I grab my bag of paint and brushes. I stack the Hearts of the World panels that I recently silk-screened in the backyard of my Casa Particular (guest home) and Jorge picks me up in his car. We drive to a playground in Vedado, a neighborhood in Havana and sit at the edge of the park on a bench next to the jungle gym. The kids are running around, flying on the swings, diving down the slides and climbing on everything. They are so high energy and I wonder how they will respond to the idea of painting during their playtime.
Two kids look in as I silk-screen the Hearts
Jorge and I look at each other. “Ready?” I say with a smile and he nods. We walk out into the center of the playground and start to set up the paints on the ground. We squeeze one of each color onto little ice cream lids that we had scavenged for palates. A small boy with glasses swoops over right away and crouches by us curiously as we pull out the brushes. Soon two more join him and before you know it we have a crowd of wide-eyed children surrounding us asking questions. “What are you doing?” One asks. “A painting project, want to paint?” I say. “Yes,“ one says and then comes a symphony of questions and eager comments. “I want to paint!” “Me too.” “And me too.” “Does it cost money?” “Can I paint also?” We start to pass out the heart panels one by one and Jorge helps me translate. “Paint these hearts with your passions and your dreams, your fears and your hopes. Put whatever you have inside your heart on this paper” he says. The children take the hearts and place them on the ground in front of them. The paint is doled out and they wait impatiently for brushes. Before we can hand out the brushes one little boy dips his hand into the green paint and starts to smear it all over his canvas. The kids love it and they become fully immersed in the process. Their personalities start to show on their panels in an array of abstract color. It’s so beautiful to see.
After they finish many of the children ask if they can have another heart to paint. I have to tell them that they can only paint one, as I didn’t bring enough for everyone to have two. Some kids sneak another anyways and we end up with some extra paintings. The children’s styles, even at this young age are already apparent and I can tell which kids painted two. After we finish Jorge and I lay the twenty-four painted heart panels out on the cement to dry. Many of the kids take breaks from their play to come over and critique the work. They smile and point and make comments in rapid Spanish that I can’t catch. We sit for a few hours as the sun sets behind us. Finally the panels become dry enough to pack up. We stacked them into a pile and put them back into the bag and headed home. It was an exceptional day.
Later that night I found myself on the porch of my guesthouse tipping back and forth in one of the rocking chairs looking over the panels one by one. Each painting was unique and full of the vibrant energy of a child full of life. Below are some photos of my favorites.
Tomorrow I travel to Haiti. There, I will do another Hearts of the World workshop to help raise money for an orphanage trying to survive in the face of abject poverty. I am anxious, nervous and excited. But first! One more nights in Cuba! Some dancing and painting are in store. More soon~
