Train station? A dilemma.

During the art healing sessions, the children are taught new techniques, and they are encouraged to think how they can improve their paintings, adding more colours or different features. The organisers are constantly keeping an eye on children’s work, to give both advice and positive feedback.

In one of the paintings sessions at the end of November, one of the Sunflower Dreams Project volunteers was attending the masterclass. They have suggested to the young artist working on this project to also include a train station in the top right corner. It proved to be a more controversial idea than it sounded in the first place, with the young artist looking at his painting and thinking deeply about the consequences of adding that train station. He proceeded in having a long chat with his mother, on the merits and drawbacks of the suggestion.

In the end, the painter decided to increase the length of the rail tracks and start working on that. When the sessions end, the children are photographed with their artwork, to have a lasting memory, in case some of the paintings get damaged or are not going to be kept. It is also the opportunity that each child is praised, individually, for their work and commitment.

As the children and parents were leaving, the volunteer noticed a sort of a structure on the young artist’s painting, in the top right corner. His, very amused, mother confirmed that indeed that was a train station. The lack of colour on the train station suggests that the artist was not entirely convinced it was necessary to include it but did it because of the volunteer’s suggestion and his mother’s arguments in favour of the train station.

The dilemma of the train station was solved by including it in the artwork, albeit by a reluctant artist who was more concerned about the journey and less about the destination.