Last Day of the 4th year; Emotional and Rewarding.

Today was the dreaded last day with the students. It is the hardest day for both Margaret and me. Before class, I spent some one on one time with my friend/sister Anne Wangari and every time I leave her, I feel a huge void created. It is painful and at the same time a reminder that when we return to Kenya, Anne will be here.

As in true Kenyan form, the additional pieces of furniture that were suppose to be done today so we could place them in the Art Room, were not finished, and even after class we went back and they said tomorrow at 1pm. Thank God our flight is not until nearly midnight tomorrow. At this time tomorrow, Margaret and I will be sitting on the tarmac at the Airport awaiting departure to DC. It amazes me how quickly this time goes by when we are here.

The last Friday is always the day of celebration and reward. We have always created certificates and brought in snacks to celebrate the completion of another year of participation in the art immersion program. Today Margaret and I handed out the certificates with excitement. Some of our students have collected 4 certificates. Where did the time go?

Today is alway emotional, because the gratitude that is tossed our way by these students is overwhelming. They are filled with hope, love and gratitude in a way that I cannot comprehend. Our sheer repeated presence to them is substantial and important. After certificates and the distribution of snacks that has to be done in a fair and equitable way (fair is fair, if ones has 5 cookies and the other has 4, they all know it and feel bad so you become very clear on making sure all get fair shares), there was lots of chatter.

The conversation ranged from the art show the night before at Kuona trust, to the snacks, art and how much they like the oil paints and the new forms 1 sitting with all the other students excited about their participation in this new and exciting thing called art. It is heartwarming. Margaret and I talked about what to do next, continuing their work throughout the year with the continuation of art club. The club meets while we are gone once officially and usually another day unofficially each week to continue growth based on the art immersion and morphs into a peer to peer education that has oversight of the club by a teacher sponsor. They teach each other and continue to perfect what they learn, incorporate their own self learning and the peer learning element which is all great. It is the concept of giving them guidance, information and access and then stepping out of their way to make it happen. They prosper like you could not imagine.

As celebration was ending we asked if there were any comments or questions. One student, George Comoros, who has been in all our classes, said that he wanted to say how much he appreciated that we return each year and that as he reflected on his work over the past 4 years, and in his words "as you move up the ladder" you can see your progress, you can take pride in your creations and you continue to grow in your ability to think and feel differently. He also turned to the younger students, forms 1 and 2 and said that they should stick with this because this is special. There are no other programs like this in schools and to take full advantage of the gifts. When you hear these comments, you are not sure if you should cry, smile, or just know that this is the gift you are given by these beautiful students.

Another Student, Dennis Owino, who has also been with us the whole time said that he had never encountered two more generous and caring people and that we are so committed and they are so appreciative. He also said something that I had never considered or knew. He said that this program had created community within the school amongst students that normally would never interact such as forms 1 and 4s in the same class room. My stomach at that point felt ill and like we had been given more than we deserve from them. This was a particularly hard year since this is the first you that all our students who started 4 years ago were not here. The forms 4's of last year were not present with the exception of a handful of graduates that chose to come back and take part in the graduate institute which was in its first year. The other difficulty was saying good bye to the forms 4's that have been with us both for this whole time. We are saying good bye to these students realizing if they leave with something from this program, we have done what we came to do; provide them a new way to express themselves, a new voice, confidence they may not have had in the past and confidence that they have to create something that is all their own. Creating art can give you so much. The hugs good bye today were filled with love and gratitude and for the first time, they tugged tightly and told us they would miss us and they gave emails. If this is what it feels like to let go of your children, this is hard stuff and as I type this tears are streaming down my face.

At dinner, Margaret and I reflected on these weeks and how wonderful this has been for the last 4 years. How it has become easier and easier each year and how the gifts of these students make our cups floweth over. The progress and the pride, the ability and the talent, the ownership and the hope. It is all present in these amazing children.

We ended the evening with a visit with Sr. Mary Owens, Executive Director of Nyumbani. We brought her a book from a colleague as well as giving her one of our books that has chapters about Nyumbani in it and she was so excited and kept going through it when we were meeting with her. She is an incredible woman and runs an organization that serves hiv/aids orphans and those who have been impacted by AIDS. She is just one terrific woman who is one of the smartest and most capable woman I have ever met. I am fortunate to serve on the Nyumbani board and feel honored to serve this organization.

