Depelchin Children's Center

Mural Project: Self-Discovery

The methods and activities in these lesson plans were developed by,  MOCAH Executive Director, Reginald Adams from over seven years experience working with at-risk children of all ages to produce public art, mural projects, and individual works of art.  The materials suggested in these plans are accessible from most art stores or hobby shops and can be easily accomplish at home with assistance of an adult.  

Materials: 14 x 17 drawing paper

#2 pencils

Colored Pencils

Time: 1 ½ hour

Assignment: The artist and their assistants will introduce themselves to the clients and describe the project and the purpose of the creativity workshops. A poem or short story will be read aloud to the group and then the artist will guide the group through the first written exercise.

Allow students time to finish the first exercise. Once the clients are done with the writing exercise ask them to illustrate their writings. Have them draw or sketch out some of the things that relate to their work on the paper provided. Allow enough time to have some of the clients share their responses and drawings with the group. Ask clients to return to the next workshop with drawings, pictures, and photographs that relate in more detail to their responses on the first exercise. Suggest collecting images from unwanted magazines, old newspapers, or from the internet. Children under the age of 18 should be assisted by an adult in researching the internet.

Objective: To have the clients develop and create a personalized collage.

Materials: Images (magazines, newspapers, drawings, photographs)

Glue sticks

14"x17" cardstock paper

Scissors

Colored pencils

Colored markers

Time: 1 ½ hours

Term: Collage: an artistic assembly of various types of images used to tell a story.

Assignment: Begin the workshop with a short story or rhyming poem. Have the clients set out the images that they we asked to collect. Briefly, discuss the images and then encourage clients to arrange the images on the paper provided. Use the glue sticks to past the images down onto the paper. Encourage clients to use the colored pencils and markers to accentuate and highlight the pasted down images.

Have clients compose a short rhyming poem to describe their collage. Allow time for clients to share their artwork rhymes with the group.

Objectives: To create masks of the clients using a casting material.

Materials: Fibercast (casting material)

Scissors

Latex Gloves

Water

Oversized T-Shirts

Vaseline

Hand soap

Small shallow containers (4)

Medium sized towels

Box fans (2)

Time: 1 ½ hours

Term: Impression: communicating of a mold, trait, or character by an external force or influence.

Assignment: Begin the workshop with a short story or poem about masks. Show the clients facial impression masks that were made by other young people and artists. Explain the process of making a facial mask using Fibercast. Have the clients put on oversized t-shirts prior to have their mask made. After the first two masks are applied some of the adults present can assist apply the casting material.

Allow the mask to stay on the client for at least 10 minutes whiling sitting in front of the fans.

Remove the mask once most of the moisture has evaporated from the casting material and place the masks in an undisturbed dry space for at least 48 hours.

Materials: Acrylic paint (red, yellow, blue, black, white)

Paint brushes (medium & fine)

Plastic ice trays

Water cups

Water

Paper towels

Old newspapers

Oversized T-shirts

Term: Self-Discovery: to make known or visible of something about one’s self.

Time: 1 ½ hours

Assignment: Begin workshop with short story or poem about self-discovery. Prepare tabletops with newspapers to protect them from wandering paint. Have clients put on oversized t-shirts. Get volunteers from the group to help pass out materials like paper towels, water cups, and paint brushes. Fill each cup half full with water, which will be used to clean out the paint, brushes. Pour each color of acrylic paint into the ice tray. Pour a one-to-one mixture of the primary colors in empty spaces in the ice tray so that the clients can mix the secondary and other colors they might use on their mask. Explain to the clients how to use the appropriate sized brush and clean the brush between use.

Once clients have completed their work set the mask in a undisturbed dry space for at least 48 hours. If time allows have the clients write a poem to describe the powers or personality of their mask.

Materials: Butcher paper

Markers

Pencils

Time: 1 ½ hours

Assignment: Use the artworks and drawings created by the clients to develop the overall composition for the mural project. Discuss placement and spatial relationships of images to the dimensions of the actual wall. Have clients brainstorm how their masks can be incorporated in the final design.