The Grid

"As the instructions were given to me, I felt scared and overwhelmed. But the finished piece was fun to make, so it was a success. I do feel like I contributed to the whole."


-MSSU Teacher Education student


It's tried and true, this classic collaborative grid. It essentially works every time. I took a copy of Audrey Flack's "Queen" from 1971 (below), cut it into small squares, and gave one of the squares to each participant. Their job was to recreate the small square's contents onto a larger white square. Once all squares were completed, the group had to piece it together without guidance from me other than the number across and down. It's always fascinating to see who becomes the leaders in this part of the process. As it comes together, there is an aha moment when the participant discovers their seemingly "lame" square is vital to the whole, and that the imperfections actually enhance the whole and make it much more interesting to view. The second grid is a second group's rendition of the same original.