Hey there…
Well i was just knocking out some documentation for a workshop i did today (to acquit the funding and help get more workshops) for a local community centre and i thought…it is about tees, why not throw it up on the bubble as i have been fairly quiet online of late.
Anywho, it started out being a workshop for fifteen kids to make a tee each as part of a holiday program…and it ended up some forty odd t-shirts later, twelve dead cans of spray paint, a bunch of very dead stencils, lots of messy hands…as fifteen pairs of gloves dont cover forty pairs of hands…oh, and one fairy sunburned neck.
It’s funny with community art, there is always the old elite sentiment that it breeds mediocracy…and indeed it often does. But these kids took to the workshop like ducks to water, and even if i found some of the tees not always of the highest artistic merit(lots more were awesome), these kids had a ball and because they had ownership over creating the tees, they all loved them and they could hardly wait to put them on as soon as they were dry…and you couldn’t get the smiles off their faces.
Among the crew that turned up, T-Shirts were made by a mid-forties Russian mum, a family of nine Sudanese kids, an eight year old deaf girl and the usual bunch of teenagers you get at events like this. The best part is with the diversity of participants…they all helped each other hold down the tees and stencils in the wind, worked together really well and shared the cans politely. I even actually only heard the f-bomb once the whole day…and the girl looked at me and apologised…i must be looking old!
I digress…
I think all involved had a great day and the whole event and materials cost the partipants absolutely nothing! In the end, the kids even came and offered to help me tidy and pack up eveything. So win-win.
What i learned…
1) It is hard to cut a stencil for a child quickly…especially when they are hanging on your shoulder. (No, i wasn’t going to arm strange small children with scalpels)
2) Stencils don’t last long when an eight year old unloads half a can on 80 gsm paper from about one centimetre away.
3) And no matter where you are…skulls are always in!
Location: community centre and one outdoor derelict b-ball halfcourt.
Materials: Spray Paint, fabric markers paper stencils and misc. other supplies laying around.
Oh, and before i get asked. Yes, Spraypaint stays on after washing(and the tee goes soft again too).
Hope you enjoyed the read!
G
Juilee Pryor
oi this is great Glenn… and a quick coat of a mix of half PVC glue and half water on the stencil paper will give it seriously much longer in the life time dept….. a tip that bankys and I once chatted about online….. and keep up the good work….
any chance of any pic’s of the shirts?
nofrillsart:
Thanks Juilee. See, now i’m thinking your Banksy and your trying to throw me off the trail! hehe
Thanks for the tip. Myself, i actually use acetate if i want a stencil to go bombing a long long way. It generally only fails when it gets to caked with paint to use.
Juilee Pryor
ahh pictures…. and they are great….. cheers big ears……:)
zomboy
reckon you are onto something here brother!!
nofrillsart:
Thanks Zomboy. You should give it a go…tis fun i tells ya.
Danny
The vast majority of people (artist? ha) on this site are just boring repetitious clowns, you my friend are the breath of fresh air that keeps blowing strong.
Thank you for another intersting journal. :)
nofrillsart:
Thanks for the props D. Yeah artists can be a bit repetitious…i can too…but i guess we all just have to keep working outside our comfort zones. Was thinking bout you(Not in a creepy way!) when i decided to throw this up here. Just trying to do my part to keep the place interesting.
rubyred
Good read. Nice to hear about kids getting their hands dirty creating. Computers work, but materials will always win in the end.
nofrillsart:
Cheer Roger. I think im pretty much all about getting everyone within fifty yards dirty with paint on their hands. What about robots to do the painting for us? Does that cover both bases?
Melinda Kerr
And as for community art breeding mediocrity what a load of crap. What it breeds is imagination, pride (the good kind), a sense of achievement, companionship and a dose of bloody good fun. I bet the Russian Mum and the Sudanese kids and everyone else is beaming tonight. Great journal :)
Melinda Kerr
PS I did a workshop with some kids in Congo with cans of paint and a big sheet of paper. Got them to put their hand prints on the paper. Was a hoot until we all looked at each other and then at the one tap which was to supply several families which didn’t really work anyway. Ended up with 30 Congelese kids with blue, yellow and red hands. Classic! They thought it was awesome!
nofrillsart:
Thanks Melinda. I agree that community art has its place and is the reason why i champion it. But not all agree…artists funnily enough can be snobby at times. I also think participation should be in the equation when assessing community art and its value. In terms of achieving funding and strong outcomes, we normally give the community a framework idea we conceive to build their art around and help cater to the varying abilities and implement a conceptual angle. In funding bodies eyes however participation goes a long way to help land money for projects as thankfully they recognise its value.
Art in galleries also has its place, in fact the more kinds of art the better in my books. If i am on my way to work and have no time to go to a gallery, i want my art on the wall in the street. If i want to chat over coffee and a gallery doesnt offer that…i want a cafe with art on the walls.
This project was a little bit more freeform than usual…go have fun(i’m on holidays still…don’t make me think about it), and i was the only body on board running is…yet they all still had a ball and produced successful art and outcomes in my opinion. So i was most pleased!
ps- bit jealous about the making art with kids in Congo. ;)
Cathie Tranent
The tshirts, the kids – it’s all awesome.
And so are you.
nofrillsart:
Thanks heaps Cathie. Was a fun day.
ps-done!
RevolutionGFX
What kind of spray paint? Ive used regular $2 cans and it does mostly wash off afterwards :S other kind you might recommend? lol
Oh and the work here is tops! keep it up :)
nofrillsart:
If its enamel it should be fine. It fades a touch but it generally makes it look cooler. Also if you iron before first wash it seals it more.
Cheers mate.
g
Louwax
You’re like a t-shirt wearin’, cool designin’ Mr. T! Helping the kids in the community sucka! Good work!
nofrillsart:
Thanks Louwax. I like to think so..not so sure others do. ha, oh well. Thanks for stopping by.
Damien Mason
That’s just fantastic.. such a cool idea, and it looks like it would have been awesome fun
nofrillsart:
Thanks Damien. It was a lot of fun.
RevolutionGFX
Ah ok cheers man
Pip Gerard
My defences go up when hear any elitist or snobby art sentiments. Especially in community or children’s art! Why is it that we ALL draw and paint all the time as toddlers… and why we have art classes in Primary School?? Because it’s extremely enjoyable and essential (I believe) to becoming able to express oneself creatively! How on earth can a person discover their passion and talent for creating without places willing to give them a go and give them the tools in the first place?
And what about art being fun, therapeautic, emotionally developing as well as self esteem building! I think every single person in the world needs to find their own kind of “art” in order to express themselves so i thunderously applaud you for doing this!! We need more of you!!
I don’t get the snobs so much… because there’s no need to worry about so called mediocrity… if anything that mediocrity will only make the quality work stand out even more.
nofrillsart:
I agree with everything you wrote here Pip, And yeah its a bit sad, but you do hear the elitism thing from time to time and i guess i get a little defensive about it. But it doesn’t ever stop me doing my own art or community art projects. ;)
Thanks for giving me your insights here.
Glen