Young Lions Making Mosaic’s from Found and Natural Materials

I was so excited to lead my very own workshop with the Young Lions. Especially with a group of kids who is consistently excited about art! The mosaic idea is a project I have been interested in a while so I jumped at the chance to see how the kids would take to it. 

It started pouring down rain when our workshop was about to begin so we all crammed inside the CCT office for shelter. PeePo helped me explain to the boys that a mosaic style piece of artwork is made up of many small pieces resulting in one larger image. We passed around some examples and the boys got ants in their pants! We quickly handed out cardboard and began choosing supplies. We had sticks, a variety of beans, leaves and sand, regular rice and colored rice as well as some miscellaneous findings from the yard. 

The boys came up with some very creative things. Even the volunteers were getting into it! The boys had some very imaginative ideas. They made, boats, trees, landscapes, and abstract images from our found materials. Even though we aren’t supposed to pick favorites, my favorite time is always with the Young Lions because they are naturally gifted artists and they are always happy and excited to participate in our projects. We also chose on of the boys in this group to do an illustration that might get featured in the next Bobiam clothing line! If his design is chosen, a portion of the sales will be sent back to him and his family in Chiang Mai! Most of the Young Lions are what they call “neighborhood kids” who are usually sent out on the streets to beg or sell flowers to provide for their family. With the help of Bobiam, they might find a little more income. 

By the end of our session, the rain had cleared up. We said our goodbyes over juice boxes and the boys splashed home.  The floor of the office was a mess with beans, grass, and sticks so we spent a lot of extra time cleaning up! But art is supposed to be messy so we didn’t mind. 

Thank you CCT!

Krista Wanous