This post is part of a series about a mosaic mural project I'm working on with teens at a school in a 'disadvantaged' area of Rotterdam. I'll share with you what I'm experiencing and learning along the way.

(Read the previous post here). Today was lesson #3 and there were about 11 students, two of whom were new. The changing nature of the group each week makes it a little more challenging. For everyone. And I hadn't anticipated what that would do to the dynamics of the group. Let's just say more team building is required...

So the kids finished preparing the last of the tile today. Then they all sat down with paper and markers to each try their hand at designing. The idea behind this was so that the design would come from them instead of from me because it's their school. I had had the idea that they would be more motivated to create a student's design rather than a teacher's. Alas, in the end it felt to me like a "Catch-22". Because each student created at least 1 design, and then there was a democratic vote to pick the top 3 designs. Which meant that a number of designs did not get chosen. As a professional artist, I'm used to so-called 'rejection' and don't take it personally. But alas... Hence the "Catch-22".

The group dynamics plays such a huge role in the group's motivation. And because of the current dynamics, I'm not too sure at this point how large this mural is going to be. The school was excited at the idea of a 40 m2 mural. Me too. But although the kids have 40 m2 in sponsored materials available, I think it's safe to say it all won't get used. At this point I think we're looking realistically at 3 free-standing panels (under 5 m2). Anything more than that will be a bonus. So let's just make something nice, regardless of the size.

Anyway, I won't say that I'm discouraged per se. They're good kids afterall. But I have taken off my rose-colored glasses... I'm not yet sure what I learned from today's lesson. All I can think of is that in the corporate world I had a longer time to nurture my team; whereas, this project is time-sensitive. And I only have the kids for two hours a week, during which time they need to be kept in motion or else they lose interest. Suggestions are welcome. :-)