes used in swordsmanship.  Also, the calm needed in creating a beautiful piece of artwork was also needed on the battlefield.  I talked with the students about the contrast between these two things; painting is a peaceful act while fighting a battle is full of violence.

In honor of the Samurai warrior-painters, during our movement work we focused on the warrior poses in yoga.  We talked about how in yoga, much of the "battle" is about becoming your personal best self.  I shared the word "namaste" which is a respectful greeting in Hindu custom.  I like to explain Namaste to children as "the best parts in me honor the best parts in you".  This is very connected to finding our best selves, and looking for the best things in other people.

After moving through many of the warrior poses we were ready to start making art!  I introduced the art concept of tinting a color.  In order to create our cherry blossoms, we tinted red to make various shades of pink.  The students observed photographs and other Sumi-e artworks to paint the blossoms on their trees, though many students were still busy using the ink to create the branches.  It will be fun to see these when they are finished!

Street Books and Sidewalk Flowers (3rd-5th Grades)

Brainstorming for one student's zine!

Welcome to the first class of Session 3 for Mind Move Make's 4th and 5th graders!  During this session our Central Idea is Art has the potential to be a positive force in the world.  We'll be exploring ways in which art can impact the world in a beneficial way.  This can be done on a small scale by elevating one person's mood or making someone feel a sense of connection.  Or it can be done on a larger scale by trying to alter the viewpoint of an entire group of people.

We began this session with a short lesson in neuroscience.  Our brains are hardwired to remember and accentuate the negative things that happen to us.  This is a result of the way our ancient ancestors lived as hunter/gatherers.  Their lives were filled with danger around every corner, and it was necessary to remember where treacherous situations lurked in order to survive.  For most of us, there are no longer large animals with sharp teeth waiting to pounce around every corner, but that is how our brains process, record, and focus on the negative things that happen in our lives.

We talked about this, and I asked if any of them felt they had a hard time letting go of "bad" things that happen.  Many students raised their hands.  I also shared that there is HOPE!  Through neuroplasticity our brains can be rewired to alter this tendency.  And one of the best ways to accentuate the positive is to drink in all the good things happening around us each day.

A simple start is to keep a gratitude journal.  Writing down the positive things that happen in our lives helps us to focus on and remember the good things.  At the beginning of every class in Session 3, each student will write down three things for which she is grateful in a small journal that I created for everyone.  One of the three things will be written on a piece of paper and put into our "Gratitude Jar".  During our last class we will take the time to read several of these.  This will help stretch our minds (neuroplasticity!) in new ways and create neural pathways that lead us to the positive in life more often.

Movement-wise, we went through many different poses.  Several of the students in this class have been practicing with me for almost two years now and it is wonderful to see their familiarity with the poses.  I usually have them move through at least one Sun Salutation on their own, at their own pace.  It's great that they know this sequence well enough to go through it themselves.

After that, I introduce the students to artist and writer Laura Moulton and her organization, Street Books.   Street Books started as an art project and has transformed into a healthy non-profit organization.  It is a bicycle-powered mobile library serving "people who live outside" in Portland, Oregon.  Laura has chosen to replace the derogatory word "homeless" with "people who live outside" which is a more sensitive way of stating the unfortunate situation of many individuals in our city.  Laura's work with Street Books connects well with our central idea, art has the potential to be a positive force in the world.

Here is a picture of Laura Moulton riding her bicycle-powered library for "people who live outside"!

This is a picture of the library open for business.

After being inspired by Laura, we took a look at the absolutely stunning book Sidewalk Flowers by poet JonArno Lawson and illustrator Sydney Smith.  The book is described by Brainpickings as "a gentle wordless celebration of the true material of aliveness."  It is the story of a little girl who picks flowers that would be considered weeds throughout the urban city in which she lives.  The flowers grow in cement cracks, wall crevasses, and other unlikely places one wouldn't expect to find beauty.  Towards the middle of the book she begins to give away her prized flowers to unsuspecting animals and individuals.  As she gives her gifts, the world transforms from black-and-white into something more color-filled.  My young students were very attentive to the book and noticed many specific details.  Through our discussion I realize that they internalized the message of the book, and came away with many insightful ideas.

The front cover of Sidewalk Flowers.

