Graffiti Part II - This Stonky Crew
After our inspiring street art and graffiti tour with our fellow homeschool friends from Rebel Traveler, it was time to try our hand with the spray can. We were led upstairs and through a corridor of smaller studios, the smell of aerosol wafting through the hall. We entered a small studio floor to ceiling graffiti tags where met with graffiti artist, Leaf.
Leaf showed us the basics of how an aerosol spray can works, how the nozzles are interchangeable, and learned why aerosol cans now come with the annoying gigantic plastic caps that only open with a screw driver. Then we choose from the wall full of spray paint cans in every color imaginable and got to work.
Eager hands patiently wait for their turn to create their own graffiti creations.
Leaf shows us the basics of spray painting.
Can a share a pet peeve of mine? When people attribute success, whether mine, theirs, or anyone else’s, to that grossly overused and overrated “T” word: talent. Do I think people have predisposed inclinations to certain affinities? Sure. But none of that means squat without YEARS of practice and mistakes. I hear the “T” word thrown around a lot in the art world—as if all one needs is a paint brush and some “talent” and a masterpiece will magically appear on the canvas. To think Michaelagelo knew what the heck he was doing the very first time he picked up a chisel and hammer is just plain naive. Regardless of talent, you can bet his sculpture of David was birthed from hundreds of cuts, bruises, callouses, jammed fingers, and lost fingernails.
The girls test out their spray painting skills on a blank canvas.
Our spray painting skills were no different. Little hands and spray can nozzles make for tired fingers, misdirected sprays, and drippy paint jobs, But man, what a blast it was to be free to draw on the wall! As a child who grew up drawing on the walls and furniture (much to my parents dismay), I found the graffiti making process quite liberating; fulfilling an innate primordial desire to make my mark.
Leaf shared some feathering techniques to create a gradient in our design. We tested and play with different light weights and effects with the spray can. Mastering a skill takes persistence, intense practice, and a whole lot of time—10,000 hours to be exact, according to Malcom Gladwell. I think we did pretty well for our first 90 minutes.
The girls feather in their orange paint to create a gradient with the pink paint above.
Since we were newbie taggers, we left the intricate line work to the professionals.
Normally the prospects of sharing creative decision of one canvas between 4 tweens would be a logistical nightmare. But to our surprise, the girls quickly brainstormed and decided to create a piece named after their messenger group chat, Stonky.
I asked my girls how they came up with the name Stonky. Evidently inspired by their father’s affinity for fart humor, stonky comes from the word “stinky” with an emphatic “honk”. Stonky is about being adventurous, and bold, it means not being afraid to get dirty in the process. Being stonky means owning all the parts of you that make you unique even the weird and uncomfortable parts. In this these uncertain times, these sentiments give me hope for the future of our girls. “Anyone can be in the Stonky crew,” says Viola, “but only you can decide for yourself if you’re brave enough to be stonky.”
Read more about our awesome graffiti tour and book your own tour and workshop with Graffiti Tours.
