First Meeting – What Is A Mural?

We began our first meeting by asking, “What Is a Mural?” and writing down the children’s responses, which included that it tells a story and is a big picture. The children can add to the definition as they discover more. Then they did a ‘walking tour’ of three stations we had set up: tables with books open to specific murals. We explained what they would be doing at each table and read aloud questions on sheets we had prepared: What is interesting in the mural? How does it make you feel? What would you write as a title for this mural? We divided the kids into groups of two and threes and they set to work. The murals we used were by Keith Haring and Diego Rivera. Time was flying, so the kids got to 2 of the 3 stations. Clearly, the idea of looking hard and finding more was happening. Seeing how color effected the mood of the work also surfaced. In the Haring, how movement was created by adding action lines was noticed. After we read aloud the children’s responses to the work, they then got to make a mural of their own. We spread a long piece of white paper on the floor and distributed markers (2 or 3). The kids sat around the paper and each started a picture. After a few minutes, they moved to their left and continued the picture that their neighbor drew. They continued working around the mural, like musical chairs except nobody got eliminated. Before they made it back to their own space, their last task was to connect the drawing in front of them to the others. They used paths and ladders to make connections. In their talking (and singing) a story was starting to emerge. Back at their own spots, they wrote their names. The children then sat back as we held up the mural. Immediately they noticed that half of it was upside down. We turned the mural around so they could see it right-side up from the other angle. Then they wanted to see it vertically in both directions. Lastly, we took a photo of the children holding their mural.

Before leaving, each child got a notebook. They will be looking around in the community or wherever they will be traveling over the next two weeks for a mural, and writing about it, as they did in the workshop today, to present to the group next time. Also, in the next workshop, we might want to hold up the mural they made last time and subject it to the same scrutiny: what do you notice? what is interesting? how does it make you feel? and what title would you give it?