Yesterday the Teen Corner of the East Orange Public Library got ambushed.
...and I loved it.
Sizzy Art is a collage artist here in East Orange, NJ who has showcased his work at last year's Tosho-Con. I'd reached out to him to participate in the #BlackFutureMonth experience. He wasn't able to attend, but he and I have kept in touch and have been brainstorming on how to get Mr. Sizzy Art to come in on a regular basis to have art sessions with the teens. Yesterday Mr. Sizzy Art showed up with a ton of comic books, and the rest is magic.
For the art we used:
Comic books (You don't have to use comic books, magazines, old brochures, discarded Awful Library Books...would all work just as well!)
Now....I had the luxury of the creative mind of Mr. Sizzy Art and his fabulous comic books, but you can get creative and make this media as mixed and artistic as you want! Add some dandelions, or glitter, or buttons, or old costume jewelry! You can make these political, or whimsical, or in celebration of a theme! (...we could have chosen St. Patrick's Day...) Make it as fun as you want. I purchased the materials at a Michael's on the Upper West Side in NYC, but any craft store, Walmart, Target - even some of these dollar stores - may have all of the things you need. I spent roughly $50 for everything.
We invited all of the teens in the Teen Corner to join us. Most just watched out of the corners of their eyes, but the whole room kind of joined in the conversation and I was able to learn things about my teens I wouldn't have otherwise. And that's the beauty of crafts. While your sitting there doing something, you can talk and connect with the people around you in ways you generally wouldn't.
I'm definitely looking forward to the next one.