A few months have passed, and I have finally finished an updated version of the mural handbook. The new version includes:
Downlaod the small (low resolution/quality) version here – for those with slow internet. (1.8 mb)
Please contact me with any questions, feedback, or ideas!
Sompan is 7 or 8 years old and from Ban Dong, Paek District. He had the accident on 17/12/2009. He was at school. After lunch he found a small piece of metal he did not think was a cluster bomb. When he struck it, it exploded. Sompan was very talented, with an impish smile and a love of drawing bombies in nature. He got fairly brave at answering questions and volunteering to play games by the end of the week! He was a little bit excluded in the group of boys as he didn’t speak Hmong, but he held his own and made some great work.
Ya Vue is 8 years old, from Ban Ngoil, Paek District. He was injured on 13 August 2008 in the same accident that injured Huagku, when he and his 4 friends were going to find scrap metal to sell. One of the boy picked up a cluster bomb and hit it near a fish pool, where it exploded. Two boys were killed and three were injured. I later learned that a woman picked up Ya Vue and Huagku and carried them all the way to the hospital on her back and that is why they survived. Ya Vue was the naughtiest and the bravest little boy, always ready with a joke, and he looked up to Xue Yee very much.
Here is a downloadable PDF (high resolution) of the Mural/Art Workshop Handbook I created of the art-warmups, games, activities, tips and pitfalls/how to avoid them, an art workshop sample curriculum, a mural workshop sample curriculum, budgeting, documentation, and more. I wrote it mainly for staff at World Education/other organizations already doing UXO education, so don’t expect too much background information on UXO or mine risk education.
And here it is in low-resolution (for slow internet connections)!
*Expect a second version soon!*
Please contact me if you have any questions, ideas, or feedback, or if you want the original files for translation. lisa [at] lisanowlain [dot] com
Big thanks to Da Chang, Bounmi, Barbara, Mark, Vongdala, Tounmi, Phadsada, Bounsong, Bounxeuy, Tor, Viengmany, Hua Lor, Bouaphone, Abby, Andy, Tabea, Mr. Khammanh, Shannon Dorsey, Sombath Somphone, Chantalangsy, Kolaka, Ding, Dtai, my mom, and of course Arnouson, Mailawr, Daeng, Jalaw, Yakguh, Yangkuh, Huagku, Ya Vue, Sipai, Sawnaly, Phet, Xue Yee, Sompan, and the students at Sisatannak Secondary School and Don Noune Secondary School in Vientiane. And to Precita Eyes (Missy, Brenda, Susan), Ellie/Mollie/Jess/Bri, Colleen, Khiang Hei, Jamie Henderson and Evan Bissell for inspiration/guidance.
View a slideshow here of the students work. Some great stuff! Don’t forget to click on “Show Info” in the right-hand corner.
After the workshop, Abby and I worked on mounting the murals. We bought wood to around the back and then hammered from the front, using small nails and wire to hang them.
This gave them enough support that they didn’t bend and allowed us to hang them!
I also painted over the murals with ATM Acrylic Latex Adhesive to keep them from getting hurt/water-damaged in this humid climate. We’ll see how they hold up. I put three coats on the one going outside and two on the others.
I’m going to frame their sketches and some of their drawings as well!
The last day! So bittersweet, as the students have really warmed up to me and to being creative. They are really drawing and letting loose, and even though presenting their work at the end of the day is still a challenge, they have gotten much more confident!
You can download a document with the 5-day mural workshop lesson plans here. Look out for a more extensive handbook coming soon!
1. We went on a field trip to the Plain of Jars and spent a couple hours drawing and wandering around. The students really took to landscape drawings and split off on their own to sketch.
When we came back, they were so brave about sharing their drawings, I think they were very proud.
Picture by Barbara Lewis
picture by barbara lewis
We did some sketchbook making out of scratch paper and talked about free materials they can use. (Thanks Nick and Abby!) 
After lunch we played Exquisite Corpse for an hour, and they truly got creative and laughed so much!
One of our lunches. Thanks Buaphone for knowing where to go.
Then we had a final party where their parents and some folks from around town came, ate snacks, and drank. I made up some certificates for the students, gave a small speech and spoke about each student’s work, and then had each group present their paintings to the audience – and some groups actually talked about their work!
picture by barbara lewis
And then they were gone! I’m very sad and will miss them a lot. I was very impressed by their groupwork, and it was so sweet: when I asked them what they wanted to do that day, they would confer amongst each other before giving a short answer. I really hope that they continue to draw and feel good doing it, that they will continue to connect with each other, and their parents continue to connect as well.