We made it back to the ranch to settle in. Tomorrow will be a day of packing, picking up and delivering furniture to the school, last minute gifts to take home and saying good bye to the Jesuits at Pedro Arrupe Center, David Dinda, Franco and our Kenya until next we return. Its always so hard to say good-bye.

A funny thing happened towards the end of our day with the students that made me realize, it is ALL about this program. Francis was using my camera and he came to me and said I can't take any more pictures and I said its probably because you have filled the card. He came back a few minutes later and said, someone fixed it but now there were only the most recent pictures he had taken. I looked at the camera and he realized that all 800 pictures had been deleted. I looked at him and said it seems they had been deleted and all he could do was profusely apologize. I said that I was not upset and that this was just an accident and inside I was not feeling the same way. After we left, said good bye, hugs and nice comments, dinner and now writing you this blog, it is not about the photos, its about the impact that we have on each other and the memories Margaret and I get to carry with us and share with you. (But as I said to Margaret in the car leaving the school, "Damn those were great pictures!").

On behalf of Margaret and me, thank you for joining us on this journey. It is with the love and support of so many that we get to take part in this wonderful experience and we are just so grateful.

We shall see you all soon. No more blogs until next year and we look forward to sharing this experience with you again in 2012.

Be well,

Charles and Margaret

Two tremendous days....

All,

Apologies for not blogging yesterday! Margaret and I left the ranch at 9:30am and returned at 10:30pm. Wednesday was a busy, busy day for us. We were prepping for a major art exhibit that happened this evening, more on that in a minute, we had classes to teach, and we were in search of a storage cupboard and art cubbys/drying racks for the art classroom and had to go to Kuona Trust to finalize our last aspects of the opening of the exhibit, approving the announcement, looking at the press release, ordering the food, timing the set up of the gallery, etc. This all happened before we got to class at 2:3o to teach our wonderful students.

The biggest reward that we receive is the response from the students. On Wednesday we showed up for class with 5 major pieces of furniture, the students were in awe and they got together and carried all these pieces of furniture to the third floor of the school to the art room and set it up. They just kept thanking us for the beautiful furniture. It is clear to them that their work and creations are valued when we make their work important by buying such needed pieces for the school. Lets be totally clear, if you had not already noticed, we are more in awe of them, we are surprised that there is an art room just for the work they get to do all year around based on this annual immersion experience and we are shocked and impressed at the creations that they honor us with. After the furniture was places classes convened, with the forms 1/2's working on their landscapes from pencils and pastels and the whole time adoring Margaret ever so much. They look to her as a mother figure and actually listen to ever word she says. Each day, each of our classes start of with a meditation which goes for 7 minutes. It makes such a huge impact on their work and their focus.

The forms 3/4 and graduate institute folks continued on works that they had not finished. Those that were done happily cleaned up the art room, put supplies away in the new furniture and placed their works very delicately on the table and around the room so we could Jury the work for the show. At the end of class, Jacob, a graduate approached Margaret and I with a create he had made for us. We were admiring an art bag he created for himself that he carries around. Its basically a satchel made of burlap. He made Margaret and I each one with our names on it. We were so touched. They are beautiful.

After class was done for all our sessions, Margaret and I walked through the classes and looked at work and ohhh'ed and ahhhw'ed. It was great. The oil paintings are beyond our comprehension. This medium is so challenging and before August 8, these artists did not even know what oil paints were out side of a discussion we had in our curriculum on different mediums that can be used. They never had experienced the paint before we shared it with them. Now they are making some of the greatest art ever. The theme of the show is "Landscapes of the Mind" and they in fact pulled from their amazing imagination to make such creative and beautiful works of art.

After dinner we were off to meet Anne Wangari for dinner and it was a nice treat to spend time with her. Margaret and I equate this trip to many wonderful things; students, hopefulness, reciprocity in the sense that we get as much if not more than we give, and the friendships we have made along the way. Anne is one of those treasures of this trip.

