The Art Zone has taken on a life of it's own!

In a recent post, I wrote about my drop-in art program created to serve homeless and at-risk teens in a rural community.  The class takes place at an alternative high school where regular classes do not take place on Fridays.  Instead, one-on-one meetings take place between teachers and students, teachers do their planning, and students catch up on their studies.

I heard that the small group of seniors that had started coming to my class were staying after school this past week to work on their projects.  I was excited to hear it, but also nervous that they were doing project with no instruction or guidance.  Some had only done one small mosaic project, ever.  No one was telling them how to hold the toyo cutter correctly, how to space and place pieces, what andamento is, or how much glue to use.  My husband left work at 7pm on Wednesday and the group was still there, with a teacher's assistant available to lock up when they were done.  And on Thursday, one teacher was planning to work until 11pm, so the kids made arrangements to stay that late!  (It turned out they were working on their college applications as well, but still...)

So, I was pleased this morning to find a group of tired, but enthusiastic, students waiting for me with their projects already out.  The mural has some remarkably large pieces cut out for the sun's rays, which I would have recommended against, but it is in cured thinset now, and it looks fine.

The student on the left made a sugar skull mosaic, but she has been filling the negative space with paper collage.

I had seven participating students today, which is about as many as I can accommodate with the amount of tools available.  They had Pandora playing at a raucous volume.  Energy was high, there was singing and dancing and a lot of hilarious banter.  The kids talked about how good they feel when they are making mosaic, how they feel calm and happy.

I give them basic instructions: how to use the tools, considerations about color and spacing, application of adhesive, etc.  From there, I let them do whatever they want.  My favorite thing about working with kids this age is that they are capable enough to use the tools safely and independently, yet they aren't restricted by ideas of what mosaic should be, or what they are "supposed" to do.  They try everything.  What if I glue glass onto glass?  What if I put clear glass over images?  Can I layer pieces of glass onto the top of my mosaic?  They think of things it took me years to discover, and they are making their mosaic for the fun of doing it.  Some of my adult students get so hung up on whether they are doing it "right" or what the outcome will be that they become paralyzed and can't glue their pieces down.  These teens just go for it.

This class started so slowly, and there were some weeks that only one person came, and one that nobody showed and I spent the day cleaning and organizing the art room.  I can't tell you how gratifying it is to see the room filled with music and laughter, and new students stopping in to see what's going on.  And they say, "I think I'll come next week.  This looks fun!" 

What a rewarding experience.  I'm so happy!