Then I introduced them to our visual art project this session!  Each girl will create her own zine that communicates a message of hope.  A zine is a self-published work; the subject matter of zines varies tremendously.  It is usually made inexpensively by photocopying the contents.  Each girl began by brainstorming ideas for her zine.  I am excited by their ideas and can't wait to see them come to life!

Sumi-e Painting (K-2nd Grades)

Sumi-e artwork

Today was our first class of Mind Move Make for Session 3!  We have a few new students, so I decided to go back to the basics of mindfulness.  No matter if you've been practicing mindfulness for 20 years or 20 minutes, it is helpful to return to the roots.

I had several returning students to help me explain mindful bodies, mindful breathing, and the anchor spot.  It was amazing to hear the students talk about these ideas in their own words to their peers.  Our new students caught on fast and participated in a full, beautiful way.  We simply focused on mindful breathing for two minutes, concentrating on how our bodies were feeling, and using the anchor spot.

After that, I introduced the students to Sumi-e, a Japanese painting technique using black ink.  Sumi-e artists are not as interested in replicating the way an object looks as they are in capturing the spirit or the essence of the object.  Nature is the dominant theme of Sumi-e artwork.  Interestingly, Samurai swordsmen practiced this form of painting because the brush strokes used were similar to the strokes of the sword.  And the calm needed in creating a work of art was also needed on the battle field.

I asked if anyone noticed the blooming trees and flowers that were beginning to emerge throughout the Portland area.  Our paintings are meant to be a celebration of the annual coming of Spring.  I showed many pictures of the cherry blossoms around Portland, as well as Sumi-e artwork depicting cherry blossoms.

For the movement part of our class, I asked the students to come to seed posture and imagine they were each the tiny seed of a cherry tree.  They imagined being under the soil of the earth, and feeling the damp rain soaking through the layers of dirt.  Then they began to move their arms forward in child's pose, imagining their arms and fingers were tiny roots beginning to grow.  Eventually these little seeds poked through the earth and began to grow taller and taller.  Though our feet remained planted in the earth-floor, our leaves and limbs moved and swayed in the imaginary wind and the rain that I concocted for them.  Eventually, we made our way to tree pose.

In beginning of the art portion of class, I encouraged everyone to experiment with the black ink that was new to most of them.  In order to get a variety of tones, from deep black to light grey, water must be mixed with the ink.  The students used palettes to combine different values of grey and had fun creating freeform lines and shapes on their paper.

If they had time, some students had the opportunity to select a photograph of a cherry blossom artwork to emulate.  It was fun watching them translate their painting experimentation into the painting of a tree.  I explained that next week they would receive special paper to create a final ink painting!

In My Heart (K-2nd Grades)

During our previous Mind Move Make class, the students started a self-portrait drawing after being inspired by the book In My Heart by author Molly Bang.  In the drawing they created themselves, but filled the area where their hearts would be with portraits of all the people in the world who are most important to them.  At the beginning of this class, I placed each drawing on a yoga mat.  I asked the children to sit where they saw their drawing.  After practicing two minutes of mindful breathing, I asked the students to think why they are thankful for each person in their drawing.  Then we shared one thing we are grateful for for each person.  One boy mentioned that he is thankful that his mom snuggles with him every morning.  Another student said she is grateful to her pet bunny because it makes her feel calm and loved when she is petting it.  It was great to hear the students reflect on why they appreciate the people they love the most in the world.

After moving through many different yoga poses, we worked hard to finish our self-portrait drawings!  Many students still had a lot of drawing to do, and some children were ready to add color.  The students got to choose between several different art media for the color portion of this work.  We taped the two pieces of paper together, one for the head and one for the body.  This was (unbelievably!) our last class for Session 2, so everyone took the drawings home at the end of the class.  Sometimes one hour doesn't seem long enough to get everything completed, but these determined artists worked hard and most of them finished by the end of class.

Here are pictures a few more In My Heart-inspired drawings!

A Kindergarten artist hard at work!

The work of another Kindergarten artist.

And here are pictures of the completed assemblage artworks, inspired by Alexander Calder:

Second grade artist

Kindergarten artist

Kindergarten artist

Kindergarten artist

Second grade artist

Second grade artist