Today was another rise and shine, up and out type day. The day started off with jurying the art work at the school, were Margaret and I go through the work and decide what will get into the show and what will not. It is a very difficult decision to decide you are not going to take some of their work to display. We want to share it all. We had to really focus on what really demonstrated "Landscapes of the Mind" and how well they were done.

After this we had a late breakfast, picked up some last minute shopping needs, got the certificates for tomorrows final class celebrations out of the way and then had one last stop before we went to hang the show. Caroline is David Dinda's sister that Margaret helped launch her start in being a seamstress. Early this week Caroline took Margaret's measurements to make her 2 beautiful skirts and a top. They are great.

This afternoon, Margaret and I hung the show at Kuona Trust. It was breathtaking to see how beautiful their creations look up in a gallery. The bustle of the Kuona Trust is great any time, but the anticipation of a show opening, there is lots of energy all around. Their are the cooks creating food and setting up for the reception, we are hanging the show, the property and space is being cleaned, art curators are walking in and out asking questions and showing people the lay out. All while you are worried that the bus will get to the school to get the students here on time, will it look the way we hope, are we ready, what are we going to say when we comment, etc. etc. This all went off without a hitch. Last year the students showed up late by 45 minutes, half way through the show the lights went out.

This year was totally different. The students showed up 15 minutes early and went and looked at all the artist studios who are residence at Kuona Trust. Then they came in and to watch the students see their own art up in a gallery, priceless! They point, laugh at it, show their friends and then want to be in pictures. It is so moving. The show was more than expected, the students as always really excited and well behaved. In the time of remarks, I made a few comments and thanked the Kuona Trust and thanked the students for the opportunity to work with them. Kuona trust provided us with an open ended invitation to come yearly and then Patrick, the Deputy Director, commented on their great work and the students felt very valued and Margaret and I were just beaming for them and for us. We never imagined that teaching art in the Kibera Slum would end up having us show in a gallery. We are honored.

The students ate food, milled around, danced to music that was planning and the returned to Kibera on the bus that brought them.

At the end of a day like this, we are humbled by these students in ways that are unimaginable. The one discovery that stays with us from our first visit in 2007; you can make a difference in lives of others one person at a time by just showing up and giving what you have. In our case, its two persons. We are so filled with gratitude to be able to bring something to these students that they would not have otherwise, art. We are two lucky people to be able to receive the gifts of these wonderful student/artists through the delivery of this art immersion.

One last post tomorrow and then we return home on Saturday. Thank you for being on this journey with us.

Be well.

Charles and Margaret

All Students Aboard!!!!!!

Today school was fully in swing, all students are back and so are the classes. We had two really full sessions, Forms 1/2 were together learning genre, mediums, and language regarding art. They also did their first set of landscapes in pencil and they are very good. They understand perception, the comprehend form and really like color. The forms 3/4 and Graduates were really going to town with all their newly honed skills related to oil painting. It is amazing. There works are spectacular and I have really no way to comprehend their talent except to realize that the intensity of the art immersion coupled with the years that Margaret and I have been with them has tapped into their truly creative portal and we are the recipients of our work. Today the Asst. Principle Davis Apopo asked me to talk to the Forms 1's boy and girls about the art immersion program in hopes that they will join. Our art immersion program is a choice not a requirement and so he really wants to recruit for it. The unfortunate thing was he told us to be there at 2pm when in fact, he did not ask us to talk to them until 3:20 while Margaret was out getting more supplies. I wish she had been there to hear him describe what we do as well as the one to present to the girls, we always have such few girls compared to boys in art. They gravitate towards drama but had Margaret been there, we would have had more girls today, maybe tomorrow will yield more girls. Hearing David speak was great to realize that even the senior administrators of this school value art. He talked about the immersion program as a way to learn another point of view, to remove yourselves from your books and use your mind in another way. He also was clear to share with the students that this is a program that is different than all others schools, because other schools do not have this type of program.

At the end of classes, Margaret said to me, the new students are just so excited and capable! We are so lucky. Then we walked through the higher levels class and reviewed the work and the art is amazing and advanced. Jacob, whom we believe will get into the Buro Buro School of Art, is doing so well its alarming. He also receives feedback really well. We worked with him at the end of class and it was exciting to see him really take in what we were saying. The truth be told, Margaret and I could not do his accurate and precise oil painting....

