#Storiesfromtheground ?? I went to multiple classrooms where educators led Saturday Art Class interventions and saw them wonderfully introducing new topics, artists, and art forms to students. The excitement in these classroom spaces was palpable! ?? As a training member at Saturday Art Class, during my visits to classrooms, I often wondered, "What excites children the most about art?" Is it challenging themselves to draw something exactly the way it is modeled to them? Is it adopting an art form or an artist’s individual craft? Or is it seeking new ways to create something unique and channeling it as their own?" In search of answers, during one of my classroom observations, I asked a student, "What do you enjoy the most about art class?" Without hesitation, they responded, "Coloring!" This response was the same from a majority of students I engaged with. This popular response among students made me further wonder about why this specific act of coloring bring students joy. The more I observed with every classroom visit, an answer began to emerge. The answer was hidden in the PROCESS! ?? The process that students went through, from choosing a color to deciding where to fill that particular color in their artwork, and finally, with confidence, guiding that color on a path toward a completed artwork, leaving them satisfied! This process of being given an opportunity to freely make a decision of choosing a color and going through with it is what gave students not only a sense of freedom but also confidence to make their own choices during the process of creating artworks. They had the liberty to create things the way they wanted, which gave them immense pleasure! When students transitioned from being extremely strict on themselves, ensuring that they colored within borders, to spreading their imagination and freely giving their artworks whatever shade they wanted, that’s when I witnessed real excitement and a joyous space within the classroom! ?? Across such classrooms, I had the opportunity to have been introduced to the stories of blue samosas, black watermelons, and pink skies! Watching students explore art in unconventional ways sparked some inspiration within me! I found it exciting and decided to also try coloring things differently, which also brought me joy! I was proud to tell myself that the art I created was mine, and it was created in a way that I wanted it to be created! ?? We’ve all grown up with conventional standards of what art should look like and how it should be created. But what I saw our students create challenged existing conventions, and today, they create a space for themselves to explore their creativity and truly show the beauty of their imagination! By Mitali Dixit (Training Senior Associate at Saturday Art Class). #stories #impact #education #joy #skilldevelopment #art #artist #imagination #process #classroom #india
