Photo Mosaics and goodbye to BEAM

Last Wednesday was the last session with BEAM for the time being (the current group of students having finished - congratulations, guys!!) so we had a particularly nice project to say goodbye with.

Mosaics can be difficult to emulate in the traditional style without ceramic tiles and so on - however, we finally found a use for the box of photo prints that have been sitting in the office for who knows how long... cut up small, the pieces made passable tiles. The students had great fun with the variety of colours and shapes (yes, we cut the pieces unevenly on purpose. For, um, aesthetic value. What?) and some beautiful pieces followed.

We hope very much that we will be able to continue to work with BEAM in the future - but for now, goodbye and all the best!!

Miniature paper scenes created by the women of The Wildflower Home

Yesterday afternoon was my first visit to the Wildflower Home - a centre for single mothers and their children located about 30 minutes outside of Chiang Mai. The centre offers free education, life skill training, shelter, food, counselling and health services to single mothers in difficulty. Some have suffered domestic abuse and have been abandoned by their parents and families as a result of their pregnancy and so are left unable to afford raising their children.

I had been told that the women who would be participating in the class were creatively capable and would pick up new skills relatively quickly and without great difficulty. This statement was both true and false - yes, they were well able for the workshop and evidently quite artistic, however they were not quite the 'women' I had expected to meet - they were girls aged between 17 and 22 - very close in age to myself. I was overwhelmed on meeting the girls and found it so distressing to imagine what they had been through in less than 22 short years.

The objective of this workshop was to create miniature paper scenes on black paper to be attached to the inside of toilet paper rolls. It was a difficult exercise which involved intricate cutting, attention to detail, and planning their ideas precisely so that they had a foreground, middle and background to create depth. They grasped the concept immediately and spent over an hour working  carefully on their individual scenes.

The results were impressive and each one unique from the next. Some followed the initial instructions and kept their scenes within the toilet paper rolls, whereas others took their own slant on the project and wrapped their scenes around the outside of the rolls. The outcomes were beautiful and so detailed.

The workshop was such an eye-opener for me. During the two hours we were there some of the girls had to take breaks from the task at hand to feed or comfort their very young children. For them, art is not just a recreational hobby they can do at their leisure, but an important respite and break from their daily responsibilities and the hardships they have experienced. What hit home the most was that we were not permitted to take photographs of the girls at The Wildflower Home - unlike the other workshops we conduct - because many of their identities are kept private to protect them from elements of  their past or certain people in their lives or before they took refuge in the centre. I really enjoyed my visit to The Wildflower Home - it was a memorable afternoon that I will not forget in a hurry.

Maire

Cubism with Thai Freedom House

Last week at the Thai Freedom House we tackled the cubist style of Pablo Picasso! Although it was a difficult concept and technique to both teach and learn about, the students approached the activities with enthusiasm and determination, and the results were fantastic!

We started out by matching up our facial features with different shapes in preparation for the main painting activity of the workshop.

Then we got the right side of our brains attentive by trying to draw upside-down objects the right way up. This was a tricky exercise, but once they understood what was being asked, even the youngest did a really great job!

After the break we got started on our cubist self-portraits! Using the list we made earlier, along with some different shaped sponges and paint, the students created their own self portraits. Each portrait was very personalized and the result was a wide variety of cubist artwork made with thoughtfulness and lots of fun!

Dominique

A crafty afternoon with the Young Lions!

Yesterday we had yet another brilliant and productive afternoon with the Young Lions group! The aim for this week's workshop was to create 3D miniature owls from colourful recycled paper and toilet paper rolls. The group were incredibly enthusiastic as always and got straight into the project!! We gave a step by step demonstration of the process and they picked it up immediately!

They each created very original, colourful and unique owls, with some even adding their own personal touches such as paper hats or paper branches for the owls to sit on. They had a lot of fun doing this and were very proud of their results!

 When they finished their owls there was another wonderful burst of creativity - they used their initiative and perched their owls on the branches of one of the trees in the garden! It was wonderful to see them engage with the project so energetically! We are already looking forward to next Tuesday when we will be working with the very creative Young Lions again!

- Maire

Celebrating Identity at Baan Nokkamin!

Last Saturday we had our first ever workshop at the Baan Nokkamin Foundation and it was a real success! Our plan for the workshop was to encourage positivity in the way that the children would focus on what they are proud of or like about themselves. We wanted each student to create a unique self portrait filled with positive aspects of their personalities. We began the workshop with some fun games to lighten the atmosphere and get to know the children a bit better!