These children end up being more and more capable each year. We only provide the tools, they do the rest.

Thanks for being on this journey with us.

Be well.

Charles and Margaret

A new week and new students

So today was the first day of week 2 and the return from holiday session and we ended up with more forms 3/4/graduates in the class we had last week and to no avail, no forms 1/2's until today. Although we thought that we would have had them on the first day, they were dismissed early because certain classes will not start until next week. As always, it never turns out as it is planned.

We met with the same class as last week and the new additions to it and they all got started quickly. It feels differently as we have the students in uniforms and a lesser amount of time but they are engaged nonetheless, they are preparing pieces for the art show at Kuona Trust this Thursday and are very excited. I am very much looking forward to seeing their art on display, it is a form of honor for them that they get the respect of their work on display. They deserve nothing less. These artist/students are amazing.

Margaret and I worked with the class and about half way through our session realized that we did not start off with a meditation and when we asked the class when to do it, they asked us to reserve it for the end. The students were not centered and a little unfocused and it was clear that the meditation we have each day is useful for them.

We met with the asst principle David Appopo and he was very engaging and excited about the work this week and looks forward to the show. The students continue to progress and we are very proud of all that they do.

It was a day of continued exploration for them. In addition, the show is moving smoothly and we look to have a nice crowd on Thursday. They promise us press but this has not happened in the past so I am not holding my breathe. Margaret has hung many a art show and she will curate this show for the second year. Below is the announcement for the show.

After class we picked up my Kenyan Sister Anne Wagari at the Wilson Airport as she took leave to spend time with us while Margaret and I are here. It was so exciting to see her and she looks great. We went to have a celebration dinner with her to celebrate all of us together at Osteria. Great restaurant and wonderful time. We heard of the harsh stories of Dadaab and the settling of now nearly 400k in the camp. It was very hard to hear of some of the stories and issues and to think she does this work everyday. There is definitely a place in heaven for special people like Anne. Then we were back to the ranch and to bed.

Today we will have class this afternoon and Margaret went off to visit Kitengala glass, a place she has wanted to see and to inquire about glass pieces and bits for next years mozaic that we are planning for the school. I stayed at Pedro Arrupe to do some prep work, read a bit, and write the blog. I also got to have daily tea with the staff that work the grounds and caretake the residence. They are so delightful and our conversations are filled with humor and interesting subjects. Today's discussion focused on our 5 year plans and the possible next president of Kenya being a woman. It was a funny and interesting discussion to say the least.

We are so grateful for the ability to give to this wonderful place that 5 years ago captured our hearts through the faces of these very hopeful people.

With Gratitude,

Charles and Margaret

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Landscapes of the Mind

An exhibit of the Artists of St. Aloysius of Gonzaga Secondary School

Landscapes of the Mind is an exploration at all levels of art ability to create in
many different mediums landscapes that come from ones mind, imagination and
inspiration. This is the 2nd annual exhibit of the students of St. Aloysius of
Gonzaga Secondary school at the Kuona Trust.

On an initial visit, Georgetown University administrators realizing the absence of
a visual art education, created an art immersion program that is in its 4th year.
These artist receive art instruction annually from these administrators who first
visited Kibera in 2007. After the first year of the art immersion program the
artist/students formed the art club with functions all year around with the
intensive art instruction delivered in a two week annual art immersion program
for students with an interest in art. The art club draws from the immersion
experience and also facilitates peer to peer learning and independent
exploration. In its 4th year the art immersion program has yields some amazing
artists that are conveying landscapes in mediums from pencil to oil colors from
their own imagination although many of these students may have never
experienced the place their mind has allowed them to create.

There exploration of landscapes has resulted in a successful body of work that
really represents the fantastic art ability of the smart, beautiful and important
students of St. Aloysius which has now been in its in new site in Lang'ata for
over a year.

Please join us for this exhibition at the Kuona Trust Centre for Visual Arts,
Likoni Close, Likoni Lane off Dennis Pritt Rd, Hurlingham on Thursday, August 18
at 6:30pm for the opening of the "Landscapes of the Mind', works of the artists
of St. Aloysius Secondary School.

www.sagnairobi.org
I

One week down, the start to the next...

