Art 101

 

I join the group scattered around

the classroom, standing behind wooden easels,

brushes and paints laid out in perfect order.

A room full of adults with nothing else to do

at ten o’clock on a Thursday morning.

We are supposed to paint a rooster

following the step-by-step instructions of

the artist at the front of the room. A blank canvas

gazes back at me and I fantasize about turning

out a rooster-like creature, in bright blues and

greens, with bold eyebrows like Frida Kahlo,

challenging the rest of the class to imagine a

world where different is normal.

 

Get set . . .