Sick Kids's Family Picnic

This special appreciation event was held at the Toronto Fire and EMS Training Centre for a burn unit at Sick Kids Hospital. There were two workshop sections; one for early primary years (ages three to eight) and senior elementary (ages eight to twelve). The workshop was focused on resist, which is creating art with watercolor paint and oil pastels that, as a result, resists each other.

The lead artist and our Sick Kids's contact wanted the children to connect the art with their emotions and feelings. As a way to express this, the artist played various types of instrumental music for the children to practice and feel different types of lines best suited for the music they were listening to.

I loved this exercise because it was a simple and efficient way for children to explore possible shapes and lines while incorporating socio-emotional practices. In addition, I appreciated how the artist continued to play the music throughout the workshop because it was a constant source of inspiration that the children can refer to.

---

As a collaborative piece, which was brilliantly improvised by the lead artist, both sections worked on a grand resist piece on a wooden panel that would be installed in the hospital's burn unit. The idea behind the collaborative piece was for the children to communicate to the visitors on how they were feeling and the type of message they wanted project through various colours and designs.