From December to January, we divided the project into 3 sessions. We had about 20 youth to participate in this mural painting project. We had invited an artist to develop a lay out and ideas for the mural. During the first session, Kim helped us brainstormed about what we like about Canada as a new comer and what we wish it can be better. Youths wrote ideas on stick notes, and put them into two sides of the white board. When Kim arrived, she asked the youth to sketch the pictures that they have in their mind.
During the second section, Kim showed us her drawing of the mural on the laptop. On the mural, there were objects, peoples, building, and sport activities which showed the representations of Canada. We projected the drawing on a ply wood, and sketched the outline of the drawing. Additionally we were painting the mural with different colors, Kim told us what specific colors to put in certain places. All the volunteers picked certain brushes and colors to paint on certain places. With all the volunteers squeezed together and painted, it seemed like everyone enjoy it and had fun with it.
For the last session, it was the final day of our mural painting. More details were added, and Kim allowed the youths to paint whatever they desire. We made small changes on some places, and we kept most of the original layout. With the help of Kim, youths that are not an artist also had a chance to put in the image that they want.
We got a lot of feedback from our participants after the mural painting. Many of them had mentioned about teamwork. By painting a giant mural, they actually learned what teamwork was and enjoyed the whole processes of creating a mural. Sitting down and thinking about what we like about Canada and what we wish Canada would be, they realized the connections they built up with Canada was there in their heart, which means we reached the purpose of our project. They also got an opportunity to present their thoughts about Canada through our colorful mural. Besides, looking at our colorful mural, they felt it is worth for the efforts they put in.
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