It is hard to believe that we have completed one week of classes already and with such great students dedicated to their art. We have continued to see the exploration of their creativity in both their style and their medium. Watching the developments in Oil Paints, is profound and leaves Margaret and I somewhat in shock. Today was a day of lots of great pieces of art being created, watching the process of discernment occur when the students have to step back and reflect on their pieces, sometimes put them away and then comeback to them when they have had time to figure out their issues. It is very refreshing to think that they have progressed so quickly in such a short window. Beatrice came through the classroom this Friday and all she continued to say is that she had no words. She had no idea and no words.

After class, we had our afternoon schedule of lunch, then back to the ranch before dinner with Ken Okoth and the Children of Kibera Foundation scholars. Ken is a dear friend who founded Children of Kibera and the Red Rose Schools, who was raised in Kibera and then as I stated before was off to the US for his higher education. He is great, inspirational and making an impact. He helps get students in to Boarding with Scholarships and then works to get them into colleges and universities around the world. He asked me to be the keynote speaker at the event and it was nerve racking and exciting all at the same time. I had prepared remarks but they promptly went out the door. It was a great and inspiring event and Margaret and I were excited to be included. The students wanted pics taken with us and were really engaging, We sat with a table with three other students and it was a lively conversation. After that, we met up with Franco and had frozen yogurt and then back to the ranch.

Saturday Margaret found herself not feeling well so I ended up working with Forms 4 and Graduate Institute on the book art for the book Anna Celenza wrote "Song of Hope" about Kibera and David Dinda. It was great. Small group, about 8 students, half stayed and did art, the other half went with me to Kibera to take pictures. It was reentry shock for me as the new school is so nice and in a nice setting and the old school is not. Kibera is harsh and sometimes you forget this and since the school is no longer in the middle of Kibera, that was a bit of a reminder of the harsh reality of where our beloved students live. The trek down the muddy path to the old school was dirtier and more harsh then before and sewage was at every turn with kids walking through it. Harsh and hard. The old school repurposed as Foundation of Hope, David's organization definitely has a pulse and heartbeat and is truly serving peer to peer counseling, education, advocacy and peer to peer voice creation and community. It was great. We took pictures of the rooms and the street and books, all part of the art for the book. Harsh realities make me realize why we are here repeatedly, because of the smart, beautiful and important students.

Sunday, Margaret still not 100% ended up staying in to recover and I went to Nyeri to visit my Kenyan Family. It was great to be with The Ndirangu's and going to church with maitu (mom). She was a guest and was raising monies for the new priest home. She was a honored donor and it was nice to be in her congregation. This was also the first time with The Ndirangu's absent Anne Wangari, the daughter and my initial connection, she is working in Dadaab and could not join us but we will join her tonight.

It was nice at how excited maitu was to see me and how expressive she was. She also spoke to me directly as she often spoke through Awa (dad) before he died. Although I knew based on her age, she was raised in british Kenya and used to teach english, she never used it with me, yesterday was another story. She talked about all that God had given her even in the lose of her Husband last year and that she was prospering on the farm, managing it and hiring help to keep it growing. Such pride in her. First we went to church, returned to the home, she walked me to Samuel's grave site to pay respect and then she showed me around her land. She is amazingly adept at farming (duh) and is very organized in her approach. She is using many methods of gardening using the land under the coffee for snap peas, etc etc. She is on fire.

The home has been wired for power and gets electrified in September. The first time having power, we take so much for granted. After the walk through the property, we had roasted chicken, Makimo (a potato, greens and maze combo -yum), vegitables, etc. It was great. Then back to Nairobi...What a great day. Returning to Pedro Arrupe, the sanctuary, the ranch, was a treat to find Margaret feeling much better.

Today is another day, the start of week 2.

Thanks for being on this journey with us.

Be well,

Charles and Margaret.

So much, So amazing, So Fortunate.....

One of the last things I said to Margaret after a tremendous and long day, " I am not sure we are worthy of this" and I mean it.

