Page 14 of His Wild Storm
I shrug one shoulder and admit, “You can use pretty much any medium when drawing a comic book, as long as you get theeffect you want, because the original isn’t distributed. I think now a lot of people draw comic books digitally, but I’m not sure. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a comic book.”
Wilde shakes his head like what I’ve said has disappointed him. “You should read one. Mommy always lets me get some from the library. I couldn’t read them at first, but I’m getting better.”
“I didn’t know four-year-olds learned how to read already,” I murmur softly, not expecting him to hear me.
He scoffs, “How will I know what is happening if I don’t read them? My mommy will read them to me, but sometimes she rushes, and I like to look at all the drawings.”
“Does she do different voices?”
“Sometimes,” he admits with a big smile on his face.
“I’ll make sure we do some art in a comic book style for class one week, but we’ll have to work up to it.”
“Thanks Knox,” he chirps, and I have to fight my reaction to give him a hug.
That would probably be inappropriate. Even if it does feel right.
When I glance at my watch, I’m sad to see our time coming to an end. The only good thing is I know we’ll have another class in a week. Still, it feels like a long time to wait.
“You keep working on using light and dark, Wilde, and it’ll feel like you can step right into your drawing and become part of your superhero team.”
Wilde flashes me his crooked grin again as I stand up and move toward my seat. When I sit, the kids are still focused ontheir drawings. Seeing all of them working hard and focused is kind of amazing.
“Okay everyone,” I project my voice to ensure everyone hears me but not enough to startle them. The kids look up with reluctance written all over their faces and I have to stop myself from smiling. “We’ve come to the end of today’s class but lets go over a few things before we call it a day.” The kids nod eagerly, and I wait a moment before asking, “Is there anyone who would like to share their drawing with the entire class? You don’t have to, but this is your chance if you want to.”
All the kids hold up their drawings, their movements quick and jerky. I chuckle under my breath and smile. Even though they’re a little on the timid side still, these kids have a lot more confidence now than when we started class. That is not just something; it’s everything.
Everyone looks around and makes sounds of appreciation as they do. “I imagined I visited Mars and drew this,” one kid pipes up from the back.
“I drew the land of color,” the youngest in the group shouts, his drawing a riot of color without a hint of technique. He doesn’t need any, honestly. It’s a glorious piece of art and the joy on his face only makes it even more perfect.
“Wilde,” one kid gushes, “you drew a superhero lair.”
Wilde puffs his chest out, the pride on his face clear for anyone to see.
“Everyone did an amazing job today,” I tell the class.
I hold up my own sketch pad to show them the field of wildflowers I was working on. It’s unfinished, but there’s enough there for them to know what it is. They stare at it in awe, and Itry not to drown in my own pride. That would not be a good look for the teacher.
“Wow,” one of the older kids breathes out, “it’s beautiful and you didn’t even get as long to work on it.”
“That’s true,” I agree. “One of the things we’ll cover one week is how to block out color in whatever you’re drawing to help move things along. It’s what I did here, and it helped me get a lot of the image done in a short amount of time. It’s not finished, but it is a good start.”
The kids nod eagerly, and I grin until my cheeks start to hurt. They aren’t looking at me with fear in their eyes anymore and it means more to me than I could ever say.
“No matter what we do in class, I want each of you to use the skills you have and do the best you can. Ultimately, this class is all about having fun. Art is fun. It’s color. It’s imagination. It’s a way to express ourselves and tell stories.” The kids are all smiles while their eyes are still darting around and taking in the art their friends have created. “Next week it might feel a little boring, but we’re going to draw a bowl of fruit. We’ll work on shading and how to capture the way light hits an object.” I tap my chin and think for a moment, the kids watching me curiously. “How about, to make it fun, everyone has to bring one fruit. It can be your favorite or your least favorite. Then we’ll arrange the fruit everyone brings to class into a bowl for our subject.”
“Yeah,” the kids cheer, their hands going up and their voices raised with excitement.
The door opens and Wendy walks in, her eyes wide and full of surprise to find the scene in front of her. If I were in her shoes, I would probably have the same look on my face.
Sure, I’m not a threat to these kids and Wendy knew it, but that doesn’t make winning them over easy. Art helped a lot.
“It looks like everyone had fun,” Wendy chirps. She looks around at everyone’s sketch pads, and her eyes go wide. “Wow, you made some amazing art today.”
“Next week, we’re drawing fruit,” the littlest kid pips up. “Can we get some interesting looking fruit before then? We each have to bring one for the bowl.”
Wendy giggles and nods her head. “I think we can manage that.” She tilts her head slightly and muses, “I wonder if we could order some plastic fruit. Then it could go in the play area after you’re done drawing it and everyone can enjoy them as toys.”