It’s so crazy to think that I will never see these students again most likely, but that I could learn to care for them so much this week:
Lessons learned:
I truly couldn’t have done the workshop without the help of Da Chang, Bounmi, Vongsamay, Tounmi, Vongdala, Hua Lor, Buaphone, Barbara, Abby, Mark, Nick, Tabea and Alex for their house, Mr Ngai for the internet, and the support from home. Thanks so much!
You can download a document with the 5-day mural workshop lesson plans here.
Day 4
Today I didn’t have a translator, so it was a bit silly. Thanks so much to Nick for sticking with me!
1. First we started with meditation – the kids are getting rowdier, so we had to sit on the floor in a circle to get them focused.
2. Then they got right into painting their boards. They went at it hard for 2 hours and then got very bored and tired (and done), so after they presented their paintings, we played some games – follow the leader. I led them around the building jumping and stomping in a circle and being weirdos, which they enjoyed (and it required very little Lao).
3. After lunch, we had a short naptime(spontaneous).
I hung up all their drawings on the wall, and here they are proudly writing their names on their work.
4. Then we played Exquisite Corpse. This was the best round of this game I have ever played. The students really got creative and laughed SO HARD we played 6 times in a row. I challenged them to draw things they had never drawn before, and they did!
5. The last assignment of the day was to draw what made them happy (after their/their parents’ accidents). I separated all the students so that they didn’t copy each other – and lo and behold, they each made a different drawing! Samples included going to school, seeing beautiful nature, drawing, etc. They were very absorbed in this. I had them write why it made them happy on the back as well.
You can download a document with the 5-day mural workshop lesson plans here.
Day 3
Today was a breakthrough, with students laughing, joking, truly having fun with each other, and looking into my eyes when talking to me!
1. Meditation first, and then they just got started with painting (the students are moving at different paces so I want to save any extra assignments for the end.
Tips to give while students are sketching with pencil and painting:
2. When each group finished, we had the whole group come and stand at least 5 feet away and look at the mural. First we had the audience ask the artists any questions they had, and then the artists could speak a little (Usually this meant criticizing something that was “wrong” – ie pink mountains). After the “critique” the students usually went back and finished their murals.
They finished the murals by 10:30 am!
Here are their beautiful finished murals:
3. We played a game called Imaginary Toss.
4. Because they finished so quickly, we transitioned into painting a new mural – this time their vision of Laos without UXO. I wanted to mix the groups up though it was hard to create dynamics that got everyone working together and making different things – somehow both groups started drawing roads and trucks with an ATM.
5. After lunch they wanted to draw so much we had free time with the materials (pencils, oil pastels, etc). I forget the value of free time. It’s amazing how they all want to draw/make the same art….they copy each other so perfectly!
6. We continued to sketch for a new mural – but this time I re-broke them up into two groups – girls and boys. They worked together a bit better, and I figure you can only climb so many mountains in a week (they’ve already completed their first mural in 2 days!). This time, I tried to make the assignment clear: talk, and then sketch, a drawing of what you think Xieng Khouang would look like without UXO, and put yourself in the picture (what are you doing? What is around you? Who is with you? Is it city, fields, streets, etc?).
To make sure they understood (this was a very abstract concept), we sat in a group and I told them twice what the activity was. When I asked if anyone could repeat it back, no one could, so I told them that if they couldn’t repeat it back, they would have to do a chicken dance. I explained twice more, and then asked a Hmong artist and then a Lao artist to explain back what they were going to do. They got it!
They don’t do much discussion – mostly, they draw their own pictures and then talk when they get one big piece. It’s been a struggle still though to have everyone draw their own pictures, and not just copy each other, but the results when we mixed up the groups and had them draw themselves into the picture really missed things up and created more interesting ideas.
It helped to remind them, in mixed language groups, to speak both, and elect someone who speaks both languages well to help.
You can download a document with the 5-day mural workshop lesson plans here.
Day 2:
Setup: Bag of paints, bowls with bags over them (or a banana leaf works well too!), paintbrushes, water cups, and you have to have prepped the paint surface (painted it white, etc). It can be good to have a whole paint mixing station as well – especially if it’s many students working on one big mural – but for three small groups of these very responsible and careful kids (they only use as much paint as they need. It’s amazing), I just let them have free reign – especially also because they are making their own work, not trying to faithfully copy or transfer a sketch that someone made.
1. Meditation. I keep trying to ask students what they are thinking about or listening to when they are meditating but they hate speaking up so much!
2. Painting practice. They each got a small piece of primed mason board to paint on. We went over the color wheel, washing brushes, and thinning with water. The assignment was to paint what makes you safe (is it a person, place, thing, food, event, time of the day or year?).
The students painted all the same thing – hills with trees and a road, and bombies, with a person looking at the bombies. So it goes. Some added flowers, or different kinds of bombs, but they were generally the same. The painting skill level is pretty high, however, with lots of different styles.
