What happens when your classes read about Da Vinci and they recreate the Mona Lisa as a Renaissance Day project? Results vary. You might get an enigmatic smile, you might get something nearly recognizable, or you might get some serious side-eye. The final product is a trifling matter next to the lessons the process imparts.
For this project, each student is given a 1-inch square piece of the Mona Lisa that they attempt to recreate on a 3-inch square. When these are pieced together like a puzzle, the resulting portrait is an abstract Mona Lisa. I’m amazed by the colors different eyes see. We each have a unique little slice of reality that we render to the best of our abilities, and everyone’s contribution is essential, but nobody’s piece makes sense without the context of everyone else’s work.
Cooking with Ben isn’t so different from the 5th grade group art project (or artject, as Ben used to say when he was little.) This week, our family cooking project was making Turmeric-Black Pepper Chicken with Asparagus, a New York Times recipe. I scouted the recipe, gathered ingredients, and made the rice. Honestly, I was still a little wiped out from running Renaissance Day. I’ll bet Da Vinci didn’t have to make dinner after creating the Mona Lisa. Phil, bless him, took the lead. Ben strayed from his typical role of offering side-eye and pitched in here and there. He grinds a mean peppercorn. Mostly, we were in the kitchen together, talking about our day and helping each other, until we sat down, steaming plates before us, to a meal that needed all of us to be complete.
As for the Mona Lisa, I recommend keeping an open mind. (In the interest of full disclosure, I do the face each year so the kids don’t fight over who gets to do it. So, yes, I am responsible for the side-eye, but in my defense, my square in isolation looked very different before those menacing eyebrows were slapped on!) This year’s class dubbed last year’s work “interesting,” but gained a different perspective after seeing how their own side-eye, man-hand version worked out. I love them both.
