Community Art in Quininí
This past couple of days, the students and I have been working on a class mural in the Hacienda in which we have our classes. Originally, I was told I would have maybe half the amount of students than usual to help out, just so things were more under control, but nearly all of them ended up coming because they wanted to help, even the youngest student who is only around five or six years old. I was a pretty worried at first about figuring out how to coordinate all of them to create a mural, but it turns out enthusiasm really does translate into really beautiful art.
We started by asking the kids and the adult members of Aprenat, the partner community organization we’re working with, about what they wanted to see in a mural. They wanted a landscape, with the hacienda, and a turquoise dacnis, a bird unique to Colombia's Eastern Andes. After taking in the ideas, I created some sample sketches for a vote.
It was really no surprise to me that they wanted a landscape. When making plans for the classes, I had originally wanted to draw and paint a variety of things, but somehow, all of them ended up in the context of landscapes. But if I lived in a place as beautiful as they did, landscapes would certainly be the first thing I would want to portray in art.
We started less than a day later. A few of the older kids and I outlined the mural and the next morning, we all got to work. The kids were a bit overly excited and used a bit much of the paint, but they had a lot of fun putting their skills to work, mixing colors, creating textures, and goofing around in general. More than a little paint ended up on faces and clothing. Unfortunately the kids made me promise not to put our silly dance videos up, but breaks like that really made it more than creating a painting together, but being a family.
Ultimately, I’m incredibly proud of what these kids have done over the past three days. Originally when I was told I had two days to do the mural, I thought they were a little crazy and underestimating the work involved. It turned out they were simply correctly estimating what the kids were capable of (and I hope a bit of what I was capable of). I really hope you all enjoy these pictures of the mural and the process, and maybe one day even visit because it really showcases the beauty of Quinini, this community and these children’s hearts.
