Children Helping Children Through the Visual Arts

Beautiful Papier Mache from Jacmel!

2010-10-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

Check out the updated display board in the art room! The students at Art Creation Foundation for Children in Jacmel gifted us with a stunning array of handmade papier mache sculptures! Birds, fish, butterfly, baskets and more! When we figure out how to make this into a national program, these young Haitian artists will be happy to send your classroom Art Rewards for Hearts Sold too!

New School Year, New Hearts!

2010-10-21T07:41:00.001-07:00

Air dried hearts in the kiln, ready to bisque fire!

Underglazed hearts, ready for a glaze fire!Finished, shiny hearts ready to go to the museum store!

Here are a few pictures of the firing processes the Hearts for Haiti go through to get ready for sale at the museum! The first quarter 6th grade art students worked hard to make lots and lots of hearts to raise money for students at Art Creation Foundation for Children. Like last year, the efforts will continue with each new art class.

I am very excited to report that I am in contact with a number of other art teachers both here in Howard County and in other states across the country in an effort to grow this project to a national level. So far, the vision includes an easy to access web page with everything an art class or any other interested group would need to self-start creating Hearts for Haiti. The school in Jacmel is interested in created Art Rewards for participating groups. Beautiful handmade pieces of papier mache artwork, created by the students in Jacmel, would be sent to groups who create and sell certain numbers of hearts. If anyone reading this is interested in getting on board or has ideas or expertise in crafting such programs, please contact me!

When in Doubt, PAINT!

2010-08-16T08:24:00.000-07:00

Bisque-fired hearts, hand painted and varnished, August 2010

School starts again in just over a week, and all the staff there are hard at work getting everything ready. Part of that work is applying no less than seven layers of wax to the floors. As such, I don't really have access to the kiln to do glaze fires of the hearts. What to do?

There were only 2 little hearts and one ornament left at the museum when I went to visit last week! I searched my home-studio and found a small cache of bisque fired hearts. I thought I'd give it a go with just painting them to tide us over till I can get back to the kiln. I think they turned out pretty well. I used heavy duty polyurethane to varnish and protect them. After a day or so of curing-time, I was pretty convinced the paint wasn't going to get damaged, even with lots of handling.

We dropped the hearts off yesterday. It was then that Ted Frankel, the owner of The Sideshow gift shop of the American Visionary Arts Museum, informed me that he just sent a $500.00 check off to Art Creation Foundation for Children from sales of the hearts!!! Wahoooo!! I went straight home that night to start another small set of painted hearts. VERY soon, I will be back with the very generous, talented students of Patapsco Middle School, and we'll be able to fire up that kiln again!

"The Healing Power of Art" exhibit in Washington DC

2010-07-27T17:16:00.001-07:00

"Haiti's first lady Elisabeth Preval visits the Smithsonian's Ripley Center where a display of paintings and drawings made by Haiti's children after the earthquake is being exhibited, in Washington, on Thursday, June 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)"

Read more at the Washington Examiner:
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/ap/96583869.html#ixzz0uvmbYS4Y

Today I was in Washington D.C. to once again take in the museums. I visited the National Museum of African Art specifically to see the show "The Healing Power of Art: Works of Art by Haitian Children after the earthquake. To get to it, enter The Smithsonian's Ripley Center ( the fancy kiosk-like building) between the red Smithsonian Castle and The Freer Gallery, go down 3 floors, and you're there.

I was blown away by the sequined "drapo" of the actual Haitian flag. You really must see it in person. There was a large collaborative painting on canvas by the children as well as individual works. The outreach also included the opportunity for children to engage in the performing arts, which can be very cathartic for the performer as well as the audience.

Here is the link to the show and the show summary.

New Heart Ornaments: How far does $5 go in Haiti?

2010-07-04T11:05:00.000-07:00

photo credit: Emmanuel Midi, from "Haiti's New Demolition Business" on insidedisaster.com

(ceramic ornaments) hearts created by patapsco middle school students

Just yesterday, I dropped off more hearts to The Sideshow at The American Visionary Arts Museum. Included in yesterday's delivery were some much larger hearts that had been turned into whimsical hanging ornaments with wire, sequins, ribbon and cool beads and charms. We did this for the holiday season on '09, and they quickly sold for $5 each. I liked the metaphor of $5 being a typical weekly wage for the lowest paid adults in Haiti (and for 1/3 of the world's population.) However, I recently read an article published online by The Miami Herald that Haitian adults are being paid an average of $5 per day to help clean up from the earthquake.

Think about that for a minute....

Only five dollars for hours upon hours of backbreaking work in 100+ degree heat with no provisions of food or water or any guarantee of safety. Five months after the earthquake, the sheer quantity of concrete rubble is an enormous hurdle to reconstruction. There are precious few pieces of big, working construction equipment available. One estimate given by the Miami Herald is that there are 13 million cubic feet of rubble to deal with.

How does one deal with that?

Well, if you want to earn $5 per day, you pick up a sledgehammer, break up bigger pieces of concrete into smaller pieces of concrete, load them by hand--no gloves--in the hot sun onto the back of a regular pick up truck, then repeat ad infinitum. Add to that the reality that human remains--lost loved ones, men, women, children, citizens of Haiti--are still slowly being found via this process--and that of course, everything must stop to tend to such sad discoveries (unfortunately often this protocol doesn't even take place)---and one is left realizing that estimates of over a decade just to dig out if current procedure continues start to seem very realistic. Get an inside look here.

So it is with respect to the survivors of the quake who are toiling in this way that we decided to offer the ornaments again. It feels so small sometimes, but there is so much heart behind what the students in Maryland have been doing to try to help.

As always, absolutely 100% of the proceeds go to Art Creation Foundation for Children in Jacmel, Haiti.

A little tap-tap takes a long trip

2010-06-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

A Tap-Tap on the streets of Haiti

A papier mache tap-tap created by the students at Art Creation Foundation for Children

Not too long ago, I came home to find a package on my front step. It was big and light, and I hoped right away that it was from Jacmel. One of the biggest thrills and also most humbling experiences I have these days is when a box of art work arrives on my doorstep unexpectedly, like a holiday surprise!

In this particular box was a papier mache tap-tap! I had long admired them on the Art Creation Foundation for Children website, and here was one of my very own, generously gifted to me by these phenomenally talented children still working together to survive and rebuild after the January earthquake.

Personally, I have always been fascinated with the ways in which private cab or bus drivers in many different areas of the world turn their vehicles into veritable works of art. You'll see it in Pakistan, India, various areas in South America, of course Haiti, and many other places too!

And who doesn't love to decorate their car? This goes beyond mere decoration. These are Art Cars, to be sure. They serve as a much needed source of income for the driver and transportation for anyone with fare who will shout ale (say "ah-lay") to hop on. I have read that the name tap-tap comes from the sound made when rapping one's fist on the metal panel to let the driver know you want off.

