BLM SUNCATCHERS

Have you listened to Arielle Estoria’s poem, Human? If not, please go have a listen.

There is a line in the poem – “beautiful, magic, and black” – and I have been repeating this line over and over in my mind for weeks.

BEAUTIFUL, MAGIC AND BLACK.

Now you know where this art activity came from…

WHAT YOU NEED:

HOW TO MAKE:

Use permanent markers to draw a person/family of colour in the middle of your coffee filter. You can prompt your child by asking them to draw a picture of a black friend or a black character from a book you’ve read together.
Use a washable black marker to draw or trace a circle around your drawing. You may also wish to draw arches around your drawing if you drew outside of the filter’s center.
Spray your coffee filter with water, focusing on the parts marked with the washable black marker. Watch as new colours emerge in your artwork!
Allow artwork to dry.
Display your artwork on a window. Adhere to window with tape

ACTIVITY EXTENSION:

Research and explore famous black artists. Can you recreate some of their artwork or implement some of their techniques into your own artwork?

CONNECTION STARTERS:

What things do you and the person/people in the drawing have in common?
What are some differences between you and the person/people in your drawing?
Can you think of times when you were treated unfairly? How did it make you feel?
What can you do if you see someone being treated unfairly?

*** I encourage you to discuss terms like Black Lives Matter, racism, anti-racist and privilege during these discussions.

THINGS TO CELEBRATE & ENCOURAGE:

Like poetry, I love the symbolism held within this art activity.

Like Arielle, this activity is beautiful, magic and black.

XOXO,

Lindsay