Art Lessons
Since November 2024, two friends and I have led more than 90 weekly art lessons for over 30 underserved children ages 7 to 12 in Shenzhen. With materials as simple as crayons and paint, we give children a welcoming place to put their ideas on paper and experiment freely. We want each child to feel the joy of making something of their own and grow more confident in what they can create.
November 2, 2024 | 2:00–4:00 p.m.
For one art lesson, I ordered smooth, evenly shaped pebbles so the children could paint small faces in acrylic. I showed them how changing the curve of a mouth could make a face look happy or sad, then invited them to paint their own expressions. They painted their parents’ faces, too, and began calling those pebbles their parents. A simple exercise in painting expressions became a way for the children to show how they saw themselves and the people closest to them.
November 9, 2024 | 2:00–4:00 p.m.
For an autumn art lesson, I collected fallen leaves to show the children how something they might walk past could become a tool for making art. I showed them how to brush paint onto a leaf and press it against paper. When they lifted the leaves, even the fine veins showed up in their prints. The children were so excited by what they had made that they told me they couldn’t wait to show their parents.
November 16, 2024 | 2:00–4:00 p.m.
I brought cotton balls to an art lesson to show the children what they could make with an everyday material. I invited them to imagine anything fluffy, from clouds to rabbits. Some surprised me by making pillowcases and puppy faces. What I enjoyed most was seeing how much fun they had turning the same simple material into something each could call their own.
November 23, 2024 | 2:00–4:00 p.m.
We gave the children scraps of cardboard and invited them to build a place they’d love to step inside. They glued cardboard shapes onto paper, drew in details with markers, and decorated their buildings with buttons and bottle caps. Some made sprawling castles, while others built small cottages. By the end of the lesson, every child insisted on taking their creation home to show their parents.
November 30, 2024 | 2:00–4:00 p.m.
We invited the children to use yarn to map a place they knew or one they imagined. They made landmarks out of paper and connected them with strands of yarn. Some drew elaborate maps of their routes from school to home, complete with fearsome monsters along the way. My favorite part was seeing how much fun they had turning a familiar walk into an adventure of their own.
December 07, 2024 | 2:00–4:00 p.m.
We showed the children how a light dab of a paint-dipped sponge leaves a different mark from a firm press. Then we invited them to paint weather they remembered or invent weather of their own. Many chose to paint storms, and one child surprised us by using the sponge to bring a tornado to life on paper.
December 14, 2024 | 2:00–4:00 p.m.
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December 21, 2024 | 2:00–4:00 p.m.
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December 28, 2024 | 2:00–4:00 p.m.
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January 04, 2025 | 2:00–4:00 p.m.
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January 11, 2025 | 2:00–4:00 p.m.
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January 18, 2025 | 2:00–4:00 p.m.
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