Jacmel is still in severe crisis after the earthquake. Life isn't anywhere near back to "normal", and even most days before the disaster, "normal" was awful for many, many people to begin with. The students at the school in Jacmel are making art every single day. Art can heal. It can help people deal with unfathomable situations. It can be a source of solace and income. It has been the way I have made sense of my own life and has given me a vocation. It opens the doors of imagination, which can be an oasis amid difficulty.

My beautiful handmade tap-tap hangs just above my kitchen window. The inside is filled with people who, in my imagination, are talking or even singing together. The top rack is loaded with good things from the market, and the whole of it is painted with beautiful colors and patterns. It is signed by Fan Fan, the young artist who created it.

When I look at it each day, I feel encouragement and hope and an ache in my heart that these talented and tenacious children are creating beauty in the face of adversity. This little tap-tap made a very long journey from Jacmel to Baltimore, and I couldn't be happier that it made the trip!

Mesi Anpil Fan Fan!
Haiti Cherie!

PS--Would you like to have your very own Tap-Tap from Jacmel? Visit The Sideshow museum store inside The American Visionary Arts Museum for a huge variety of gorgeous paper-mache sculptures, bowls and lovely birds!!

Our School Year is Ending...

2010-06-11T09:03:00.000-07:00

Glazed hearts, created by students at Patapsco Middle School, waiting to be fired in the kiln

As the school year comes to a close, I am busy firing as many hearts as I possibly can to sell at The Sideshow in Baltimore in support of Art Creation Foundation for Children in Jacmel, Haiti.

We have had a very productive year! We raised over $1,200 through the sale of the hearts, every penny of which went entirely to the kids in Jacmel. At one dollar per heart, that means well over one thousand hearts were sold in Baltimore! That also means that hundreds and hundreds of individuals who visited the American Visionary Arts Museum saw the hearts at the register, learned about the school in Jacmel and made the decision to be a part of this "family of hope". Because that's what it comes down to, doesn't it? We all have to take care of each other.

Conditions are still absolutely deplorable in much of Haiti, and there is an astonishing amount of work yet to be done. But each individual who makes the decision to share what they have to help these vulnerable children are literally helping to build a better future for Haiti. In this case, a little really does mean a lot. My heartfelt gratitude to EVERYONE who helped us this year by buying a heart at the museum, whoever you are, wherever you are.

Don't forget Haiti--there is still so much to be done. Please consider visiting Art Creation Foundation for Children online. Click on the yellow JUST GIVE banner on the left, and make a tax deductible donation.

And to my students: you are the heroes of this grassroots project. I am so proud to be your teacher.
A thousand times: thank you!

Beautiful Mosaic Wall in Jacmel created by students!

2010-06-06T18:18:00.001-07:00

Detail of Mosaic by Laurel True, Nancy Josephson, Erin Rogers, and the phenomenally tenacious and creative teachers and students at Art Creation Foundation for Children. Source: Mosaic Art Now Blog (get there here or in the link below!)

Do yourself a FAVOR. There is no way you can read this and look at these pictures and not feel your spirit lift! GO to this blog and be amazed with me at the phenomenal artistry of the children, teachers, artists and community of Jacmel, Haiti coming out of the earthquake. Be sure to scroll ALL THE WAY UP to the top of the page once you've gotten there. You don't want to miss ANY of it!

A Baby Girl Gets a New Life in Jacmel

2010-06-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

Three month old Seinthia (adoptive name Marie Judy) was abandoned at Hopital St. Michele in Jacmel. She received life saving surgery for her hydrocephalus this week from Project Medishare's pediatric neurosurgery team. Photo by Jennifer Browning.
Source: http://projectmedishare.wordpress.com

This past weekend marked the Mother's Day celebration for mothers in Haiti. I can think of no more fitting a story than this incredible miracle of microsurgery that came out of sheer persistence in post-earthquake Haiti.

About a month ago, I started receiving emails from Judy Hoffman, founder of Art Creation Foundation for Children with updates about an abandoned baby girl who had water on the brain. On the Project Medishare website, Jennifer Browning had this to say about it:

"At the end of April, Judy Hoffman, President of Art Creation Foundation for Children (ACFFC) visited Hopital St Michele in Jacmel to see the sister of one of the kids at the foundation who was ill. A doctor approached Judy to ask if ACFFC could help with a baby who had been abandoned there.

“ 'There was this beautiful tiny little girl lying in a crib, clean and cared for, but alone. They showed us where her head was bulging [due to hydrocephalus].'

"A Haitian doctor told Judy that he hoped ACFFC would take her because the baby was going to die and there was nothing the doctors at St. Michele could do."

Usually, the type of surgery required to relieve Marie's condition (a shunt) isn't performed in Haiti, and most children who need such a surgery can't get help and often die. Project Medishare was able to perform MICROSURGERY, no need for a shunt, and confirm with tests that so far, Marie is showing NO SIGNS of neurological damage usually created by her condition.

Judy later wrote to me that on top of this amazing event and all the incredible people who pulled together and overcame obstacles to make it happen, the students at ACFFC saw, first hand, that sometimes, when you don't take no for an answer, and you absolutely refuse to give up, miracles happen!

Please visit the Project Medishare blog to read the FULL STORY and learn about what this phenomenal group of people are doing to improve health in Haiti!

http://www.projectmedishare.wordpress.com

Updates from Jacmel

2010-05-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

"For ACFFC, art is a necessity. The group decided to paint the exterior walls of our building.
Beautiful - and amazing, considering the rubble around them."

Here is an update from Judy Hoffman, founder of Art Creation Foundation for Children in Jacmel, Haiti

May 21 2010 I spoke with everyone yesterday ... they are doing well but are traumatized by the earthquake - our logic is that if a building is standing now, it is fine - those who lived through the earthquake see it otherwise; can be another earthquake and the building can come down.

As I mentioned previously, nothing is changed, but for rubble being cleaned up. Despite the fact that many government agencies are pulling out of Haiti, declaring the emergency over, it is far from over. Rainy season is upon us. Shipments are getting held up in customs which makes relief supplies that much more difficult to send/obtain.

And the need becomes all the more great. We are fortunate that our children are back in school, eating and all are sleeping in tents, rather than under woven banana leaves and bedsheets. However their extended families and neighbors are not and this troubles them, and us. (Thanks to friends, we have 20 more tents headed down to Jacmel in the next week or so.) They are distracted and absolutely terrified at the idea of sleeping indoors. The cost of food is skyrocketing. Cases of typhoid, diphtheria, and malaria are being reported. And tension is building.
So please do not forget our children, and do not forget their reality. Help them to be the hope for Haiti that they are. They are trying so very hard."

