The June 14th workshop, focused on poetry, was phenomenal. Michelle Kotler, the executive director of community word (www.communitywordproject.org), visited Hamilton Fish Park to help the kids develop poetry that will be added to the final mural. Michelle started the workshop by having the kids brainstorm words related to the environment. Choosing five of the listed words the kids created a single line of poetry. Using this format, Michelle then asked everyone to create a line of poetry using the word heat. At this point a few girls became discouraged, but with the help of Michelle, they were able to personify “heat”, which resulted in a beautiful line: “Heat dances to the beat of the sun”. With encouragement from Jamie, Adam and Michelle, the kids were on a roll and writing their own poetry. Many of the students had never written poetry before and were surprised by how easy and fun it was. At the end of the workshop each participant had written a plethora of single lines. Choosing their favorite the kids combined their efforts to create an epic poem. Adam and Jamie are now left to decide if they will use the whole poem or just a few selected lines for the final mural. Overall the final workshop was rewarding and inspiring, leaving the kids will a feeling of accomplishment. Even I was moved to go home and write a poem of my own.
By the end of the week the CITYarts interns and participating kids from the LES will be cleaning the wall in preparation for painting! This has been an exciting week and next week is only going to get better. Keep checking the website for updates.
Until then – stay fresh:
Francesca
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