The recount of this day will begin with the end first. Being in the presence of greatness is a hard thing, then being validated for something you are doing even more amazing. After 4 years of delivering this program, we realized that we have never sat down and had dinner with Beatrice, the principle of St. Al's. She is an amazing woman who takes it all with stride and believes in the work of serving these students at the highest level from the deepest aspect of her core. Just being around her makes you realize that she is greatness and is making a difference in every one of these students' lives. She said to use, "I do not only serve as their principle and teacher, I also serve as their mother or father at times", she also said, it is sometimes important to unlock their issues with them before teaching or you aren't getting anything to sink in. This woman is fantastic and wise. In addition to being a successful teacher and principle, she is a wife and a mom to 3 ranging from age 11 to 9 months. She makes it all work well and balanced. She does it with grace.

As we sat at dinner we reflected on our 4 years with her thus far, our shortcomings, excitements, challenges, changes, and successes. She looked at us and said to us, you have changed peoples lives for the better through this work. You gave them a way to share and embrace something that makes them special; you help set them apart from others and you give them something that is so important to them. You give them something that is all theirs, their own creations. I looked at her and hoped that we were doing this. She also said something that made me realize that they look at this program as so much more than the 2 weeks we are here. They use this as a distinguishing aspect of their school, they can say that have an art program, although we are intensive for 2 weeks, they have a set time weekly to do continued exploration of their learnings with a teacher sponsor. Its called art club and has been in place since the day after our first year in 2008 and has continued ever since. She validated for us that what we are going is the right thing and that she wants us to continue. I am so moved, I am not sure we are worthy of these amazing gifts of being here with these beautiful students and taking part in their lives. This is when I am sure of a higher power, what ever that is. We even found out that one of the graduates and the St. Al's are working to get accepted to the Buro Buro Institute of Fine Art. The only art school in Kenya. One of our kids may go to art school and it started with this program. We cannot believe it.

Before Dinner and after class we went to hear a Kenyan Artist, Jay Patel, speak this afternoon at the Kouna Trust. He has had his art on display for 6 weeks at the gallery at Kouna that the students will be displaying starting on August 18. His work was of photos of the human condition and the acts of violence that is so part of the human condition. The unique element is that he used artist models, the wooden ones that you find in art stores that you can move and stand how you set them as he did in acts of violence. The interesting thing was that without the true human, but a model in the act of murder or violence, you were able to be disarmed by the pictures because the models seem so innocent until you are taking in the whole picture and you are a bit frozen by its reality. This all was spurred on by his 11 years in the US studying at Indiana where post 9/11 he was often accosted and told to go back to where he came from, and sometimes by non americans at this location. He is a Kenyan of Indian descent. This work exemplifies the violence in humanity. A very humble and shy man, extremely talented in the form of expressive story telling art as well as beautiful non violent themed photos. A great man and an art show of impact.

So lastly and most importantly today's class. Something that we discovered today is that since we are seeing this smaller group of 26 students 4 hours a day, this is equivalent to 4 weeks of classes. We normally teach each form 1-4 an hour a day for 2 weeks. Forms 1-4 is equivalent to freshman through seniors. As I said yesterday, this process is going so smoothly and when we arrived, the students had set up class and so where already well into creating. We started with our daily 7 minute meditation and then continued with more landscapes of the mind and use of color. It was great to watch everyone continue to develop. It is the most amazing thing that I have ever seen. Margaret and I put the canvass boards along the window frames of the room so you could span the room and take it all in and it was overwhelming. This students have done in a mere 4 days what it takes other students a semester, if not much much longer. They are intent in their work, they are focused, they ask lots of questions, seek feedback, look frustrated when they don't understand so you know they need you and are in a mode of exploration that is explosive. The energy in this room is enough to power the school. It could be cut by a knife. They learn from each other, they ask for guidance, they listen and they are present in a way that is unreal. This came clear to me when at dinner with Beatrice when she said to us that they anxiously await our arrival, they know that they are fortunate that we are there and want to get the most out of it. it is so obvious.