Today is Flag Day in Haiti

2010-05-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

Today is Flag Day for all of Haiti. The holiday was created in 1930 by (then) President Estime to annually commemorate the original day the Haitian flag was created in the very early 1800's. In case you didn't know, the people of Haiti, in 1803, were the only group of human beings on planet earth to ever liberate themselves from slavery!!
Forced to live under French colonial rule, plantation-based slavery on the western 1/3 of this Caribbean island was some of the most brutal on the planet. San-Domingue (as Haiti used to be known before the revolt) produced 40% of the world's sugar and was the most profitable territory for France in the late 1700's. But the astonishingly tenacious people who had been brutally forced to leave Africa and work in the sugarcane fields on the island Columbus "discovered" joined with free people of African descent and threw off colonial rule to become the world's first Black republic!

Traditionally, this holiday is celebrated with parades, cultural events, and of course, the flying of the flag. Haiti's "revolutionary congress adopted the flag in 1803 by taking the French tricolor and ripping out the white part. Red and blue banners declaring 'Together we will remake Haiti' were hung along the road from the capital Tuesday." (reported 5/17/10 by the A.P.)

Today is the first flag day after the horrible earthquakes of January 2010. There were celebrations in Haiti today along with protesters calling for the current president (Preval) to step down. In a public speech he agreed to do so next year. Many Haitians want the President-in-Exile Aristide to return to power. Post-earthquake conditions may spell real difficulty for holding an election on time in Haiti this November.

Hope Haiti--Music Love and Art helping the students and community in Jacmel, Haiti! Pass it on!!!!

2010-05-01T07:08:00.000-07:00

Thinking of Jacmel. Grateful for my home.....

2010-04-24T07:12:00.000-07:00

Jump Rope in Jacmel, Haiti. Photo Credit: Judy Hoffamn www.artforhaitianchildren.org

Photo Credit: Judy Hoffamn www.artforhaitianchildren.org

Home. Jacmel, Haiti. Photo Credit: Judy Hoffman, founder of ACFFC. www.artforhaitianchildren.org

The Home of one of the Students from Art Creation Foundation for Children in Jacmel, Haiti. Photo Credit: Judy Hoffman, founder of ACFFC. www.artforhaitianchildren.org

Good Morning Everyone. In my little corner of the world this morning, I am very aware of the gratitude I feel for my safe neighborhood, my employment, the new shoots in the the veggie garden and the beautiful sunny sky and cool breeze outside. My Gratitude was only deepened when I looked at some poignant photos this morning that were taken by Judy Hoffman on her phone when she was visiting Jacmel, Haiti recently to spend time with her beloved students (family!!) at Art Creation Foundation For Children. These pictures speak louder that anything I could think to write today.....Please scroll back up and take the time to really look at at them.

Did you look??

Want to help???

Visit www.artforhaitianchildren.org and click the yellow Just Give box on the left hand side. It is an absolutely secure donation. $10 = more than one week's pay for someone working full time in Haiti (and you can bet their "full time" is more than 40 hours a week...)

If you are in the Baltimore area, pay a visit to the American Visionary Arts Museum (www.avam.org) where you can purchase the ceramic Hearts for Haiti made by the Patapsco Middle School art students for only $1.00 each! Visit www.sideshowbaltimore.com to buy an original Haitian Drapo (sequined flag) and 100% of the proceeds will go back to rebuilding the arts communities in Haiti!

Wishing you gratitude for the many good things in your life today!

2010-03-21T07:13:00.000-07:00

top picture: me with the tin of hope hearts. bottom picture: holiday hope heart ornaments with fun beads and ribbons. picture credits: Mike Mitchell

Hello everyone! Here are a couple pictures I found on the desktop from winter time! The ornaments that are hanging from the bicycle wheel all sold for $5 each at holiday time 2009. We added pretty wire, ribbons and a cool assortment of glass beads. The hearts were much bigger and were painted silver and gold. My students and I liked the "metaphor" of $5 as the average weekly pay in Haiti and other areas of they world where our brothers and sisters on this planet live on or under the Universal Poverty Line for the cost of these hearts . I am happy to report that ALL the big ornaments sold, and quickly too! So far, at last count, these little hearts, handmade by kids in Maryland to benefit kids in Jacmel, Haiti, have raised over $1,000.00!!

I just received a NEW email from Judy Hoffman, founder of Art Creation Foundation for Children. She just returned from Jacmel where she got to spend time with her beloved students and bring all the love and supplies she could. She said the children are still living in tents, suffering from the sadness and destruction of the quakes and bathing from bowls of water with no privacy. However, on the day she called Ted at the Visionary, she said that, "their clothes are clean, they are coming to school and we were all very happy to see each other." To that, she added a message to me in an email that greatly encouraged my students:

You have no idea how much  this (the support) means  to our children in Haiti at ACFFC ... somehow, post earthquake, 16 kids  showed up and so now we are at 76 ... they have seen the hearts on line  and are so pleased.   www.artforhaitianchildren.org 

Fun Monster Monoprints at the Visionary to Raise $ for Haitian Artists!

2010-03-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: Shawn Theron www.SOGH.org

Guess what happens when you give printing ink, acetate, nice printing paper, a quick demo on additive and subtractive monotype approaches and basically no rules to thirty 6th graders? They "discover" Rorshack prints, nearly 100% of the time, every time. And they love it. And they go faster and faster, trying to make as many as they possibly can in as short a time as they can. AND everyone starts running around, showing prints to each other saying, "it looks like a bat!", or "a face!", or "a monster!".

During clean up time, I noticed an abandoned plexiglass palette with a stunning red goopy ink mess on it with a blob of yellow in the the upper left. I had to print it. It was too goopy, so I didn't rub the paper too hard and then ghost-printed it right below. I'll be darned, but it looked like two red monsters. I did another couple, let them dry and took them home.

At home I got out my all time favorite inks, Dr. P.H. Martain's colored India inks. Oh, how I could wax poetic about the wonder of those inks! Anyhoo, I started painting on top of the blobs, and my first monotype monsters were born! (all thanks to the playful influence of my exuberant 6th graders!)-- And hey, if you want to read an awesome book about the influence of childrens' art on the modern artist, get The Innocent Eye: Children's Art and the Modern Artist. Many, MANY famous pieces by Picasso, Paul Klee, Miro, Dubuffet...all *directly* influenced by very young children's art work).

As I made more monsters, I took them down to a smaller scale first on metallic gift wrap as a printing plate, then printed (hand-rubbed) on really great quality watercolor paper, pre-cut to standard frame-sizes. Man, are they fun to make! You should try! Then, it's like seeing a face in the grill of a car or something--you just draw/paint/ink on top---the sillier the better!

