All of the projects below emerged from an Arts Elective course that I developed at a Chicago High School where students explored creative art practices to shift their mindsets to work towards personal and collective healing. This course was the merger of creative artistic expression, mindfulness, and mixed-media storytelling. We focused on these modalities as tools to address the issues that affect young people and their ability to thrive in the world today. This course raised the level of self-awareness about one’s identity and helped young people discover their authentic self in order to connect more deeply with themselves and others. Students learned about the adolescent brain, somatic and body awareness, along with other meditative practices, such as breath drawings, guided meditations and visualizations. Through the creative process, relational mindfulness, and the practice of communal storytelling, teens were guided towards using art as activism for collective liberation and wellbeing.
Zentangles
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Neurographic Line Black Out Poetry
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Kintsugi "Wabi Sabi" Art - the art of imperfection
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Chip Bag Mosaics - environmental art using found chip bags
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Harlem Renaissance Reverse Acetate Portraits
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Adinkra Clay Symbols
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My Life as a Road - Expressive Art
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Gio Swaby "Joy" Silhouettes
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Tallest Hat Competition
Play is a survival mechanism. Play leads to creative problem solving. Play brings humans and animals into connection. This is a competition for building the tallest and/or most creative hat.
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