Supplies needed:
butcher paper
pencils, erasers
acrylic paints
paintbrushes
paint palette
landscape paintings
random assortment of fabrics and decoupage supplies
Planning:
We started gathering paintings in August. I'd find the best bargains at flea markets. In all, we spent probably $25. The other art supplies we already had on-hand. Originally we thought we would do this as a registration-only program to ensure we had enough supplies on-hand. Well, on the day-of our program, we only had 2 people registered, so we carried all our supplies into Teen Central and set up in their midst. We wrapped a couple of tables in butcher paper. We probably could have used plastic for the carpet, but hindsight is 20/20.
At first the teens were a little shy to participate. I found another one of my artistic coworkers and had him start on a painting. In 20 minutes, he painted this:
It was just what we needed to get the teens into it!
We have one large canvas left that we're currently working on as a community piece and everyone is adding an element.
Things we learned:
We scheduled this program for 2 hours. It could have used at least one extra hour if not two.
Teens
got into having art supplies out and available. We could probably host a
regular drop-in art day in the Teen Room. Once they knew the supplies
were out and available, we had more artists in our midst than I had been
aware of. :)