I took them down to my pals at the AVAM giftshop (Sideshow), and they agreed to put them up for sale--100% of the proceeds go to the artists in Haiti that The Sidewhow has direct and personal relationships with, to help in recovery efforts from the earthquake(s). If you look at the 2nd photo, you will see one of the MANY breathtaking sequined Drapos (flags) for sale to raise money for the artists there. You can purchase one of these gorgeous drapos at the Sideshow's site http://www.sideshowbaltimore.com/SIDESHOWsite/Home.html
If you can go in person though, DO! You just won't believe the intricate beauty of this traditional Haitian art form till you see and touch it for yourself!

Getting the word out!

2010-03-14T10:36:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone out there! It has been a while since I posted, but it doesn't mean we haven't been busy as ever doing all we can to help Art Creation Foundation for Children in Jacmel, Haiti. I feel so fortunate to have literally hundreds of middle school art students putting their thought and creativity each day into ways to evolve this project into better and better versions of itself. Our latest endeavor: Handmade Business Cards! And let me tell you, it makes me wish all business cards were this fun, this sincere and this artistic.

I gave my students tons of materials to play with: printed papers, fun paints, stickers, pens, crayons, markers and lots of design books to help with visual brainstorming. We talked about the position as artists and fundraisers that we are in and the need to keep finding ways to get the word out and communicate with the public. Our pals at the Visionary Arts Museum in Baltimore have been asking for little take-away cards to go with the hearts to give people information and a reminder of how they can help, or at least pass the good news along. The result are these fun, fresh and sometimes quite poignant art-cards, each a one-of-a-kind creation from the students at Patapsco Middle to you!

The kids had a lot of fun with it, and I have to admit, I really did too. So much so that I brought materials home to do some over the weekend....so did some very invested kids! I can't wait to see what new cards they come up with.

I also dropped off 41 more hearts to the museum and there about 120 in various stages of completion at school waiting to dry or be fired. We are so excited that they continue to sell out pretty quickly at The Sideshow store inside the American Visionary Art Museum. To this, I can also happily announce that they are being sold at our school store right to the students and teachers to raise even more funds for ACFFC!

Please continue to follow the link on this blog to the school in Haiti for regular and detailed updates on the kids. There is still tremendous need there. The children are still living amid ruins in tents and taking baths out of basins with basically no privacy. But they are coming to school each day, making art, supporting each other through friendship and showing tremendous strength and unity as they live each day in the wake of such catastrophic change.

So help us get the word out!!! Forward the blog! Go to the Avam! (you can go to the gift shop for free, but do yourself a favor and enjoy the enormous unique art collection they have there! www.avam.org) And each day, give thanks for the little things that all the children in Jacmel know all too well are not so little after all.....

Art Healing the Wounds of Loss in Jacmel

2010-02-07T07:10:00.000-08:00

Again I would like to share with you the amazing efforts and daily miracles of what the Zanmi Lakay group is doing in Jacmel post-earthquake and specifically their support of Art Creation Foundation for Children, using art, music and community to begin to heal the tremendous losses there.

Please see www.zanmilakay.org and www.zanmilakayblog.org

From Zanmi Lakay:

Haiti Update #4 Friday 5 February 2010

Posted in Updates on February 7th, 2010 by Jen – Comments Off

"It is time to share experiences from Jacmel, the Pearl of the Antilles.
We’ve been concentrating our efforts with ACFFC (the organization with 60 impoverished children and our collaborators for many years), Zanmi Lakay’s small group of young men in our Transition Program, and local paper maché artisans and families.

"But first … an example of an exciting day in Haiti. Today we went out shooting with the kids and a bunch of photographers with Andy Levin’s 100 Eyes Workshops in small groups....Then we went to the airport to wait for our 1:00 plane that soon flew in with 60 much needed tents that my sister facilitated along with Craig, pilots Marc and Lyndy, and I’m not sure who else, but they got it done. Besides a care package for one of the girls working there, our tents were the sole purpose of that flight. Miracles, baby! There were hugs all around and it is a good day in Haiti.

"There are a lot of NGO’s in town (as you can imagine) working on food distribution programs, assessing needs, and trying to figure out what to do about living conditions. We visited three on the second day we were here with Georges (ACFFC’s director) and tried to get food and/or tents to no avail. ACFFC was “too small”, supplies hadn’t arrived yet, or organizations were still assessing. The director of the World Food Program told us we were too small and I found out last night that they handed out 28,000 meals yesterday, so we are very thankful for the donations, pilots, and planes that delivered the 5000 pounds of food that we picked up on Tuesday for the children and their families. We received a call about noon with the pilot’s first names and a tail number, Georges made a call and immediately a truck and driver were on the way, and in 30 minutes we were all at the airport. Guy and I got through security easily because I was white, but the other Haitians had problems and I’m not getting into that here.

"An hour later we were unloading 2,500 pounds of rice, beans, corn meal, cooking oil, and tomato sauce in tag team muscle fashion at ACFFC’s foundation building with the kids. Then we received another call about a plane just an hour later and repeated it all again. It was exhilarating and wonderful and miraculous. According to the volunteer pilots, the Jacmel airport is the best run in the country. There’s a team keeping track of all flights and the Canadian Military are dug in and maintaining security. Guy and I happily played tour guide for five pilots to the tent city at the soccer field, historical Jacmel, and then ACFFC so that they could meet the recipients of their efforts. These pilots are amazing, generous, extremely sweet, and were so grateful to us for the little time we spent with them….we couldn’t thank them enough. They are making a HUGE difference here. (Check out recent NYTimes article Help from Above.)

"We have visited two tent cities in Jacmel – a huge one with thousands of people living in makeshift tents at the soccer field, and another above the cemetery that is smaller and less organized. People are living in misery with very little privacy, and in the soccer field using newly dug latrines, group cooking areas, and a lousy water system. USAID and boys scouts were entertaining children one day, people are selling goods.... It’s been raining here every night... but the water isn’t draining, mud is everywhere, and it’s a big problem.

"Onto the Photography Workshop and our Earthquake Recovery Project. As of today, 28 kids have shot eight assignments pertaining to the earthquake tragedy and their hometown shooting two days each. Everyone is sharing cameras and taking turns-one group shoots one day and the second group shoots the next day, then that was repeated. So four days of taking photographs have now happened. We’ve had class time and two long group editing sessions with all the students, and one session included the visiting photographers so the kids had great feedback. The kids begin the mural on Monday, and our end of session fete (party) will be Wednesday. Guy and Georges interviewed each of the students on video, and all of these elements will be incorporated with team efforts into the final project.

"The last element of the Project is the Earthquake Song by Trésor, the Haitian rap band made up of four young men sponsored by Zanmi Lakay, and it will be our soundtrack. Yesterday Ciné Institute (please look them up online-Jacmel’s film school that was ruined in the earthquake, but the first people shooting images to the world after it happened) made a music video shooting Trésor singing in locations all over town including the main square with people living in a little tent city. A blind woman joined in singing, clapping, and throwing her arms around the boys. It was absolutely fabulous! The boys were a little nervous at first, but came through each having a little solo time, becoming stronger as the momentum grew. The filmmakers and the townsfolk loved the song, and young girls and children were singing the chorus wherever we went. The boys had never received that kind of attention, and I was so proud!

