Aerosol Night at Free Arts

I recently became involved with a non-profit organization called Free Arts, in which I volunteer for one night a week working with troubled teens.  I can't write in great detail about the specifics of my experience, and I can't post images of the kids in the Free Arts classroom.  However, I was recently team leader for a two session project in which I set the kids up with paper and our group guided them in the creation of stencils.  The following week, we allowed them to spray paint large sheets using stencils in a ventilated shop just next to the Free Arts room.   It went really well, much to the relief of myself and my team.  The kids can be really hard to corral, but they really responded to being allowed to handle spray paint responsibly.  We gave them control, but also a little bit of trust - and this time it really worked.

The kids took to calling me BIG BEN.  Because I'm tall.......yep.

I made this Pac-Man ghost stencil, which was really a big hit.

The Free Arts experience has been really rewarding for me.  I have learned so much from working with my team, and become really attached to the kids in the group.  It is really trying at times to see the struggles these young teens face, especially when they let their guards down and let you see how vulnerable they are.  But clearly, they are also very strong, and bright, and I just hope that what we do is a help.  Read more about the Free Arts program here.