The art exhibition for the kids was a great success. Not only did they make a great array of work, but there was a great cohesion that went along with each and every piece. This was a joint show between all three groups of students i had, including some of my own work. This is a photo of a mural one of my groups made. i helped them with the ideas and composition, but it was completely drawn and painted by the kids. It was painted on loose canvas and is about ten feet long.
This is one of the paper collages that the same group worked on. I had them cut out various shapes using forms, rulers and just their own designs with scissors and then had them compose a scene. I particularly like this one because of the unique use of shapes. Also, the winged creature on the top left looks like the flying dog from the Never Ending Story.
With one of my other groups, we focused on the idea that art can be made on anything that can absorb paint, pigment or any other marking instrument. We used a lot of cardboard as canvass, something that i still use for my own art. The idea was to get them thinking that you don't need a lot of expensive materials to make art. Actually in my opinion, used materials like cardboard can add an eye catching effect to the art, because it is a neutral color and it is an unlikely material for a canvass. One of my students used posca pens (acrylic paint pens) to draw the church in town. He has an impressive attention for detail, considering he has never had an art class before!
This is one of the pieces i made for the show. It is my cartoon rendition of Gandhi. The various shapes that are coming from his head are representative of his thoughts, ambitions, dreams and hopes. I have recently gotten into making more cartoonish paintings, utilizing a wide variation of shape designs that i have been experimenting with. 
This is another one i made, this time of Monsenor Romero. Both of these were painted using acrylic paint, posca paint pens and pencil, on pieces of wood i found at my landlord's house.
We experimented with elements of collage using paint, flowers, leaves and other organic materials. This is the product of that experimentation.
The robot above was done of the last day of classes. I didn't have a plan for the class that day so i just told the kids to draw figures and creatures that did not exist, or were alien to them. On the right are two drawings enclosed by circles. These two were made on the first day of classes with the first group i have ever taught. The one on top represents life, day and sunshine. The second represents death, night and moonshine. i took no part in deciding these themes, instead they grew organically from the kids' minds.
Ah, my Salvadoran family! From the left is Don Reyes, his daughter Aminta, Sister Peggy O'Neil and Mercedes. Sr. Peggy put me in contact with this wonderful family and i had the pleasure of staying with them on thursdays when i would teach english in their community. i was well treated by them and by the end, i felt a part of their family.
Some of my students, brandishing their newly earned diplomas. This group of boys were my all stars. Most of them took classes with me for the entire 3 months that i was working there, and subsequently they made some great works of art. i taught them a lot of concepts that i learned in college and they received them very openly. They also taught me a lot about the process of making art and also helped me greatly with my spanish.
This is a more clear view of the mural they painted. The design of the two birds was done by one of the boys, Ernesto. I really like this painting!
i ended up hanging the umbrellas from the ceiling so that as you walked by you could look up and see what the kids painted on them. i used clear fishing line so it almost appears that they are floating above you.
The focus was to display how umbrellas, which protect you from the rain, can be used to promote a message of environmental protection. This has become a major issue in the town of Suchitoto. Some depicted the beauty of the environment that the kids enjoy and appreciate, while others painted scenes of destruction, deforestation, littering and the contamination of water.
Here i am standing with Don Reyes and his grandchildren in front of a portrait i painted of him on a canvass made of jeans. For those of you who were at my art show in Santa Clara, you may recognize the similarity of canvass and style of the painting from the other one i made of John Henry. The title of this piece is called "Guanaco" a common name people of El Salvador use to identify themselves. The name derives from a llama like creature which is typically used as a beast of burden. The idea is that you can keep loading weight on the animal but it will keep going, despite the heavy burden it bears. i thought that this was a perfect way to describe the Salvadoran people, for their determination and inner strength are some of their strongest qualities. I thought is was great that Don Reyes showed up to the show in the same outfit he wore when i took photos of him to use as a visual aid to paint the portrait.
The mural i worked on at the CIS (Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad) in San Salvador actually happened the day before the art show. We collaborated with several youth members of the communities that participate in CIS programs of solidarity, english teachers and students, and spanish students. i made the initial design but we changed some elements as time went in to agree with the desires of the entire group. Here are some shots of the process.
This is the final product! Petty cool right? The tree on top is representative of the land, growth and hope. The roots are the roots of the people, they run deep and are connected with the land. They are attached to a heart like form, the life of the land, the people. In the middle of the heart is a portrait of Oscar Romero, who is considered a saint amongst the people. The corn in front of the heart is the food of the people, the tie with ancestral peoples of the land. The water, the essence of life is flowing freely and is clean, a human right that many people are without in the country. The figures represent the people and a representation of some of the elements of every day life.
Here are some close ups of the figures painted. Thanks to Isaac Beachy, he finished up the majority of the people that we didn't have time to fill in.
This was some of the crew that worked on the mural. We had put in a lot of work to get it done in one day (or at least the majority of it). We decided to let loose and take a "chistosa" photo. Thanks to all that participated, you all played such a big part in this project.