"There will be no usual Kanaval festivities this year in Jacmel. So many homes in the area where the paper maché artisans live have collapsed or are so badly damaged that they will be demolished, and much of their hard work for the world famous parades was ruined in the earthquake. Many of these artisans are also living in the tent camps. Guy and I have been trying to organize these artists so they can somehow show what is left of their beautiful art, be sensitive to the catastrophe, and create an event that can be healing for the city.

"Zanmi Lakay is now a sponsor of the silent march that will happen this Sunday through Jacmel, and we are collecting funds from visitors to pay a funeral band that will play while walking through the streets. I photographed the beginning of the black banners being painted today paying homage to those that died in the earthquake and to Haiti. Both ACFFC and Zanmi Lakay will have banners. The mayor and the police are on board. There are glimmers of life returning and to cancel Kanaval completely for the first time seems too sad, so the brilliant artisans will walk the broken streets of Jacmel in silence as a funeral band plays sad songs of what is now gone."

2010-02-01T09:33:00.000-08:00

Image: Students from Art Creation Foundation for Children in Jacmel, Haiti. Photo taken in 2009. Photo credit: Jen and Guy Pantaneon, Zanmi Lakay Blog

Hello Everyone,

There is much desire here at school and in the community to be of help in the recovery efforts in Haiti. All Maryland schools have the opportunity to help collect pennies to send to Red Cross relief in Haiti. This is usually a very successful way to raise funds, and I am glad to see that at the State level, it has been approved.
I have been so encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive response to the Hearts! Many folks saw the news report on the Visionary Arts Museum and Ted Frankel's shop "Sideshow" that profiled his efforts to fundraise through the sale of Haitian art and his support of the students here at Patapsco and the hearts project. In three days we sold nearly 200 hearts both at the shop and here at school!

There are so many wonderful people helping. For a first hand account and pictures, please visit the following links. Above all, keep talking about it and don't forget Haiti and Jacmel--help will be needed for a long time to come.

Please visit the blog "Zanmi Lakay-Helping current and former street children in Haiti improve their lives" at this link:

http://www.zanmilakayblog.org/ (there are recent photos here too)

Please read ... http://acffcjacmel.blogspot.com/2010/02/jen-and-guy-pantaneon-of-zanmilakay.html for an update on ACFFC and the art students in Jacmel.

Here is an excerpt from the link above:
Down in Jacmel, most of the artists we know have lost their houses and studios. Walls are gone and masks are crushed and streets are filled with rubble although much has been cleaned. Some streets are blocked because of people sleeping in tents. There is a system of symbols and they are spray painted on the structures-a black check or circle with a dot in the middle means okay, a red check or circle with a dot means you can’t go in and the building is destroyed, and a yellow or gold symbol means you can go in to get your stuff.
The highlight of today was seeing the over 60 children at ACFFC, the amazing organization we collaborate with in Jacmel. We were smothered in hugs and the children were asking us when we were going to begin a Photo Workshop. Everyone is afraid to go into the building for long, but food was being cooked, children were making art, playing soccer, using the computers all outside, and just being together. With the schools closed, it was good to see that these kids, along with the directors, teachers, and local artist mentors were working on making good use of their time and keeping busy. We will begin a program with them tomorrow encompassing photos, video, interviews, and their art as a way for them to work through their trauma and produce a stand alone project integrating the community. They are very anxious to get going and we worked through dinner tonight with staff on the details. We will of course be bringing much of their art home with us.

(except from Zammi Lakay Blog)

Baltimore Art Community Rallies to Help Haiti

2010-01-26T16:04:00.001-08:00

I am happy to report that WJZ news channel 13 did a wonderful piece on how the local Baltimore arts community is pulling together to help in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes in Haiti. The Visionary Art Museum's gift shop (The Sideshow) are featuring Haitian sequined flags ("drapo") for sale in support of disaster relief in Haiti. The proceeds from the flags go right back to the artists that made them. You can see the stunning flags, and even purchase one here:

http//:www.sideshowbaltimore.com
(By the way, this is the same shop where the hearts are sold!)

The Creole "Drapo" comes from the French "Drapeau" or "Flag." They are, with the Haitian drum, the closest thing to an indigenous art form in Haiti. Like the drum, the Drapo originated in West Africa and was brought over by those who were enslaved and incorporated into Haiti’s own changing traditions.

Patapsco Middle School and the Hope Hearts for Haiti were mentioned a number of times too! I had to take a delivery of 75 hearts down to the museum tonight because they were already down to the last 4 or 5. Judy Hoffman mailed LOTS of GORGEOUS artwork by the children at Art Creation Foundation for Children in Jacmel to the museum for sale--of course ALL proceeds go 100% right back to the kids. If you would like to read the article or see the video, here are the links:

Video link:

http://wjz.com/video/?id=66332@wjz.dayport.com

Article link:

http://wjz.com/local/haiti.American.Visionary.2.1447623.html

Hearts for Haiti in the News!

2010-01-25T08:38:00.001-08:00

Hello Friends!

I just received a wonderful phone call from Ted Frankel, proprietor of the Sideshow (the American Visionary Arts Museum Gift Shop where the ceramic hearts are sold). Today, Channel 13 news interviewed him about the beautiful sequined Haitian flags he sells at his shop. Ted travels to Haiti about 3 times per year to buy directly from artists and make sure they are getting fair prices. He is also on the board of directors for Art Creation Foundation for Children and has done art workshops with the children in Jacmel. Currently, all proceeds from the sale of the flags is going directly to earthquake relief for the artists. While he had the news crew there, Ted showed them the ceramic hearts made by Patapsco Students to help students at Art Creation Foundation for Children in Jacmel. Who knows how the segment will be edited, but there is a good chance there will be mention of the hearts and Patapsco Middle School on channel 13, today (Monday, January 25, 2010) at 4pm and at 5pm and tomorrow 1-26 at 6am. Tune in!

Update after this morning's new aftershock

2010-01-20T09:21:00.000-08:00

Sadly, there was yet another aftershock this morning. Here is an update from Judy Hoffman:

There was another quake this morning. Everyone is fine. We have sent money in hopes that the Western Union office will be open. We have about 3-5 days worth of food left and there is no real aid in Jacmel yet. I spoke to two of the children this morning and their spirits are good. Let us hope it continues.

All of the reading I have done on the situation explains that although there is literally over a billion dollars in aid and thousands of people trying to help, many barriers remain to actually getting the relief to the people of Haiti. The port is starting to be cleared and the American military has raised the limit of 80 flights coming in to over 120. A few days ago, it seemed there was enough stored food at the school to last almost a month--now it is clear t brainstorming new ways to help. The American Visionary Arts Museum is donating 100% of proceeds from the sale of Haitian Sequined Flags to the effort.