We then gave them the task of writing a list of 6 things - 3 things they are proud of or like about themselves and 3 of their favourite things such as their favourite food or hobbies they enjoy. We then gave them out templates of heads from a side profile for them to trace around. Once they had this done, they filled the heads with drawings of the things in their lists. The results were so creative and unique!

We ended the workshop with a reflective exercise - each of the students held up their portrait and shared with the group one of their positive attributes. The ages of the children varied a lot - the youngest was 2 and the eldest 19 -  but they all participated really enthusiastically in the workshop and we were so impressed with the results. We can't wait to work with the fantastic children at the Baan Nokkamin Foundation again!!

- Maire and Shauna

Silly Putty with Hope Home!

Phil and Joy had lots of fun with silly putty today! While the putty was being mixed, we played with the instruments, and then we got into playing and experimenting with the silly putty.

Joy had a bit of glitter in hers, and Phil liked squeezing it between his fingers. But the real fun started when Phil took of his shoes and started kicking the putty around and feeling it between his toes! Sinaam took a nap for most of the workshop but he woke up and had some fun with the musical instruments near the end!

It was a happy, messy, silly, pile of fun!

While we were cleaning up, we took the children for a little walk around the block and then said our good byes for this week.

-Dominique

Scribbling with Wat Muen Kong Gnen

Yesterday at Wat Muen Kong Gnen, we had our first ever workshop and it was so much fun! After we loosened up with some games, we started our scribble drawings! The students were incredibly enthusiastic, so it was fun right from the beginning. We all closed our eyes and drew a "scribble" on our paper, not lifting the pencil from the paper. This proved to be quite a funny task!

After about 20 seconds, we looked at our results and tried to find some pictures within the scribbles. The students came up with very imaginative animals, cars, fish, houses, and trees!

We then brought life to our images by cutting them out and creating scenes for them to live in on larger sheets of paper using mixed media and collage. The students got so creative and each outcome was so truly unique. 

When everyone was finished we went around and each person shared their work of art! It was so wonderful to hear their ideas and see the finished products!

Thank you to Wat Muen Kong Gnen for having so much energy and making the afternoon so enjoyable! We can't wait to make some art there again!

-Sally

Realism with Thai Freedom House

We switched up the medium this week at Thai Freedom House and experimented with oil pastels!

The topic for the lesson was "Realism & Traditional Portraits". We started with a short lesson on the origins of Realism and then got into some color shading exercises with the oil pastels. the students were fantastic and got right into it, coming up with impressive results! We then did a short micro-thumbnail sketching exercise to promote attention to detail, followed by a break.

After snacks, we got into the main course of the workshop - creating realist replicas of portraits from magazines! I was a little worried that the project might be difficult for the younger students, but they took on the challenge and amazed us with the results (I wish I could draw like that at 6 years old!).

It was a very successful workshop and the students were a blast! Looking forward to seeing them again on Friday!





- Dominique

Knitting Party at Healing Family!

We revisited one of our old successes today at Healing Family and taught everyone the under-appreciated art of finger-knitting. It is a a beautiful and versatile craft; a little tricky to get the hang of but so awesome once you do!

Everyone was hard at work... thwe fun part comes when you decide what to make with your knitting! A bracelet, headband (someone make an anklet), a woolen flower with a button center... everyone got creative.

Shaving Cream Prints at Bann King Kaew

Today we had our second workshop with Bann King Kaew! Because we had so much fun the last time, we were very excited to go back! We made prints from marbling shaving cream! The kids were surprised with the material and weren't quite sure what to do at first but were eager to get going!

Once we put the shaving cream and paint in front of them, there was no hesitation! They chose what colors they wanted to use and started blending them together beautifully! 

Once they were satisfied with their work, we laid paper on top and made some prints! 

Once the shaving cream was scraped away from the page, the results were revealed!

Everyone was quite surprised by the final products. Who knew shaving cream could create such wonderful and fun art! 

-Sally

Bubbles! with Hope Home

Yesterday at Hope Home, we played with water and bubbles! We had a slightly bigger group than the last few times which was very exciting! We turned on some music when we got there to put everyone in the mood to do some art! We painted on wet pieces of paper, allowing the paint to take on its own form as we pushed it around the page. Joy loved making music with her hands and her brush, tapping them on the page!

Next came the bubbles!! We made lots of bubbles in some trays of water and the kids loved getting their hands right in them and playing around. Namchok especially loved splashing around in the mixture and was ready to put his whole head right in!

We added some paint to the bubbles and made some interesting marks on the paper with the fun texture! Phil was getting quite silly and having lots of fun, sneaking his hands in the bubbles but created a lovely painting!

The day was filled with lots of smiles and fun art! Can't wait to see them next week!

-Sally