Graffiti Workshop with Kate’s Club

Kate’s Club is an Atlanta area nonprofit that has developed therapeutic programming to help children and teens who have lost a parent or sibling establish healthy support systems and develop the necessary skills to cope effectively with their grief. We are big fans of their work and have been lucky to partner up with them on several events.

Over the summer, Paint Love returned to Kate's Club on two different occasions with well-known Atlanta graffiti artists Rich Dennard (aka Lerch) and Chris Veal for a street art workshop. The teens grew wide-eyed when they spotted a huge two-sided cellophane panel, dozens of canvases and stencils, and rows of brightly colored spray paint.

Masked and gloved, they first took to the stencils, layering images in unique patterns and stumbling upon innovative techniques under the artists' guidance. Each take-home piece was remarkably beautiful and thoughtful, promising to serve as a special reminder of the benefits of positive self-expression.

To explore the Kate's Club theme "Getting Myself Together: Collecting Thoughts About Starting School," Rich and Chris designed murals that read "Got Myself Together, Yeah!" On one side of the stretched cellophane panel, they gave a basic outline to the letters and then invited the kids to experiment with filling in and embellishing them.

Kate's Club Graffiti Workshop with Paint Love

On the other side of the panel was space for free style expression and putting into practice the techniques they had just learned. By the end of the day, both panels were bursting with colorful words and graphics, all reminders that positive creative expression is one of the best ways we can "get ourselves together."