I’m a regular reader of Builder Magazine. They send me their emails. Today, I was perusing the most recent email when a headline caught my eye, “Dry-Erase Paint from Sherwin-Williams.”
Dry Erase Paint makes virtually any surface into an erasable canvas, allowing you the space you need to collaborate, interact and fully explore your creativity.
Now, I had heard of paint on blackboards, but I had not known about the ability to paint whole rooms in various colors where you can write on the walls. That time has come. Why would anyone want to write on the walls?
1. Let Your Children Be the Featured Artists of their Rooms. I used to buy the “crayon” soap kids used to write on the wall from the bathtub. My kids loved it, but it didn’t last long. This paint is so much better. Your kids will be muralists! Show them the work of real muralists like Diego Rivera or Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.
2. Make It Part of the Birthday Party. Let the neighbor have the pony. Your children’s friends can say they wrote and drew on the walls! Just be sure to tell your little guests (and their parents), “Don’t try this at home.”
3. Create Space for Poetry. My own poetry has been exhibited alongside art at the university and a local coffee shop. You need stencils for this to make it look more formal. Make sure the letters are large enough relative to the scale of the room. Use your own work or that of your favorite poet. Think of the objects and text as having a “conversation” to get the right mix.
4. Give the Mudroom a Warm “Welcome.” Hopefully, when family and friends arrive, they get a warm “welcome” hug, but even before you can get to the door, you can provide a little message for all those who enter your abode. I’m thinking the opposite of Dante’s “Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here,” but you could have some fun with it, too.
5. Write Your Novel. In grad school, I once listened to an author describe how he wrote his novel. He plotted the action and the characters with Post-It notes, which he posted on the wall. Then, he could lean back in his office chair and contemplate. Obviously, he could move the notes around, too, when he changed his mind about the work in process. You can do the same with this paint.
6. Calendar. I remember the running around when my sons were both in sports. Parents sometimes forget to pick up their kids! (Not me, of course.) No more. Plot the monthly calendar on the wall. A glance on the way out the door will be enough to keep you straight even if you carry Outlook Express or something similar on your iPhone. If you note just the major events, such a calendar will reinforce your memory and give you an overview for the important items coming up.
7. Plan a Trip. When was the last time you took a vacation? Even if you’re doing this alone, it’s so much fun to have your plans where you can see them. You can put up your flight information, the names of your hotels, what you’re most looking forward to seeing and experiencing. As you look at it, over time, you can add or remove items. By the time you arrive at the airport, the “map” will be firmly in your imagination.
8. Family Meetings. Even the smallest family needs to communicate. If you can carve out some time to both reflect and communicate, you might use the wall to hold onto the ideas that develop when you actually sit down and listen to each other. Businesses do brain storming sessions all the time. I met my first “white board” at work. Families can do something similar and have fun, too. When you write down everyone’s ideas, from the smallest to the largest, you are teaching your children a kind of creative problem solving.
9. Counting Your Blessings. What makes you feel good in the day? Sometimes, we’re so busy, we barely notice, much less remember, something that, even for a moment, provoked a good feeling during the day. These events are well worth gathering. They remind us of our happiness. When you collect them on a wall, you’re reminded each time you glance that way. It need not be an ordered list though you could do it that way. How about a space for the whole family to share? If something felt great, write it in bolder print or a big scroll.
10. “Farewell.” There are so many ways of saying goodbye. My landlady, who speaks Spanish, always says to me something like, “Lo que va bien,” which I understand as “May all go well.” What is your favorite farewell phrase? You could write it on the wall.
