I Want to Be…

Each week children from the Beacon after-school program at John Muir Elementary take part in CommunityGrows, an environmental education program that teaches high-needs youth about gardening, nutritious cooking, and green jobs.

In 2011, I was very happy to be invited to talk with them and create a temporary mural at nearby Koshland Park.

I decided on a design in which they would each make a flower out of their own handprints and then, in the center, write something they want to be, reflecting a different kind of seed that they get to plant, nourish, and grow in their lives.

I showed them images of handprints from ancient cave paintings, such as Cueva de las Manos, and talked with them about how handprints are some of the oldest forms of public art all around the globe.

Then we just had fun making a mess with paint.

I loved the kids’ interpretation of the question, and here were their answers:

I want to be…

a doctor
a doctor
kind
a scientist
a doctor
a biologist
a rich man
a veterinarian
a clothes designer
kind
a veterinarian

Special thanks to Nora Brereton and Barbara Wenger of CommunityGrows, and especially to all the wonderful students who took part.