Feb 08 & 15: Mural mock up

Only start this after the Feb 01 lesson is completed! You can skip this to next session if needed.

Intro

The next two lessons are about sketching a life size mural mock up- painting a mural is a big group effort. You will use large sheets of paper to trace the mural area and mock up the entire mural.

This wall keeps us safe. But it can also be a place to share art. Today we will imagine how our mural can talk to the neighborhood about children’s views.

Theme: ‘Art as a Bridge Between Inside and Outside’

You will need:

• Large paper rolls

• Measuring tape

• Pencil, eraser

• Tempura Paint

• A4 or a3 paper

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Guide: Day 1

1. Key question

   “How can our art center be part of the neighborhood, not separate from it?” discuss.

   Let kids answer freely.
   

2. Measure and make a life size paper mock up of your mural using large paper rolls in class

3. Explain: The mural has three parts:

• Us (inside the center)

• Our neighbors (outside

• What we share (the middle)

4. Take a3 or A4 papers and arrange them as windows and frames on the mural in all sizes

Continue to Day 2

1. Draw: play music!)

   Each child draws 1 window or frame.

   Inside the window:

   • dreams

   • colors they love

   • symbols of safety (home, heart, tree, hands)

   Outside the window:

   • neighborhood life

   • people, animals, streets, trees

   • daily activities (walking, talking, playing)

   Connections inside and outside the window:

   • Hands reaching towards each other

   • Paths or rivers flowing along the wall

   • patterns or lines that start inside and continue outside

   
   2. GROUP REFLECTION (10 min)

   Sit together with drawings on the floor.

   Ask:

   • “What do you see repeating?”

   • “What connects inside and outside?”

   • “What do we want people outside to feel?”

For more ideas on how art can share a message, let’s look at this video about the ‘We are from here’ project at Slave Island:

See how the class did a mural mock up in 2023:

Extra tips for volunteers: AGE DIFFERENTIATION

Ages 4–6

• Focus on colors, shapes, windows

• Ask:

“What makes a place feel friendly?”

Ages 7–10

• Add people, paths, simple stories

• Ask:

“What could we share with the neighborhood?”

Ages 11–16

• Let them design:

• mural sections

• symbols for protection vs openness

• Ask:

“How can art build trust without removing safety?”

Older kids can help combine ideas into one mural plan.