Awesome Abstract Collaborative Mural
What a super start to the year! I worked in Rimurimu today with the awesome Year Three and Four kids of 2021. I pitched in and followed the usual classroom timetable with the teachers Alex, Mel and Ashleigh. I got to teach maths and read the hilarious novel ‘The World’s Worst Teachers’ by David Walliams. It was great fun.
During the day the teachers ran rotations where the students got to join in three different activities: fun picture puzzles with Mel, outside games with Ashleigh and art with me. Each rotation was 30 minutes long. I decided that instead of doing individual artworks it would be a cool experience for the students to create a giant, expressive, abstract collaborative mural.
The first group were the Line and Shape Bosses. Their job was to use black and white crayon to make interesting and varied marks on the page as a base for the mural. I asked the students to think about balance as they worked. Was there a balance of long and short lines? Sharp and curved lines? Thick and thin lines? After they used the crayons they added collaged paper from my scrap paper stash, once again finding or making interesting lines and shapes.
The next group were the Cool Colour Cats. Their job was to use the cool coloured tempera paints to fill in shapes and spaces made by the previous group. This group had a wonderful time mixing new colours and experimenting with very watery, flowing paints. I loved watching their process, particularly when the students started playing around with paint splattering techniques. A wee group of students splattered the paint onto the mural, waited a bit for it to dry slightly and then rolled a sponge roller over top to streak the paint. I love what kids come up with when they are given a chance to dabble and truly get creative.
The final group were the Warm Colour Wizards. Their job was to fill in the remainder of the mural with hot colours to create contrast with the cold colours. This group also had a fun time experimenting with painting techniques, particularly with making their paints bold and vibrant by only adding a little bit of water to the tempera paint cakes.
At the end of the day the mural was looking fantastic - so much expression, emotion and experimentation within the piece. I mentioned to Mel, Ashleigh and Alex that the mural could do with one more session to finish it off. I suggested that extra cool colours could be added because the vibrant warm colours had overpowered the softer cold watercolours. I also suggested emphasising some shapes with white and black lines.
I was a bit sad to not be able to be there for the final session of painting… but I was SO excited and proud to see the finished mural! It looks incredible displayed up on the wall. It is huge! I love the bold colours, the contrast of shapes and the different painting techniques. The piece has wonderful rhythm and movement, I recommend popping into Rimurimu to experience it for yourself. If you can’t, check out these close up images of the mural below. Stunning!
