How to be a Guerilla Artist?

Arts Explorer # 9: Guerilla Art

‘I hope you’d get the chance to live like you were dying...’

Guerilla art... never heard of it before? I had a difficult time coming up with something to do. I wanted my street art to be purposeful, ultimately, to make someone stop and think.

My inspiration for this blog came from a close friend whose family member was recently diagnosed with cancer. Life is a precious thing and should be valued. Much of society today is wrapped up in their busy lives and don’t take the time to be thankful for the little things in life. Typically society measures success through material objects like how big their house is, the type of car they drive and also the status of their job. The purpose of my art was to make society stop and think about how they acknowledge their life. I hope my main message ‘live like you were dying’ hits home to society.

I decided to take my idea to the local park near my house. This is a public area beside a school, so I figured many children and parents will be walking by this area. I wrote: “What I want to do before I die” and listed a few ideas: “sky diving, travel, surf, go on a camel ride.” Then I posed the question “what would you do?”

The boys who were asking me questions.

I got a bigger reaction out of my guerrilla art than I thought. As I was in the process of making my message, a group of parents were walking by whispering “what is she doing?” This made me smile because it was already working, people were interested in what I had to offer. Once I was done writing the message, I hid behind a tree and waited for someone to go up to it. Then, once school was out a had several moms and children taking a peek at what the message said. The message was like a magnet to people! I heard one boy tell another child “don’t step on it, someone made this!” That made me step out from the tree and I stood beside the message. One boy asked me if I made this and what is was for. Then his friend soon joined in and started asking questions too. Overall, I feel my guerilla art was a success. It got society to stop and think. It also got me to put the stress of my exams aside and recognize the little things that are important in my life. Nonetheless, this activity promoted my creativity, as I was thinking outside of the box.   Later that night, I walked by the same spot at the park where I wrote the message, and it was still there... fingers crossed for 

More children interested in what the message said.

nice weather! 

Colour:

“Life is like a box of crayons. Most people are the 8-color boxes, but what you're really looking for are the 64-color boxes with the sharpeners on the back.” – John Mayer

According to Shirrmacher & Fox (2009), Colour is what pulls out the feelings we possess inside (p.136). I believe life can be Colourful as the rainbow or as dull as a grey sky, it depends on how you want to perceive the events of life.  Children develop their colour preferences early in life, through every day experiences (Schirrmacher & Fox, 2009). Every colour’s meanings depend on the individual who interprets it.

So how as future early childhood educators do we facilitate this sense of colour in children?

An activity such as this one can get children to look at the positive aspect of every situation. Life is not always fair, but you have to take the good with the bad. I was raised to take a positive outlook on life and never take anything for granted as it can be taken away as quick as it was given to you. Through my experiences working with children, it is important to recognize and appreciate the things children have to say and the work they do. By complimenting their statue or how high they can now swing on the swings are simple ways educators can get children to start thinking in a positive light, noticing the bright colours of their life.

References

Schirrmacher, R., & Fox, J. E. (2009). Art & Creative Development  for Young Children (6 ed.). Belmont, CA: Delmar.