This year too Dani Dugava They came faster than I expected. In March, one of the organizers contacted me with the question – do I want to participate? Of course I do! And an idea immediately came to me: to make something permanent, something that would remain in the neighborhood as a memory of this event.
An idea that immediately found support
I contacted the principal of I. Osnovne škole “Dugave”, presented her with her idea and – her enthusiasm was immediate. The plan was simple: to make “tables” and “chairs” out of car tiresA little imagination, a little more color and a lot of goodwill.
Luckily, I have a wonderful neighbor, tire repairman Zlatko, who not only provided me with tires, but also drove them himself. Thank you, Zlatko!
The learning (and tire washing) process
I read on the internet that tires need to be in good condition. degrease and prime before the final coat. So I washed 18 tires (3 wider!) at a self-service car wash – and worked myself to death. It turned out that I had toiled for nothing – the tires that Maja brought straight from the garage took the paint perfectly, even without any prior preparation. Ah yes, one learns while one is alive. 🙃
Creativity in action: the children excelled
I admit – I was a little worried about whether anyone would come and whether I would end up doing everything alone. However, the fear was completely unfounded – The kids were thrilled! Even the hard-to-wash paint on their hands (and some clothing) didn't bother them too much. They wanted more tire.
Some were even sad because they first went to the music workshop and didn't "catch" "their" tire. Imagine how much it would have meant to them if they could have said: "I made this.“…while proudly showing off their work to their friends in the neighborhood. 🥹
Final touches and waiting for it to dry
I was surprised again. by creativity of children – the color combinations were ingenious. The result was cheerful, colorful “chairs” that will evoke memories for a long time to come.
When everyone dispersed, I was left with:
- pick up leftover paint,
- clean up the trash,
- and wait for everything to dry (well, I didn't stand by them the whole time – I left notes saying it was wet and to please not touch it 😄). And no one touched it while it was wet! In the meantime, many of the tire chairs have probably become part of private collections 😉 At least now I know for sure that the neighbors love cheerful and colorfully painted tires.