IDENTITY
Andy Warhol might be an artist that you have heard of. He’s known as the father of pop art… and he was on of the few artists who received huge fame while he was still alive. He’s famous for a lot of things… but one method that is a signature of his was his replications of the same image…
What’s amazing about this process is that even though the image remains the same, the feel of the image changes. And that’s what’s great about people… is that they are one person… but there are so many sides to each of us. So we are starting to talk about identity…. and identity is important in any person. How you see yourself, how you think others view you, how others do view you, how does God view you… these shape us and affect the way we live our life.
I’ve done a project like this with students and I was blown away with how honest they were and how much I learned about them. This might be difficult to do with a large group… but very good to do with a small group of leaders or such.
Get a picture of a student and print it out 5 or 6 times, black and white (or grayscale). Try to keep away from all black backgrounds… you want to be able to color on them. Then give everyone pens/crayons/colored pencils and ask them to portray 5/6 sides of them using colors and images on their portrait. They can portray hobbies, passions, relationships, how they are seen by their friends, how they are seen by God…. Anything that they think is important about them that others might not know.
This will be helpful to you, the leader, to learn your students and be able to affirm their identities or speak in new ones to the ones you think are false. You’ll be amazed…
TEACHING ILLUSTRATIONS
Have students help you illustrate what you are teaching them. Have them make large visuals to go along with your subject matter. You’ll empower the visual creators in your group, and you’ll help the visual learners in your group as well. One suggestion is to get those large post-it boards and have them create on those… so you can just tear it off and stick it up on the wall.
MAKE A MURAL
Scary, huh? But you’d be surprised how your group could come together and make something that really speaks the identity of your group. Most muralists use overheads to help them. Piece together a concept. project it onto a wall. Color it in. It will be awesome.
Have your kids come up with an idea….
Still not convinced? Check out my friend Caitlin Beidler and her work with the Quincy Street Youth Mural.
ILLUSTRATE SCRIPTURE
Take scripture and have your kids illustrate it. It can be abstract or narrative. One church does a 4 week lesson on this… making 4 paintings on canvas… all abstract. Then they hang it in there youth room. It gives the kids ownership and insight.
ART NIGHT FREE FOR ALL
One group has an art night free for all once a month after their saturday night gatherings. They provide all the supplies – paint, canvas, paper, hemp, pencils, clay, magazines, paste, etc.
