I felt a glimpse of unknowing when the newscaster questioned me with: “Tell us what they are learning, Shannon.”
In truth, I chose Fly Swatter painting for the news bit because I knew it would be eye-catching and it would be messy and it’s very engaging.
Typically, when you see children doing fly swatter painting, you see smiling faces translating to JOY.
Is joy an acceptable learning outcome?
What about that younger child (or older child or even the adult) who shyly watches others fly swatter painting and they slowly creep closer and closer...desperately wanting to do it but just not ready to take the leap. And, the parent who sits with them seeing their longing.
People associate me with messy things. Which, I have spent some time arguing and offering defenses for but what if I just claim that right here and now. Wonder Studio is MESSY.
I think I resist the label (as I resist almost every single label) because that was never my intention when first envisioning Wonder Studio.
However, I am continually surprised at how people react to messy situations.
But, the person that surprises me the most is myself.
If I could relate it to something describable although I think it’s almost indescribable,
It’s both my spiritual practice and it’s my work as an artist.
The curiosity that I have in seeing how folks interpret my art everyday is why I keep coming back. Honestly, I imagined that the newscaster would be banging the fly swatters and maybe for a moment lose himself in the moment.
But, the surprise and not disappointment, it’s all just information, I don’t judge these reactions… The surprise was he shrunk away from it...he asked me for an explanation.
If you're an artist or a person who is creative, you may understand how perplexing these questions can be.
“What is it?”
“Tell me why you did this?”
“What does it mean?”
I don’t always have good answers.
In teacher’s college, we spent a solid 3 years studying child development, best practice, all kinds of pedagogy. We made lesson plans that addressed all areas of learning. And, I won’t lie. That experience made me a knowledgeable teacher.
I can find a cognitive, gross motor, fine motor, social-emotional, mathematical, sensory, scientific support for everything I offer at Wonder Studio.
However, my intention for Wonder Studio was NEVER about making kids smarter.
My intention was always about Expression.
It may sound hippie and it may sound hokie. But, I want to see kids and perhaps even adults, LOST in a single moment. The moment where there is nothing else. Just feeling.
Through meditation, I see how hard it is to uncover what the heck I am even feeling. But, if I am able to dig deep enough and really just look at it. Not try and brush it aside or tell myself to buck up and keep moving. But, to just sit and look at it. I see how it almost immediately dissipates when I make friends with it.
I will tell you the truth. When I came outside, at one point, during the news cast and I saw that there was bright RED paint splattered all over the concrete wall!
The new wall of the new building of the space graciously offered to me by Shorecrest.
I was feeling that spark of pure panic.
What if the Headmaster walks by at this moment?
But, as I have practiced over and over again, I quickly offered myself compassion and said (to myself), we always figure this out.
At the end of the news segment and the end of the class, mostly everyone was gone. Except for my dear friend and co-teachers Amy and her 6 year old daughter, Janey.
I got the hose out and I started wetting down the paint covered concrete wall.
Janey quickly joined me.
We scrubbed and hosed and all the paint was cleaned up.
Janey had as much joy cleaning up the wall as she probably did in contributing to it (I will confirm that I have no idea if she was a participant in that or not, doesn’t matter).
What did she learn?
And what did I learn?
EVERYTHING in life is messy. But if you have a friend to help you clean up, it’s all good.
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