My highest hope is that all paths are cleared for all the aid to flow in.

More Updates from Jacmel--a little hope

2010-01-15T17:46:00.000-08:00

The following email is from Judy Hoffman, founder of ACFFC. I received it at 10:45 this morning (1/15/10). It is a miracle that the school is still standing, and that the students and staff are alive. As of now, no aid at ALL is coming into Jacmel. Donations are sorely needed. All incoming donations to the school will be used for the relief of the entire community. Because the school still stands, it will serve as an aid station to the community. You can read about it in more detail below, or just scroll to the blue links to donate online. Please pass this on to anyone and everyone.

Good news. Last evening we were able to confirm that our children made it through, as did our staff/families. Most have no homes, and all are sleeping in the street. Many of the children can not find their families/relatives and those who can report that their homes have been destroyed as has much of Jacmel (buildings down everywhere, deaths and injuries have not yet been assessed, two schools collapsed I am told w children inside, etc.-horrible) There is no aid whatsoever that has made it in to Jacmel. Miracle is that our building is standing just is a miracle that all made it through and today they will go there (aftershocks over) and there is food and water. They are going to cook and take food to those in need just as I saw in my dreams. ACFFC is going to become a central aid point in Jacmel so we need all the help we can get. It is impossible to send supplies right now so please, we need to raise all the funds we can ... people are resourceful and I am told a market is open in Port Au Prince and that there are still things to be purchased in Jacmel. Each moment as it comes. And I am grateful.

I spoke with Georges middle of the night and all are in shock, but at least they are together. I also spoke with some of the girls. They are frightened and I did all I could, as did Gerline Lafontant Fenelon (who patched me through on the call) to assuage their immediate fears. We have promised them that as soon as we can, we will get there. In the meanwhile, Gerline's good friend Papoush who is in PAP is going to Jacmel this morning by moto or bike or foot to further assess the situation and see how we can best get done what needs to be done. Please write/call the world and let them know that Jacmel is getting no help so far at all and there is desperate need.

We need to raise funds, knowing that ACFFC will be a central aid location in Jacmel. Our children are prepared to help as are staff. We are all one family. Please focus on raising funds. We can not yet bring in supplies. You may donate via www.artforhaitianchildren.org or by check (information provided on the site) or via our facebook page http://apps.facebook.com/causes/138201/22688483?m=71bb3202 - please call or send an email if you need information and I will respond as quickly as I am able.

Will update as have more news.

There is much work to be done.

We are all grateful.

Judy

How You Can Help--After the Earthquake

2010-01-14T09:16:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends,

We still don't have a whole lot of information on how the school is doing after the terrible earthquake and the multiple aftershocks. Jacmel is the cultural arts center of Haiti, and Art Creation Foundation for Children supports 60 children who would otherwise be without an education, basic meals and medical care. We do know that Jacmel was hit by the very strong aftershocks of the quake as it is just a little south of Port-Au-Prince. If you are interested in making a difference in a devastated community that has a tie to Baltimore, consider donating below. Please visit the AVAM gift shop (no admission price to get into the shop!) and consider purchasing the ceramic hearts made by my art students.
1 Heart=$1=1 day's wage in Haiti.

Here is a message from Judy Hoffman, Founder of ACFFC:

Everyone is attempting to assess the situation. We have yet to know whether or not everyone is ok, if the building is standing, etc.

We are working hard to raise funds for ACFFC and for aid in Jacmel, their community.

As they did after the hurricanes, our children and staff will buy and distribute food do what ever the can for the community on an immediate basis, as we attempt to find new equilibrium.

So, please donate to ACFFC and know that funds will be held for relief work only.

Donations may be made via the website www.artforhaitianchildren.org or via facebook http://apps.facebook.com/causes/138201/22688483?m=71bb3202

And let's hope that very soon, we will have good news!

Thank you.

Judy

Three Hundred Dollars

2009-10-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I received an exciting email from Judy Hoffman, founder of Art Creation Foundation for Children. She wrote, "I just received a check for the hearts for $300.00 via Ted (at the American Visionary Art Museum gift shop, 'The Sideshow'). Can you imagine, the reality of a person in Haiti, able to live for almost one year on that amount? Incredible."

Well, my heart soared! The feeling of knowing you are part of affecting a tangible positive change in the lives of children who have to struggle so much just to survive each day in the poorest region in the western hemisphere...I don't think I have the words to describe it! And this is just the beginning!

Please enjoy these photos taken in today's 7th grade class. When the students were finished creating their collograph plates (today's art assignment) they jumped on the opportunity to glaze some hearts. These will go in the kiln this afternoon!

Hands On Excitement

2009-10-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

Today most of my 7th graders finished their art assignments early. Two of them asked, "May I please make some hearts?" After getting out the clay and showing them how to use the rubber heart molds I made, they went to work. Everyone was very excited and inspired. Students started teaching other students how to mold and shape the hearts as more kids joined our group. I heard many children say, "This is so fun!" and "These are so cool, I love making these!"

While we worked, I took the opportunity to tell them about Art Creation Foundation for Children in Haiti which benefits from 100% of the money raised from the sale of the hearts. Jaws dropped when they learned the average wage in Haiti is less than one US dollar per day. They started asking questions like, "Why don't they come to America?", "Why don't they go somewhere else, somewhere better??", "Do they have medicine/food/shelter?" And just lots of "WHY?!" My own heart felt so full of compassion both for the families struggling in Haiti and for my own students who were struggling to imagine and understand such abject poverty on such a mass scale.

I said, "Do you realize that each one of these hearts you are making will earn $1.00 for the children at ACFFC? Do you know what one dollar can do?" I opened one of the pamphlets from the foundation which details recurring expenses of the foundation. Students eagerly passed it around, reading aloud, "Did you know that $130.00 gives all the kids there art supplies for a full month?!" and "Look! Only $60.00 pays for all emergency medical care for all the kids for a whole month!"
I could see the wheels turning in their minds. "Hey! How many hearts did we make so far?" Everyone watched and waited as I counted. In less than one half hour, the group of about 10 students had created 150 hearts.

"A hundred and fifty?! That fast?? That's more than three month's wages! That's more than enough for art supplies for all the kids for a whole month!" I tell you, they were literally grinning from ear to ear. And as the students log time on this effort, they receive student service learning hours which they are required to earn before high school. I don't know why I was so amazed that the kids just "got it". They truly did. The didn't need to be convinced or persuaded. They learned of others' suffering, saw a concrete way they could do something tangible to help and literally dove right in, working happily together, making as many hearts as they could in the time we had today.

