Self Expression Boxes with Zully Conde at Georgia Center for Child Advocacy
During my first week of Paint Love, I didn't really know what to expect of all of our events. I knew we had amazing artists, partners, and projects, but I wasn't aware of how well they all work together!
My first event was at the Georgia Center for Chid Advocacy with the fabulous, Zully Conde leading our art project. Zully had requested wooden boxes, modge podge & magazines paper. I assumed it would be a cool project for the kids to use their creativity and decorate some boxes. However, both Zully and the kids exceeded my expectations.
As we all can relate, sometimes how we present ourselves to the world, doesn't always align with who we really are on the inside. We are all complex creatures, yet sometimes, whether through society's views or our own view of ourselves, we can be boxed in certain categories.
This can be especially true of children, as they try to create and understand who they are as an individual. We used the boxes as a representation of self, the outside of the box, portraying other's perception of us, while the inside was used to express our true selves. The kids took this idea and completely made it their own. Seeing these kids explore their identity at such a young age was beautiful.
“I saw one child who decorated her box with the statement “your scars make you beautiful.” This statement could be a testament to resilient cognitions. Using them in an art format can really help children internalize these kinds of messages since they are interacting with them in a physical way rather than just saying or writing them down. ”
I got to stick around afterwards and see these kids show their boxes to parents and siblings. Seeing how proud they were of their creations, made me realize just how important the daily work at Paint Love is. After seeing how this event went, I'm convinced I have the best job in all of Atlanta! ;) I'm so excited to begin my journey working with Paint Love.