Morna Ross writes about working on the #CashBackHighlands 'Run The World' art project with Alness Youth Centre.
Duncan Wilson (a very talented street artist) and I (not-so-talented but with a willingness to learn) made our way to Alness Youth Centre back last October to work with Rhys Campbell (Youth Development Officer) and a group of local young people.
The aim was to create an eye-catching piece of wall-art for just outside the Hub but arguably the more important aim was for local young people to have fun creating it!
“It was just amazing, we got to hang out with our friends, make lots of mess and create wall art. We designed and spray painted a Space Dinosaur, Mushrooms and a Skeleton Head, basically turning our doodles into art.”
During the first day of the project we celebrated International Day of the Girl. This made me even more excited to spend time being creative with a wonderful bunch of young women/non-binary artists.
No time was wasted on this first day. The wall had to be reset by brushing away weeds and painting it all white so that the multi-coloured spray paint could do its best work. After an important safety briefing, the young people were all dressed up in their all-in-one suits and protective face masks. I had actually forgotten that face masks had other uses!
Whilst waiting for the wall to dry, we started our planning process. What did the group want to include on the wall? What colour do you want that to be? Where did you learn how to sketch like that because that looks incredible?!
When we looked at everyone’s original ideas for the wall, the majority of sketchbooks included mushrooms with eyes for spots - a very striking image that can mean anything you want it to.
For me, it means nature is watching what we do with its planet but for other people it could just be a cool design. After confirming colours and creating stencils, the wall was ready for its glow-up!
Duncan and the newly trained young people made the spray-painting look easy! So when I picked up my first can I was pretty convinced my outline of a clown’s smile was going to be a success. I can now confirm it was not easy and the clown was not smiling as intended!
This group of young people picked up a very difficult skill over only three days and collectively created a masterpiece of street art to be proud of.
You should absolutely go check out all their hard work!
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