I had a former graffiti artist in to school to talk about his work and the fact that he had been arrested and incarcerated for graffiti. One of the boys is interested, and this is all part of the global problems we are working on. He brought in all the sketchbooks for the kids to see – some really great ideas, and stuff the kids could relate to.

What amazed me was the markers. Felt tip has come a long way – and as he said, they’re 5 dollars a piece. What I thought was watercolor was really marker. And I loved the accented lines and outlines that he created – I can see the beauty in this style – and it would be good to be able to bring some of this stuff to the kids – they could see a different type of art, and he makes a living with his art.

One of the things that made me feel old was in the questions the kids were asking, about “crews” and “productions.” I had no idea what they were talking about. Turns out a crew is a group of graffiti artists who worked together. A production is a challenge, or battle, between two graffiti groups to fill up a wall, to see who would be the better group of artists. I love the idea of an art challenge, or battle, to create art.

The kids would probably get into this style of art, as well as taking to scrapbooking. I could use a digital camera for those students who have no family pictures – I think enough teachers have scrapbook tools they could lend.