Girls Up Club – Zoom Art Workshop

Girls Up interactive project

For the Girls Up motivational talk with Healing in Arts, I began by sharing how, as a 22-year-old, I was considering an art graduate program on the West coast. But I decided to reset my values and goals, changing directions. Instead, I went to Japan, to teach Japanese people how to speak English. After my talk, the girls colored wooden tiles with colorful patterns and completed the art mystery by building the wooden puzzle that formed a large butterfly. To end our session, I gave this challenge and encouragement: “When we give our lives to others, through whatever career choices we make, one day we will be able to look back and see the vibrant pattern of hope and healing.”

Girls Up Zoom meeting

Retro Art

Releasing Hope, Pamela Alderman, Oil on canvas, 8 x 10 inches, 2013Recently, I rediscovered this little work; it was a mock-up painting for my ArtPrize 2013 installation, Wing and a Prayer.

Releasing Hope, Pamela Alderman, Oil on canvas, 8 x 10 inches, 2013

Sushi Works

Preschoolers anxious to learn watercolor paintingWhile visiting Japan—known for its ancient art from floral arranging to tea ceremony to sushi—an amazing door opened. The opportunity to teach a watercolor class at a preschool came only a few days after I arrived. A date was set.

Now I hunted for a creative project. While I was walking the next day, something caught my eye. Blue ceramic fish tiles attached to a wall seemed to leap and swim. These delightful shapes started teeming through my mind. Children would love them.

Pamela watercolor painting with childAfter preparing cardboard fish shapes and purchasing some watercolor sets and crayons, I headed off to the school. When I arrived, the students eagerly crowded around me to get a closer look. Their imaginations leapt into art.

They eagerly grabbed the cardboard images and began tracing them with the crayons, creating seascapes. Then they added watercolor washes to create colorful effects. Blues, yellows, greens swirled into fish.

Watercolor and crayon painting of fishChildren are natural artists. Their willingness to learn and explore is contagious. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with the preschoolers, venturing beyond the ocean’s boundaries.