Artasia at Queen Mary
BGC Hamilton Halton
🖌️ Artist Educator: Ace Martin
Breaking the Ice
One of the kids had been feeling really upset when we got there. Because of this, she was not in the mood to make art, and she ignored us and the other kids. For the first twenty minutes, she struggled to start because she wanted it to be perfect. We told her that art doesn’t have to be perfect and helped her brainstorm, but she still struggled. That was when one of the kids discovered that they could paint their hands and stamp them onto their flags. Everyone started making art out of their hand prints! Then I suggested, “What if we high-five each other and then put that handprint on the flag?” At this, she finally joined in. For the first time that day, she played with the other kids and didn’t care about if her flag was perfect; she just had fun! She painted her hands, high-fived the kids, and then stamped it onto her flag. While she didn’t even want to talk with us before, she asked us to also put a high five on the flag. She then decided to make her flag penguin themed and got to creating it! She was cheered up, and whenever Arts for All visits, she gives us a big cheer and reminds me about the penguin flag.
Experiences at Queen Mary
This kid didn’t want to make a badge like everyone else, so they used the fabric to stretch and practice their art. This badge was made because the child likes the trees they see around their house. This group wanted to add as many country flags to their banner as possible. They had fun coming up with the flags and painting them on the banner. This banner was made to represent the kid’s different nationalities. They wanted to show their peers that they have pride in both their countries.Â
Experiences at Queen Mary 2
Most of the kids had done tie-dye before in this group. So while the dye was processing they asked about how plants like turmeric and sumac could be made into dye. This was a shawl made for their rainbow kitten princess costume. They also made a magic wand and shield to protect the kittens they rule over. This sword is inspired by the child’s favourite game, The Legend of Zelda. After seeing the example recipe, this kid decided to make their own mac n cheese.Â
Experiences at Queen Mary 3
The kids were excited to use materials they don’t normally use. They spent a lot of time exploring how the markers work on different fabrics. This badge was made mainly with fabric; however the kid found an interesting way to use the safety pins. The kids worked together in groups to create banners based on messages they wanted to share. They had fun exploring how paint worked on fabric and brainstorming messages. This banner is from a group of friends. They wanted everyone to know that everyone needs some friends.
Experiences at Queen Mary 4
This tie-dye square didn’t turn out the way the kid wanted it to. So they started drawing on it and they were happy with the result. The kids had a blast coming up with crafts. This group is making a baseball bat and hat. This skirt was made using leftover materials from week 2. The kid wanted to showcase some of their favourite things with their clothing. This kid made a sushi roll because it takes a lot of their favourite food and puts it into one delicious meal.
Thank you to our Focus on Youth team members Sophie Prop and Ava Aalbers for supporting us at this site!