After we mediated with classical music at the start of class, I let the music continue with classical and its really enjoyable. Today I was bored with it so put other music from my collection on, some more fun and singable music. The students lightened up with this music and just started to sing as they were painting. It was so moving to witness this transformation. When a song came on that they really enjoyed, they reacted in their voice or movement. It was like magic. It was so exciting to see them intertwine their art creation with music. We paint along with the students so they see us work through some of the complex issues of the mediums and they also saw us sing and bop a little as well. The chuckle at us as the too sang and bopped, they are so warm and comfortable.

As I reflect on today and a few other statements Beatrice said, it is nice to know we are on the track and we feel this way too; she said "you feel like you want to do as much as possible for these students knowing how harsh their home lives and backgrounds are, some with no parents, some alone with people caring for them that are not their family, some that have more responsibility than adults" It never feels like we are doing enough, especially after you experience how happy, hopeful and engaged they all are. She also stated that we are showing them that they have something that is only possessed by them, there ability to create something that is uniquely their own. Giving them a voice through art.

With full hearts for the fortunate ability we have to be part of these beautiful students' lives.

Be well,

Charles and Margaret

ps--for those that were about to FedEx Margaret a round brush, no worries, the pharmacy finally got a supply in. She has a brush, I cannot wait to see how her hair looks tomorrow-smile.

Landscapes of the Mind.....

So before I talk about class, I have to tell you we are on a profound search for a rounded brush for Margaret. They are sold out everywhere, like there is run for them for some specific reason. We have been to more beauty salons and Nakumatt's that I care to share and to no avail. One woman told Margaret that they are scarce and if she was going somewhere nice that they would do her hair right with a round brush. I am sure you are worried about my hair as well, don't! I brought my brush even though I never use it.

So today class continued to unfold in the most amazing ways. Ways I cannot explain. So lets talk poverty, third world for a moment. These students that are so very smart, beautiful and important have obvious limited exposure; bread as an example is a treat. Very rarely do they have bread, so the fact that we bring brown bread and margarine is a big deal.

This I share only because the next piece is shocking. So, lets be clear, Margaret, a National Endowment of the Arts fellow and veteran art teacher for 12 years. My undergraduate and post graduate work in Art. Oils are complex, creating is hard, letting your mind be open even harder and taking from your imagination, pictures in your subconscious and pictures in front of you and creating something as a piece of art, an absolute gift. I say all this with the fact that not one of these students even knew what oil paints looked like until Tuesday Morning. So we get to class today and the Art Prefect for the class (Mike) had all the class set up and moving and the students were engaged to create art. We did a brief meditation which they all respond so well to and then had them do an hour of practicing with oils on heavy paper before providing canvas board. When we did, I saw something I had never seen before, silence, movement, grace, creation and beauty. Margaret and I looked at each other like we had either done something really right or that they really just need to be provide tools and they become vessels of creation.

The work that they did on these small canvas boards are worthy of framing, as a matter of fact, we will base the whole show next week on the theme of landscapes, titling next Thursday's exhibition, Landscapes of the Mind. They all were so engrossed and intent and all their creations, so beautiful. Saisi Wycliffe, our famed colorist, using the most profound and unique colors to create landscapes, then Jacob as well with his articulate beauty, both museum quality pieces. You look around the room and you can't begin to believe that these student have not been exposed heavily to art since they were young. I can assure you they have not.

Is this how it is suppose to work? There is such ease in delivering this program now. I guess after 4 years its suppose to be this way. We could not be more excited about how this is turning out. This focused approach with the most engaged is really great. We get to deal with a more advanced group that we have been with most of this last 4 years. Next week, we will continue this advanced class and also have the other classes. Next week will be a much more intense week as well as the Art Exhibition at the Kouna Trust.

We will be able to do our standard curriculum with next weeks classes themed around landscapes so we will be able to have landscape creations from all classes in the different respective mediums that they are taught from Pencil, Charcoal, Oil Pastels, Water Color and Oil Paints..... It will be an amazing show, I cannot wait.

After class, we went to Text Book Centre for more supplies since they are barreling through them, and then back to the Sanctuary of the Pedro Arrupe Center. A place truly filled with grace.

Thank you for indulging us on this journey and allowing us to share this with you.

We appreciate you taking this journey with us.

Be well,

Charles and Margaret