I have a favorite elementary school. There is only one school in the whole world where I have decorated the building with ten murals. Only one. So, how is it possible that it isn't my favorite? I love to stroll around Walnut Elementary here in Central Ohio and see how my artwork has held up the past few years. It's still looking good, real good.
It isn't every day that I get to Walnut Elementary. This time I was invited as a guest artist/author. It's a very big deal at this school. A very amazing librarian has been at this for years and has invited in a whole host of talent. I was so very thrilled to be included in the list. This was my very first official visit to a school as a speaker in this type of role. It really made sense that Walnut be the first location. The kids had seen my artwork for years. They might as well put a face to the art work.
Gathered together (photo: Walnut Facebook)The librarian was the reason I came to Walnut Elementary in the first place. Years ago, I contacted every school in a five-country region telling principals, vice principals, librarians, art teachers and special ed teachers about my murals. It didn't garner much attention. Everyone gets too many spam emails these days. But, the librarian knew my art and recognized my name. She talked to the principal about me and the rest is history.
My visit was going to focus on my book Once Upon West Africa. And, at Walnut Elementary, they know how to prepare for a visiting artist/author. The librarian read a lot of my books to her students in the weeks leading up to the day. That much I expected. What blew me away was the art projects that classroom teachers created that also centered around my books.
These teachers knew how to make good use of paper plates. One of my tales, "Bee Ware from Bee Hind", has a bee and a lion. So, kids made paper plate bees with coffee filter wings as well as paper plate lions. Both were equally adorable. There were also frogs made from paper plates to go with The Frog Princess. When the frog's mouth was opened, haiku poems about frogs were composed. Still more plates created foxes and hedgehogs to go with "Fox and Hedgehog at the Henhouse".
I absolutely adored one teacher's inspiration for Triple Gratitude with Assorted Monsters. This was for very young kids who couldn't really draw monsters. But, somebody took the time to create eyes, feet, hats, bows, noses, glasses and even underwear for the kids to cut out and assemble monsters however they wanted. Each very unique monster held up a sign where the kids wrote what they were grateful for. This was such a keeper idea.
Other classes had coloring sheets from my books. Some students created kente cloth patterns. If you don't know what that is, you may just have to go to Ghana (or visit the wall outside of Walnut Elementary's library). Other students drew portraits in my cartooning style and even more kids created a whole variety of African animals. It was a wonderful stroll around the building. Not only were the halls filled with my murals, but they were also adorned with projects that my writing inspired.
I like the principal and librarian at this school. They like me. So, even though this was my first gig as an artist/author guest speaker, they were willing to take a chance on me. I don't think that they really knew what I could do. I mean, some people can draw and others can write. But, it's a whole other ball game to keep the attention of students. And, it is not always easy to interest fourth and fifth graders. Not every guest speaker can knock their socks off.
I wasn't worried in the slightest.
For the younger kids, I focused on my experience in Peace Corps Liberia. I showed them different modes of transportation to Zwedru, my home town. They saw what mudholes can really look like. Then, I showed them what life was like without running water or electricity. I got used to life with bucket baths, cooking over a coal pot, and no electricity. But, one little girl on the front row couldn't help but cry out, "That's really bad!" She was equally shocked when I told her that most people who live on the planet don't have running water or electricity.
Older kids got a talk about saying "yes" to opportunities that come your way. It starts with sport, music, art and helping others when you're in elementary school. When you get older, bigger chances to say yes will come your way. I shared how saying yes took me around the world in so many surprising situations.
One little girl was already familiar with saying yes to opportunities that came her way. She helped paint my murals when I first came to Walnut Elementary. She had on the same shirt that she wore during her muraling experience and she declared, "It still has paint on it!" Yes, adorable!
It was clear to all, well, at least I hope it was, that my favorite part about travel is the people I meet along my path. I shared stories about people I've met all around the planet. I told of Little Stevie Wonder in Mexico, my first blind painter. Then, in Brazil, I shared about Claudinei who loved art, but had to paint with a brush attached to his head. A lesson in gratitude came from Romania where I spoke of two brothers who had to share one pair of shoes in order to go to school. And, I ended up in Africa where I met Fils at an intersection near my mural project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He joined in the painting and warmed my heart. But, he will always haunt me because he suffered severe malnutrition as a child and would forever be affected because of that.
