Circling up for a ping pong painting

And rather than be overly concerned with various techniques to draw more “beautifully” or more “realistically”, we focused more on encouraging the kids to embrace the beauty of uncertainty within the creative process.
The workshop began with a collaborative drawing session where two or more students took turns working

You draw a line, then I draw one; you, then me again…

both realistically and in the abstract. First, on one side of a piece of paper, each student was asked to draw a traditional portrait of his or her partner, as realistically as possible.  Next, on the other side of the paper, we asked the students to again do the same thing, but this time a bit differently…with their eyes closed !  With one hand firmly over their eyes and the other free to draw, the students did their best to capture the image of their partners that remained faintly etched in their minds. Each student tentatively explored this new and unorthodox method, giggling all the while.  Despite the students’ best efforts (and much to their surprise), their two drawings always looked wildly different.  That’s the beauty of it !  As the kids viewed their two drawings with wonder and amazement, the room quickly filled with energy and excitement.

Eagerly, we tried to gauge their emotions about the experience: “How was the second process different? How did it feel? Which style was more exciting, which was scarier, which was more fun…?”

Believe it or not, almost all the kids preferred drawing with their eyes closed !  As artists, we know how exhilarating and liberating it can feel to be released from the confines of conformity, from traditional styles and the “normal” ways of doing things.  The kids fully (and, well, blindly) committed themselves to the creative process, and—just as we suspected—were thrilled with their results !   This was the beginning of trusting uncertainty, of seeing art not just as something that needs technical skill, but also as a pursuit that begs for the courage to take risks, a worthwhile endeavor that requires an ability and willingness to explore the unknown.  The students did a fantastic job, and we are already looking forward to the upcoming workshops that we plan to hold here in June.

Displaying the day’s work

In the coming weeks, we plan to conduct a second workshop with the kids of Nong Get Jai that will mark the first of three phases of our very first Drawing /// Animation /// Sound collaboration project, or “D.A.S.” as we like to say for short.  After our drawing workshops with the kids here in Nongplalai, Thailand comes to a close, the Cre8 team will hit the road again and soon begin working with kids in Germany and Spain who will use these drawings to create a truly one-of-a-kind animated movie and a soundtrack to go along with it !  We are confident that the film will be nothing less than spectacular, and we look forward to sharing it with all of the kids as well as the larger Cre8 network when it’s completed! For now, please enjoy the pictures from our drawing workshop with the kids here at Nong Get Jai !

The laughter is big when the final works are displayed

Now who is who ?