Be present
Absorb each line and curve.
Delight in the tiniest of detail.
Wonder about a canvas that is round.
Observe the focus and concentration on the face of each painter.
Feel the pleasure as the colors dance to create
Enter the "mind's eye" of the children
See the forest as they see it,
with texture, layers, life and moments embedded
How does a collaborative canvas evolve?
Moment by moment by moment
Time slowed
So that decisions are intentional and thoughtful
The children paint using the smallest of small brushes
Breathes are taken and then exhaled
The painters stand back from the canvas and reflect
The painters leave the studio to touch, smell, observe and examine their subject.
It evolves two or three children at a time
It transforms from a white blank space
in moments, hours, days and weeks
without deadline or rush or hurry
free of judgement or expectation
(Beautiful striking pictures taken by Cheri Wolff, our artist in residency)
Think past the eye
Think past the stars
Think past the possible
And think of the impossible
a poem written by Kate Driebe (a fourth grader at our school)