Activities described by youth mentor Ileya du Boulay with contributions from youth fellows Polly, Sumaiya, and Tanajae.
Every Monday of the summer intensive, youth fellows and volunteers gathered to do mural painting and wellness at NATURE lab with muralist Jade Warrick, founder of Amplified Voices, while exploring and embracing the surrounding Nature. The side railings and a hexagon blocking of asphalt were painted with many locally seen plants. Animal life, affirmative phrases, and anthropogenic material were also included.
Week 1: Introduction
On this day, Jade Warrick instructed the Youth Fellows on how to use spray paint cans to get the type of images they wanted. Through experimenting they figured out how much pressure to apply to get thin and thick lines. As well as how to fill in large areas while preventing drips in the paint. These basic skills in spray painting will help them bring to life the mural.
Week 2: Nature Walk at the John B. Staalesen Preserve
Youth fellows went on a walk to observe nature in John B. Staalesen Preserve managed by Hudson Taconic Lands, guided by illustrator and nature enthusiast Shalom Harrison Shalom Harrison, in search of inspiration and material for the murals. Meditation and drawing our surroundings was included in the field walk.
Week 3: Sketching at NATURE Lab
Youth Fellows took the ideas from the previous weeks and brought them to life. Working with the muralist they finalized the look for the mural.
Week 4: Priming Day
During this week the painting work began. The youth fellows aided Jade Warrick in priming the fencing that would be a lead up to the main mural. Giving each wooden post a pop of their own color with spray paint to be later decorated.
Week 5: Paint Day
With the start of this week, the true painting detail began. Youth fellows along with students from the Amplified Voices group joined in to help paint. They added local native wildlife including honeysuckle berries, moss, ivy, and spotted knapweed to the primed posts.
Week 6: Final Painting Day!
With the arrival of the final week of the NATURE Lab youth fellows, the fence posts were completed. All sorts of creative features were added such as suckleberrys, ants, frogs and fish. As well as plastic to really hammer in the message that the NATURE Lab considers plastics as an inevitable part of our environment. Over the next few weeks the hexagon was painted with its final coats.
This project was generously supported by funding from McCarthy Charities, Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust and the NY Department of Environmental Conservation Office of Environmental Justice.