"And guess what?", I added. "Now you can say that something you made is being sold in an internationally respected museum, The American Visionary Art Museum." They only had to think about that for a second or two and were just grinning again. Two students pleaded with me to be allowed to take home molds, stamps and clay. Said one girl, "This is going to be my weekend activity ALL weekend! And I want to make a Heart Chart for the classroom! We can track how many hearts we make!"

"Great idea!", I said. (I so love my job....)

Classroom Presence

2009-09-03T17:49:00.001-07:00

Now that the first week of school has come and gone, I was able to put up a large display about Art Creation Foundation for Children plus some of the beautiful artwork made by the children there. In this picture, you can see a bus, two hanging ornaments (hummingbird and fish), a bowl and a basket of fruit. The display includes print material from the foundation (posters and pamphlets), black and white photos of the hearts and the "objective" of the project as it relates to my students and how they will be involved. Although for this year, it as a 6th grade level student service learning project (because I teach every 6th grader in the school) I do hope some of my 7th and 8th graders will get the opportunity to pick up a half hour or hour here and there by helping out. Many have already expressed an interest to do so!

One of the many unexpected graces I am experiencing by being a part of this effort is the simple fact that I feel encouraged and uplifted every day when I look at the art made my the children in Jacmel. I might not ever get the chance to meet the children who's lives are being changed by Art Creation Foundation in Haiti. Nonetheless, through the visual arts, I am now connected to them! I hope my students will feel the same :-)
(photo: Hearts for Haiti classroom display c) nancyleemitchell, 2009)

More Hearts

2009-08-30T17:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (Saturday), I took a batch of about 100 hearts down to the Visionary Art Museum in Federal Hill (Baltimore, MD). There were a lot of people all over the museum. It looked like something special was going on--a free tour, some other promotional things....
The gift store was busy as ever. I handed over the hearts and into the little bucket they went, right by the register. One of the brochures about the Art Creation Foundation for Children is set up right in the little bucket along with a sign that reads:
"Hope Hearts for Haiti-$1.00".

Literally 10 seconds after they were put out on the counter, a woman asked what they were. Shawn, store papa and local artist himself, explained that they go to support the children in Haiti. The customer bought five right away! That is almost one week's wages for someone living under the Universal Poverty Line, as so many people in Haiti do.

I bought all kinds of fun goodies---it truly is the best gift store anywhere, hands down---and left feeling pretty hopeful myself :-)

(photo: Avam banner, photo credit: travelandleisure.com/Timothy Gardner)

Gearing up for school!

2009-08-27T17:35:00.001-07:00

This past week has been the first back-to-school-week for staff where I teach. Today I met with the director for Student Service Learning at my school to finalize details for the Hearts for Haiti Student Service Learning Project. I initially thought it could be an after-school experience for the children. However, one of the stipulations of student service learning is that it take place during the school day. We ironed out all the details and agreed that this would be best suited to take place during my 6th grade classes each quarter. I was really happy about this for many reasons:

1. I get to repeat the experience for a new group of kids every nine weeks when the class lists change.

2. Having it during the school day ensures that the children receive credit for student service learning hours.

3. The 6th grade social studies classes study the history of many different regions of Africa. Haiti was the very first independent black nation when slaves revolted from their French masters in about 1804.

4. The age for children who get accepted into Art Creation Foundation for Children in Jacmel must be between 6 to 11 years of age. My 6th graders are about 11 years old and just starting in a new school. They can relate to the age of the children in Jacmel who may just be starting their new school.

5. Since I teach every 6th grader in the school over the course of a year, about 240 children will have participated in Hearts for Haiti by June!!!!

Studies do show that if children of the middle school age are exposed to opportunities to volunteer and give selflessly to others, they are statistically far more likely to become philanthropic adults! Giving never really stops. The ripples of good it creates can continue on and on, from one person to the next.

Here's to making great waves!!
(photo: blue heart in hand c) nancyleemitchell 2009)

When Clay Dries Out

2009-08-25T16:59:00.000-07:00

My students and I molded a huge batch of hearts at the end of this past school year. We were able to stamp most of them with the word HOPE, but some dried out before we got to them. Actually, I didn't even know they were in the bin. We had layered damp paper towels and plastic over them to keep them fresh. I discovered them in the bin about 2 weeks ago. Thing is, we never got around to stamping them.

After staining the bottom of the hearts with a red-brown engobe, I thought about it for a few minutes, then decided to paint the word Haiti in a brilliant turquoise blue on top. A bright color seemed appropriate. When Ted Frankel, proprieter of The Sideshow (the Visionary Art Museum's gift shop where the hearts are sold) returned from Jacmel recently, he described the houses on the coast, which were painted in a tremendous array of bright colors. "Paint companies send all their leftover colors down there. So all the houses are painted bright yellows, blues, reds...you name it". At least pre-fire, the turquoise is such a strong contrast to the red-brown that the letters seem to shimmer.

I will be firing a huge batch of hearts tomorrow. I can't wait to see how they turn out!!

Generosity

2009-08-23T07:27:00.001-07:00

Working with the hearts is teaching me that people really want to give. People want opportunities to "do good" and effect positive change in the world. Recently, I have received a number of emails from kind-hearted people asking to purchase the hearts directly from me. Although I don't yet have an official way to do this en masse, I have been addressing each request on a one-on-one basis. Without fail so far, each person has been comfortable trusting the honor system: I request that they make a donation of their choice directly to the secure donation link on the Art Foundation Creation for Children site (there is a link on this blog to the right), and then I send them the hearts. So far, each person has wanted to and been willing to donate above and beyond the $1.00 each price of the hearts. For example, one person donated 20 dollars but wanted only 12 hearts. This has seemed to be the norm for people who contact me directly. I am so cheered and encouraged by everyone's generosity!

If you haven't visited the link to the art foundation on this page, please do yourself a favor and click on it now. When you read what the impact of what we would consider to be a small amount of money is to the lives and futures of these children, you can't help but be moved. Jacmel, Haiti is the cultural arts center of the country. It is very fitting that this foundation is located there. The children there are learning the traditional art skills of their hometown. There is the very real opportunity for them to put these art skills to real use in their adult life. Jacmel is the host to the very important Carnival festival. Every Carnival participant wears a mask made from the traditional papier mache of the region. The fact that the students are learning these marketable skills from local masters means they may have a much better quality of life as adults.

