When I went "Up the River" back in the Spring, I sat on the floor, in the middle of the room and began to paint. Kids and moms would soon gather around to watch. Their inquisitive eyes made me smile. I began to draw lines and would soon begin to fill them in with a sequence of colors. I asked a few of the kids if they would like to help. Younger ones were eager to help me choose colors and sometimes even grab the brush. Older kids would usually decline, saying that they "couldn't". I would have them choose the next color. And, handing over a paintbrush, would give them only 2 rules. 1) They had to repeat the color at least 3 times and in various areas of the page. 2) The spaces in which they colored could not touch another space with the same color. (My secret is out. Now you can all become artistic geniuses!) No doubt, I would run out of paint brushes. A few kids would be working on the same color and I could soon step back from the entire piece.
Whether artist or not, each person would have their own interpretation of what the drawing meant. Mine was usually "wrong," compared to everyone else's. But hey! I get to title them here. In the end, we have one piece which I will call, "Dragonfly in the Grass" and a second I am calling, "A Glimpse of Heaven." And in my mind, at least one is upside down in this picture.
Here's how they (title and work) came about:
"Dragonfly in the Grass"
After an afternoon of oral surgeries, translating post-op care instructions, and painting a couple rounds of greeting cards with kids, we had a sunset break. Jim went with some of the guys to "shower" in the river, a.k.a. cannon balls. A few others went to freshen up with baby wipes and change in the back room. Where, it's really only blocked off by a loose curtain; and the only light is the tiny penlight you took with you to get back there in the first place... A few of us were sitting on the porch, laughing, relaxing and preparing for the night ahead.
I decided to get up and mingle with the kids, if even just to watch them pass by on the main street, a.k.a. sidewalk. A few of the kids asked where I was going and I'm sure I didn't have much of a response. A small circle of us gathered and I asked them, of the small group, who was the funniest, who was the smartest, etc. Soon, the conversation wore down and they wanted to play games. Which abruptly ended when one of the boys went chasing after a dragonfly about the size of my hand! It whirled and twirled as if it was mad. It flew into the middle of tall jungle grass, but he caught it! And of course, scared/disgusted the girls away. All the while, it was absolutely hilarious to us! So, as you can see, there is a mad Dragonfly in the Grass!
I'll write more about "A Glimpse of Heaven" later. My cold would like me to take an intermission.
04 August, 2008
Dragonflies in the Grass
When I went "Up the River" back in the Spring, I sat on the floor, in the middle of the room and began to paint. Kids and moms would soon gather around to watch. Their inquisitive eyes made me smile. I began to draw lines and would soon begin to fill them in with a sequence of colors. I asked a few of the kids if they would like to help. Younger ones were eager to help me choose colors and sometimes even grab the brush. Older kids would usually decline, saying that they "couldn't". I would have them choose the next color. And, handing over a paintbrush, would give them only 2 rules. 1) They had to repeat the color at least 3 times and in various areas of the page. 2) The spaces in which they colored could not touch another space with the same color. (My secret is out. Now you can all become artistic geniuses!) No doubt, I would run out of paint brushes. A few kids would be working on the same color and I could soon step back from the entire piece.
Whether artist or not, each person would have their own interpretation of what the drawing meant. Mine was usually "wrong," compared to everyone else's. But hey! I get to title them here. In the end, we have one piece which I will call, "Dragonfly in the Grass" and a second I am calling, "A Glimpse of Heaven." And in my mind, at least one is upside down in this picture.
Here's how they (title and work) came about:
"Dragonfly in the Grass"
After an afternoon of oral surgeries, translating post-op care instructions, and painting a couple rounds of greeting cards with kids, we had a sunset break. Jim went with some of the guys to "shower" in the river, a.k.a. cannon balls. A few others went to freshen up with baby wipes and change in the back room. Where, it's really only blocked off by a loose curtain; and the only light is the tiny penlight you took with you to get back there in the first place... A few of us were sitting on the porch, laughing, relaxing and preparing for the night ahead.
I decided to get up and mingle with the kids, if even just to watch them pass by on the main street, a.k.a. sidewalk. A few of the kids asked where I was going and I'm sure I didn't have much of a response. A small circle of us gathered and I asked them, of the small group, who was the funniest, who was the smartest, etc. Soon, the conversation wore down and they wanted to play games. Which abruptly ended when one of the boys went chasing after a dragonfly about the size of my hand! It whirled and twirled as if it was mad. It flew into the middle of tall jungle grass, but he caught it! And of course, scared/disgusted the girls away. All the while, it was absolutely hilarious to us! So, as you can see, there is a mad Dragonfly in the Grass!
I'll write more about "A Glimpse of Heaven" later. My cold would like me to take an intermission.
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