Arts in the Alley

Ms. Messer, do I get one? Where’s mine?” On a gray Tuesday in November 2022, Mr. Smythe’s fifth-graders inquired about papers I distributed to three of their classmates. This class was one of my more energetic groups, and I wanted to pique their interest. I maintained my air of mystery by commending the three students quietly and then sweeping out of the room.

The papers served as invitations and congratulations to students whose artwork would appear at Arts in the Alley, an even where we could display student work in the community. It was part of a larger endeavor to establish a strong visual art program by generating student interest in exhibiting artwork.

Event Origins
Arts in the Alley began when, through a neighborhood Facebook group, I discovered a mural being painted near my school. A few clicks connected me with the non-profit that funded the mural, and I met with the organization’s community development manager, Jacob.

During our initial meeting, I shared some projects I had done in the past, including a paste-up mural, which caught Jacob’s attention. Paste-up is a temporary and inexpensive street art technique in which an artist adheres prints to a wall using—you guessed it—paste. I proposed that we organize an event in November and ask our school’s music teacher, Mr. K, to get the Stick Band, his xylophone ensemble, to perform. Since the event would be held in a cozy alley between a bakery and a taco shop, Mr. K dubbed it “Arts in the Alley.”

From Collage to Figure Drawing
I suggested that the theme for the mural should be “dancing, movement, and music.” We had recently finished a lesson in which students constructed the human figure using collage. This lesson provides scaffolding for figure drawing.

After finishing the collages, we did a one-day lesson in which students watched a video of an artist doing paste-up, and I explained to students that they would have the opportunity to showcase their artwork in a similar fashion. Then I showed students a video about drawing a figure in motion. I demonstrated this method with a modification—students could use a blank sheet of paper or select a sheet with a rectangle pre-drawn for the figure’s torso. I find that students draw larger and with better proportions when they choose the latter. Students used art teacher Khadesia Latimer’s (@thebusybrushes on Instagram) diverse hairstyle guide to help them draw styles that represented themselves and their friends.

Media Arts Connection
The chance to present their work piqued the students’ interest as hoped, and the figure drawings were detailed and interesting. I decided to experiment with the drawings in Photoshop. I scanned a drawing, removed the color, increased the line weight, and used the color picker to drop colors back into the digital image.

The result maintained the integrity of the student’s work while increasing the contrast and saturation enough to make sure that it was visible from a distance. Satisfied with the outcome, I scanned and edited the drawings.

I estimated that it would cost about $600 for nineteen full-color posters, but I wasn’t sure the nonprofit I was working with could foot the bill. Luckily, I work in a school district with significant arts resources. Our Fine Arts Curriculum Manager, Dr. Isidore Rudnick, printed the images in-house for free.

Art and Music Activates the Alley
The week of Arts in the Alley, the weather began to turn. After school, I could be found in the snow and rain, administering a mixture of school glue and water to the prints and the brick wall. During evenings, I could be found loudly fretting on my couch that the posters would have blown down by the next day.

On the Friday of the event, we had an hour and a half to get the alley ready after school. I underestimated what it would take to prep the space for the xylophone ensemble, but luckily Mr. K had it covered. At four o’clock, students, their families, and school staff began to assemble. Jacob showed up with pizza, and Mr. K directed his group, who played beautifully. The alley came alive with music, art, families, and community.

Reflections
As educators know, no event, project, or lesson is complete without reflection. In contemplation, the vulnerability I felt exhibiting work in the community surprised me. It felt like my teaching methods were on display. As I viewed the collection of work, I could see how these methods produced certain types of bodies—namely, thin and able-bodied. I realized that by tweaking my language and the choices I made during the figure drawing demonstration, I could help students create figures that were more diverse.

Reflecting on the event also helped me appreciate the support I had. Mr. K jumped in with enthusiasm and a collaborative spirit, for which I am grateful. School community members—our office staff, principal, social worker, and more—supported me in ways big and small. The event, intended to foster a sense of community for my students, had the same effect on me.