Open Art Class Thread!

[David Smith]

Just before lunch was probably the worst time for a class of youngsters. Or older kids. Or adults. Still, Mr. Smith was hoping today's new project idea would go over well. He waited for the class to fill up, the bell to ring and, finally, for them to quiet down. He waved his hands and told them to quiet down to help.

"Alright everyone. Today we're starting a new project. We're going to do still lifes. I've brought in a bunch of stuff that you guys can use," he gestured to the table beside his desk, where he had four earth-tone ChicoBags filled with three cool-looking vases, a resealable bag of various beads of strange shapes, some fruit, some empty washed bottles for drinks and laundry detergent and so on, cloth and a number of other things that he had found in his home and at yard sales that he thought had interesting shapes and colors to them.

"You can do it in any style you want. Sketching with pencils or crayons, you could use colored paper to block out the shapes, you can paint. Just make sure it's on an eleven by seventeen sheet of paper."

[Dakota Clemson]

Kota liked art. She wasn't great at drawing things but she loved to color things. Make a simple picture become a real work of art by adding blues and reds and greens and everything in between. But she wanted to get better. And that was why she signed up for art class. It would be a chance for her to learn about something she liked. Maybe she could be really go at it some day.

As Kota walked into the room she quietly headed straight for the back to the farthest seat from anyone else. She sat there for a couple reasons. One, because she felt really awkward around other people. Two, she didn't want the teacher to call on her much. Three, her stomach was making some unpleasant sounds due to missing breakfast.

At first the class was loud and talking, but after a bit the teacher had them quiet down. Kota was glad. She didn't like a lot of noise and such, it stressed her out. She listened carefully as the teacher spoke, looking at the pile of stuff towards the front. Kota gulped. Maybe this was a bad idea. She had never really drawn something like that before and she had a feeling, she was going to do a terrible job at it.

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

Harmony liked art. If art counted at tagging some back alley or covering someone in blue hair-dye. But in the classroom with teachers and rules and assignments, so wasn’t exactly a huge fan. Of course the other students in the classroom only made the experience more annoying.

She strolled into class at the last possible moment, taking a seat in the back as far away from the teacher as possible. She gave a few of her fellow students nasty looks on the way to her seat, since with the teacher up front there was less of a chance that he would notice. The girl sitting in the back with her looked like she was trying to disappear, not that Harmony had a problem with that idea. She preferred it when she had the back row of desks all to herself.

While the teacher explained the project, Harmony doodled on her desk. “This is so stupid,” she murmured, glaring at the other girl near her and daring her to disagree.

[Analeigh Monroe]

Art class was something that Analeigh wasn't sure about attending. She enjoyed drawing, scribbling, painting, what have you. But doing that under someone's watchful eye? Being told what to draw, how to draw it and having time constraints bothered Ana. She needed time and space to let her mind wander and create. Hopefully, the teacher would give her this opportunity.

Shakily approaching the room, Ana slipped in and took a seat near the open windows, eyes darting out every so often as a butterfly flew past. There were a few students who looked familiar but she couldn't place a name on them. Her ears flattened against her skull at the sound of the ruckus the other students were causing and the urge to hiss at them was great. She bit her tongue though, settling into the seat and letting her tail wrap around her tightly.

She watched the teacher, a shy blush spreading over her cheeks as it usually did during most classes. She liked the idea but none of the objects seemed to grab her focus. Ana frowned and slowly raised her hand.

"C-Can.. we use flowers...? If you have some...." She whispered.

[David Smith]

Mr. Smith looked around the classroom at all his students to gauge reactions. It seemed like indifference and mild interest were the primary reactions. He really hoped he'd be able to engage the students' interest better in the future.

He vaguely noticed that one student, Harmony, appeared to be drawing on her desk. There wasn't anything he could do at that moment, since he hated calling kids out in front of the class (the benefit of teaching art, after all) and he had a question to answer and students to be sure didn't fight when they got their items.

So instead, he turned away from Harmony to Analeigh when he noticed her hand and motioned for her to speak. He had some difficulty understanding her, but after a moment's pause, he understood. He glanced at the bags; he didn't bring flowers himself, but....

"If you have some, sure. You don't have to use what I brought. And," this time he glanced out the window. "You guys can have a couple minutes outside as well, so long as you're getting something to draw and not messing around."

[Dakota Clemson]

Kota looked around the room at all the other students. She didn't know a single one of them and to make it worse the girl next to her seemed to be talking to her. Kota wasn't sure though so she just kept quite. She wasn't trying to be rude or anything she just had no idea what to say. She had always been really socially awkward her whole life. And coming to this new place didn't make her any less weird.

Some of the people in the classroom were very, different. Not that Dakota minded different, in fact she sort of liked it. At her old school she had always been the odd one out. At least now there were others who, like her, didn't fit the typical cookie cutter look or whatever it was they called it.

When the one girl asked a question, looked up, wondering if maybe she could find something up there that she was good at drawing. When the teacher said that they could look outside for things to draw, Kota felt sort of relieved. She could look out there or around the classroom. She could find something simple but elegant, something she knew she could draw so she wouldn't get laughed at. The last thing she wanted was for kids to make fun of her at this school too.

She began peering around the room carefully, looking closely at the pile of stuff, searching for that one thing that she could draw. She really hoped it was there, somewhere.

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

Harmony was one of those students who felt it necessary to do exact what their teachers told them not to do. So when David said they could go outside to collect supplies as long as they didn’t mess around, Harmony immediately started to think of what she could mess around with once she got outside.

She frowned at the girl next to her, who seemed to be ignoring her comment about the class being stupid. “Hey, loser, you hear me?” she hissed, leaning closer to the Kota’s desk.

After a quick glance at the pile of things the teacher brought in, Harmony started to walk towards the classroom door. “I’m not drawing any of that junk,” she said, pointing to the stuff David had brought. “Guess I’ll go find my creativity outside teach.” Looking back to see his reaction, she walked out the door.