My final destination was Liberia. I shared how I tried so hard to find my best friend, Daniel, when I went back to Africa to paint murals. Fortunately, I made my way to his village of Tugbaken. When you are really welcomed in Liberia, you get kola nut and a rooster. I assured them that nobody welcomes you like the Grebo people do. I had five welcome ceremonies, lots of kola nut and four roosters presented to me. Nobody at Walnut Elementary gave me a rooster. But, some of those kids live on farms and have roosters. I assured them that I really didn't want one either.
Racing through the rainforest (photo: Walnut Facebook)
No matter the grade, I ended the presentation with "Spider and the Honey Tree". It's the last thing in my "show and tell" because there would be little chance of gaining control of the kids after telling that story. It's a great tell. I'm the spider in the story, dressed up in a flowing African gown. A kid from the audience, also wearing an African shirt, helps me act out the tale. According to the story line, he or she is the "nicest, sweetest, most thoughtful child in the history of the planet". Some kids admitted that they would be acting, but a few thought they really might qualify for the role.
Spider is a trickster and sometimes his pranks work and sometime they backfire. In this particular tale, he wants to take all of the fruit that the child locates in the jungle. Chaos ensues when the kids agrees to share with me, that greedy spider. I grab the kid by the hand and race into the middle of the kids sitting on the floor. Amid squeals and delight, they dive out of the way while we cross the room to an empty chair (or tree, if you use your imagination) on the other side of the room. When the child shows Spider where he can find the sweetest oranges, delicious bananas and honey, more laughter takes place after Spider pushes the child in the bushes, on his stomach, over there. You really have to be there to fully grasp the situation. But, just let me say that when I tell a story, kids listen.
The "Welcome to the Library" mural When all was said and done, and the last telling of the folk tale was told, the librarian assured me that I should have asked for more money. "We didn't pay you enough for what you did. You kept the fourth and fifth graders listening for an hour and they wanted more!" She is not one to lie. If a speaker didn't really do a stellar job with the kids, she wouldn't lie and say the person did. I'm going to take that as a successful sock knocking off. Her friend who helped her that day, herself a retired school librarian, said, "I can't believe that is the first time you ever did this." I should have checked her sock situation as well.
As I completed my first mural in Africa, so long ago, I knew it was the first experience with muraling but it wouldn't be the last. I'm feeling the same about being a guest artist/author speaker. Invite me to your corner of the planet, or at least Ohio! Just like with my murals, I'm happy to go anywhere with this presentation. Just be prepared and bring an extra pair of socks.
PS - I'm very happy to say that I'll be returning to Walnut Elementary for yet another mural in the school. The theme has already been selected. I'm delighted that I'll get to illustrate letters, my favorite type of mural, as I work on their HERO mural. The students are encouraged to be a Walnut HERO - Hard-working, Encouraging, Respectful and Optimistic.
PPS - Reviews of the day have come in from the students as they returned to the library the following week. The librarian wrote to say, "The kids truly enjoyed your presentation, and I was pleased with some fifth graders who said their favorite part of your presentation was the description of how different life is in Africa than here. Some were amazed at how you transformed a photo into such fabulous drawings. One student said she really liked the fact that your session was so different from authors she's seen in the past. I think it's safe to say that they enjoyed your visit." And finally, "I almost forgot!! They have been so impressed that you signed each bookmark personally. I even had one student lay out several to be sure you didn't just stamp them with your name. His conclusion was that, yes indeed, you had signed each and every bookmark!"
Other classes had coloring sheets from my books. Some students created kente cloth patterns. If you don't know what that is, you may just have to go to Ghana (or visit the wall outside of Walnut Elementary's library). Other students drew portraits in my cartooning style and even more kids created a whole variety of African animals. It was a wonderful stroll around the building. Not only were the halls filled with my murals, but they were also adorned with projects that my writing inspired. 
