Art That's a Snap To Make

Nevertheless, adventure and art should prevail.  We must change and adapt.  (Making a Way Out of No Way, Monica A Coleman, 69)

I got an idea for using rubber bands to paint from the blog, Teach Preschool: Promoting Excellence in Early Childhood Education.  It was really fun and incredibly easy!  All you need is paper, acrylic paint, rubber bands, and a cookie sheet.  Put your paper on the cookie sheet and then slide the rubber bands around the sheet.  Put paint on the rubber bands and then snap the rubber bands.  It's a little messy, so make sure you're wearing an apron.

A bunch of the paint dripped down onto the paper on this version, but the young woman I was working with adapted beautifully-after snapping the rubber bands, she folded the paper in half and formed this:

I just love the bright colors!  Four twins drinking tea!  What do you think it looks like?

Here's mine:

I like mine too, although I think the colors would pop more on darker colored paper.  This was so much fun, I think I will have to do this again on my own time!  You know, a lot of people believe that those with disabilities cannot produce "good" art, but that is simply not true.  What is true is that anyone can produce art with the right adaptations.  The High Museum of Art in Atlanta recently did an exhibit that bothered me, because it only featured male artists.  Not only do we need to make adaptations for special needs artists, but we need to totally change who we deem is acceptable to honor as an artist.  I believe there should always be women included at art shows, along with people of color, those with disabilities, of different sexualities, from different countries and different backgrounds.  Despite this, I am excited that this Saturday and Sunday there will be a print fair at the High, which might be a good opportunity to get some new art.  Who wants to come with me?

(haha He looks exactly like my cat, Arlo!)

Recommended Links:

Captain Awkward - Why I will continue recommending counseling on this blog FOREVER.

It went a little easier with therapy. That’s an important thing to tell people, I think, especially when there is such bullshit and stigma surrounding mental illness even when it’s so fucking common. “You get to try to make really hard stuff a little easier on yourself.”

Yin and Yang - Small Mind, Big Mind

It is up to us to recognize the difference between being all caught up and being in harmony with our surroundings and other people.  The first step is just to see it without doing anything about it.  Just look at yourself as you are and sit with it.  Learn to sit with the discomfort of realizing that you are closed off and stuck.  It is learning to accept yourself and others in the present that allows you to make the transition into big mind with its broad and balanced perspective.   Then you can relax with the uncertainty of things without needing to grasp onto anything to try and "fix" it.