3. Presentations. I wanted the students to present what they had drawn and why they drawn it, and have students in the class ask them questions, but presenting in front of the group seemed very traumatic – students were frightened (everyone looked unhappy). So instead they broke into groups and shared their paintings in their groups – and therefore the mystery of how that specific painting came around was never answered. They didn’t’ do presentations in the traditional sense, but instead just passed around each other’s paintings and asked questions. It was cool.
4. Game! We played the Noise Game and did blind contours.
5. Mural painting. I talked a bit about background and the technique of trying to fill in the background before trying to draw in the details, so each group finished filling in their sketches with color. Then as they finished we talked to them about what colors were the background, and then they drew the outlines of the background. As they finished that, they mixed paints and filled in the backgrounds.
There is a lot of enthusiasm! Which is great. But it meant running around a lot and being kind of crazy. I wish that there had been another artist to help coach students in mixing colors (though Nick was excellent help as well).
When they finished painting the backgrounds (all three of them are wonderfully different! We have a bright colored one, a very pastel muted one, and a dark one), they started sketching with pencil their designs. Again, I wish I had an artist friend who could help students not put too much detail in with the pencil, or draw with water soluble pen, etc…. But things will be fine.
The students are painting very fast – I think some groups may finish tomorrow.
The students are very wonderful of course again. They say they like drawing on paper more than they like painting, but I think they will get the hang of it! I want them to be more confident about speaking about their work, but have to balance that with meeting them where they are – and not forcing them to do something that they hate with their whole hearts (you should have seen their faces!). So maybe we can do mini-presentations each day.
I’m back in Xieng Khouang for a 5-day mural workshop! Eight UXO survivors between the ages of 7 and 16 are back together (with two new kids and 5 missing from last time – so it goes).
Goal: Teach kids how to create composition, work together, consensus skills, problem-solving, art skills (paintbrush, etc), to involve them in the UXO Survivor Information Center. To create murals that do UXO education/tell stories.
Note: I am not an art therapist, and I can only hope that I do more help than harm with these students.
picture by nick anderson
You can download a document with the 5-day mural workshop lesson plans here.
Day 1:
1. Names/Introduction Goal of today – try to figure out the compositions for three murals to hang in the center that you will design and paint.
2. Meditate first (5 min)
3. Game: Noi says (Simon says). The students got it in the end, but generally were confused. Games are so difficult to explain!
4. Warmup: compose a village. We will divide up into groups of 3 (or 2) and these will be the groups for the rest of the week. Students work together on big pieces of paper to draw a village. What’s in the village? Who lives there? What symbols can you use to represent things? How can you work together? Think about looking at it from above.
Here's an example. All the circles on the right are apparently bombies.
5. Present their drawings, and have students ask them questions (ie how many people live there? Do you have a school? Where is the road?). This activity is good because allows students to work on a big piece of paper, practice working together and discussing compositions, but works with familiar and relevant concepts.
We tried to make groups that mixed up Hmong and Lao, genders, and ages, but the students just ended up going into groups they wanted anyway, which was fine. There were three groups:
#1 – Sipai (girl, 14 yrs old, Lao) and Xue Yee (boy, 13, Hmong) – they mostly worked side by side but discussed some as well. Didn’t socialize much
#2 – Awnaly (14, Lao, girl), Phet (13, girl, Lao), and Yankuh (16. Hmong, girl) – all worked together like fiends, having a great time. Lots of discussion and also socializing.
#3 – Sompan (not sure how old, Lao, boy), Huagku (boy, 10, Hmong) and Yang Vue (not sure how old, Hmong, boy) – had a great time together, all three chatting away and working hard.
6. Mural Introduction: Tell them we are making 3 murals for the center. Discuss:
As usual, the group discussion is not where the pithy stuff is, so we just presented the questions and asked students to talk in their groups about what they want the mural to have in it.
I passed out their books so they could look at them again, remember lessons learned and discussed last workshop (reminding them about the interviews), and showed a couple of the images from last mural workshop (UXO ed and art).
7. Composition building. The groups then proceeded to figure out compositions. Each group went at composition building differently:
#1 – worked side by side without much discussion, but ended up with similar sketches.
#2 – Talked a lot, and then drew together in one sketchbook.
#3 – talked a lot (don’t know how to write well)
We then went around and visited each group, asking them to present their drawings, and guiding them to think big (and also not all three draw the same mural). Some tips include asking them to remember what they learned in school, asking them to put a person in the picture, and put their own stories into it (what would they do?). Groups #1 and #3 were mostly drawing landscapes with UXO in them, so we pushed them to add people. Group #2 did three different lessons (where UXO come from, as well as 2 things to do when you see them).
picture by barbara lewis
After visiting the group, they got a big piece of paper to start sketching their big ideas on.
Lessons learned:
muralinglearningdoing 