The Skulls of Human Kindness

Photo by Ansel Olson.

I recently had the pleasure of co-teaching a workshop with the amazing Patience Salgado AKA Kindnessgirl as part of the Shop Class program here in Richmond, VA. Our class was titled The Skulls of Human Kindness and was designed to be a mash-up of our two aesthetics and done in the spirit of our mutual interest in creating real connection through the practice of making and sharing art. For this class we focused on one big question: "What is one thing you know to be absolutely true in your bones?" We asked participants to answer this in a variety of ways and ended the workshop with a call to action. Each person was required to decorate a skull we provided and then add a tag with two things: a truth that they wanted to share with other people and the statement, "What is the #TruthInYourBones?" They were then given 24 hours to leave that skull in a public place and document and share it via their favorite social media platforms. The workshop was a really wonderful and moving experience and we hope you'll take up the challenge as well. Please comment below or post online with the hashtag #TruthInYourBones and let us know what one thing you know to be true in your own bones. Don't think to hard about it, just do it!

And if you'd like Patience and I to bring this workshop to your business or group reach out to us through the The Alternative Speakers Bureau. 

p.s. The truth in my bones: Everyone is faking it.

Photo by Ansel Olson.

Photo by Ansel Olson.

Photo by Ansel Olson.

Photo by Ansel Olson.

Photo by Ansel Olson.

Photo by Ansel Olson.

Photo by Ansel Olson.

Photo by Ansel Olson.

Photo by Ansel Olson.

Photo by Ansel Olson.

Photo by Ansel Olson.

Photo by Ansel Olson.

Photo by Ansel Olson.

Photo by Ansel Olson.

[BONUS] Passages Academy Skulls

I recently made a visit to Passages Academy in Brooklyn, New York to talk about my original Skull-A-Day project. While it's not unusual for me to speak at schools about art & creativity, this was definitely a unique situation: Passages Academy is a full time educational program for incarcerated and detained teenagers.




I have to admit I wasn't sure what to expect. The building I arrived at looked like a fairly typical school, though it was clear from entering that security was strict. I was quickly introduced to the coordinator for the Non-secure placement students, who explained that, while unlikely, there was the potential of violence and that they have trained staff on hand to deal with it, so if something happened while I was there I should just stay out of the way and not get involved (no problem there!). 

A dozen students were brought in to the room where I had set up my slideshow and there was quite a bit of commotion. After a fair amount of wrangling, the staff got things settled down as much as possible and I got started. At first there was some disruptive behavior (nothing I haven't seen at normal high school presentations, mind you), but then suddenly, after only a few slides, there was dead silence and complete attention from everyone in the room! The only interruptions were for appropriate questions from students clearly eager to know more.

After my 25 minute talk we shifted gears and the staff brought out some random materials and I challenged the students to follow my lead and make a skull of their own. There were no other directions given and again after a bit of noise the group quickly settled into a quiet round of intense art making. As my host Jessica Fenster-Sparber put it, "Students had not been asked to stop talking, jeering, or moving about; they were simply absorbed in the creative experience at hand."

Every single attendee (as well as some of the staff) made an incredible piece of art on the spot. Each was unique and reflected the thoughtful observation of the materials that they were given. Several people made multiple pieces in the time they had available and more than one asked if they could use a marker to autograph their own piece.

 
I was happy to be able to share some inspiration from my own experiences and glad to see that it had an immediate impact on the teens in attendance. 

Thanks to Jessica Fenster-Sparber for coordinating the event and very kindly providing copies of my book Unstuck to all of the students as a means of further inspiration!

*Images of artwork created by Passages Academy students courtesy of Jessica Fenster-Sparber

[BONUS] Student Skulls

One of my favorite things is knowing the positive influence my original Skull-A-Day project has had on young people and I recently had another opportunity to do discover that this week at Douglas S. Freeman high school here in Richmond, Virginia.

At the request of art teacher Rebecca Field and her student teacher Meghan Sadler I gave a talk to a group of art students, many of whom are in the midst of their own daily art project inspired by my own. At the end of my talk I was kindly gifted this lovely collection of skull pieces that they made as part of their projects!

Only one piece didn't make it home with me, a real carved potato!

Skulls by: Charlie, Grace, Mikayla, Marqel, Connor, Karolina, Victoria, Olivia, Rob, Turner, Matthew, Laura, Michael, Everardo, Rachel, Anne, Peyton, Katharine, Carly, and Amy.

Thanks again to the students for their enthusiasm and great questions.