Education is highly respected in Haiti, and school is compulsory. The problem is that many of the parents who want desperately to send their children to school can not because of annual fees. Art Creation Foundation for Children is providing arts and academic training to 60 of the most needy children in Jacmel. It is heartbreakingly true that they have to turn people away every day. 60 pupils is currently their capacity. But as children graduate, spaces open up for others. I feel grateful to be able to help support this worthy foundation, and honored that I can facilitate that same experience for my students. The only way things are going to get better for the world's most vulnerable children is if we are all willing to help each other, one day at a time.
(photo: Jim Dine, "Hearts and Hammers", 1982, etching with hand coloring 48" x 65.5", credit: The Joseloff Gallery)

Busy Making Hearts

2009-08-21T17:39:00.001-07:00

Today I was busy underglazing more hearts, which I always enjoy doing. I thought I could wait till the school year started to get my students on board to make more, but they are selling so well, I have to fill the gap for the next few weeks, which is my absolute pleasure to do. The photos here are just hearts in progress on my dining room table. They still need the 'clear transparent' glaze, which , as my students know, makes it look like
you're painting over all your hard work with pink pepto bismol. Magically at 1500 degrees F, it all turns clear, and the colors get really rich and shiny. For now, they look a little chalky, but I am enjoying inventing designs!

Each time I paint a heart I think, "This is one dollar. This is one day's wage. This is one more chance for one more child to have a better life." And for however that "sounds", it is absolutely true. 100% of the funds generated from this project go directly to the students in Haiti, with nothing taken away. Sixty dollars? That's emergency health care for ALL of the students at the Art Creation Foundation for Children in Jacmel, Haiti for a full month. How can we not help? Love all, serve all, and this world will be a better place :-) (photos: underglazed hearts c) nancy lee mitchell 2009)

"We Sell a Lot of these Hearts!"

2009-08-19T17:35:00.001-07:00

("Battling Dragons" at Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti)
Today I visited the Visionary Arts Museum to take in some mixed media collages for the gift shop and to check on the ceramic hearts for Haiti. I was happy that they purchased my collages, but happier still to see that there were only about 10 or 12 hearts left out of the hundred or more that I had recently brought in! Wow! It made me so happy and grateful to know that 1) people are continuing to buy them and 2) 100% of the money raised will go to the Arts Foundation for Children in Jacmel, Haiti!

One of the many things I adore about this foundation and the way Judy Hoffman runs it is that 100% of all money received by the foundation goes to help the kids. All of the people working to support the children pay their own expenses if they have to travel or eat while they are there. None of the money going to ACFFC is diverted for those kinds of related but personal expenses. $100 isn't a whole lot to a lot of people, but consider these facts from their website:

$60 = one month average cost for emergency health care for all 60 children
$250 = one month of art supplies for all 60 children
$250 = one child eats every day for a full year
$950 = approximate total expenses, full year, for one child (art, food, school, medical care)
$4,750 = cost for all 60 children, full program participation, for one whole month
$8,500 = cost to send all 60 children to school for a full school year

With the steady stream of tourists from all over the world who make it a point to visit this amazing and unique museum, I'm confident that the hearts will continue to steadily raise one dollar at a time for the wonderful and very deserving children in Jacmel, Haiti. I am so excited to start school just to get my students involved in this again.

Children helping children--what could be better?

Art in the Mail

2009-08-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

photo credit: accfc artforhaitianchildren.org

This past Friday, I received a carepackage from Judy Hoffman, the founder of Art Creation Foundation for Children in Jacmel, Haiti. It was full of different kinds of papier mache sculptures created by the ACFFC children themselves! I was not only overwhelmed by her generosity in sending the art to me, but quite simply stunned at the quality of the craftsmanship of the children. Such beautiful bright colors and excellent additive sculptural skills. Although I am in no rush to end my summer vacation, opening up this big box of beautiful art made me really excited to see my own students again and share what was so generously given to me. I know that the work of these children will inspire my students too.

YES!

2009-08-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to report that the administration at my school is interested in my making this art club a reality for my students and me. I envision a 1/2 hour after school club where the children get to learn about Haitian art, music and culture and of course get to make the hearts that will sell to support the young artists at ACFFC in Jacmel. This past June, one of my 8th graders had some time on his hands and asked if he could make some hearts. He brought me his work when he was finished and said, "Hey...I made almost 30 hearts." I said, "You're holding one month's wages for 1/3 of the developing world." His mouth just fell open. "Really? One whole month? I made one whole month? That's amazing." Like all the other "kids" I've talked to about this, he just inherently GOT it.
(Photo: Market in Jacmel, Haiti)

The Hearts Find a Home

2009-08-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

photo: the American Visionary Arts Museum, photo credit: Business Week www.avam.org

Now that I had the idea, process and the students' interest, I had to find a way to get the ceramic hearts OUT there and into people's hands. I knew that being able to offer something tangible in exchange for one dollar, especially when I could tell people that they just funded one full day's wage with that dollar, would be of interest to many people. I thought about starting a website and trying to sell them online. I did sell 50 to a very kind woman in the UK for her children's birthday parties. For as nice as that exchange was, it made me realize that I didn't want to be a middle man with the money.

One of my favorite places in the whole wide world is the American Visionary Arts Museum AND The Sideshow--their amazing, huge, unique museum gift store. Ted Frankel, proprietor of The Sideshow, and an artist himself, had just returned from a buying trip to Jacmel, Haiti. Lucky me, he happened to have photos of his adventures with him, and I eagerly listened as he described his experiences there: leading an art workshop with children then purchasing their art from them, dancing in the streets at night in a local celebration and working with established, resourceful Haitian artists. I immediately purchased two art works created by the children from Jacmel.

It was his experience with the children that piqued my interest the most. He went on to tell me about his very dear friend Judy Hoffman who resides in Florida but started a special non-profit organization called Art Creation Foundation for Children. This foundation serves 60 children from Jacmel who had never before been to school and who were not getting even one meal on a daily basis. At the ACFFC, children not only receive a meal, schooling, love and encouragement, they also receive training from local Haitian visual artists in the traditional art forms of their region, mainly papier mache. The foundation is actually creating the next generation of traditional Haitian artists. When I heard it was a non-governmental project not affiliated with any particular religion, I wondered if I could somehow connect my students with the children in Jacmel.

I mentioned the hearts to Ted and offered to bring them in if he thought he could sell them. I wanted all profits to go to ACFFC if he and Judy were all right with that. He said, "Sure! Hearts for Haiti! It'll be great!"

Soon thereafter, I brought in about 50 hearts. Ted and I got to talking again. What a wonderful thing this could be: My students could make the hearts, learn about Jacmel and the overwhelming struggle Haitian children face on a daily basis, have the opportunity to say their work is being sold in a very respected museum gift shop and feel good about the fact that all the profits would help support Art Creation Foundation for Children. I knew there was a good chance that my school would support the project and even allow my students to log the time spent making hearts as Student Service Learning Hours. There was potential for there to be art exchanges among the students, and reciprocal cultural discoveries to be made!

The Hearts had found a Home!!

Welcome!

2009-08-13T09:50:00.001-07:00

(Photo: HOPE-stamped hearts in greenware stage c)nancyleemitchell)

Welcome to my new blog, "Children Helping Children Through the Visual Arts". On this site I will record the development and progress of the relationship between my students at Patapsco Middle and the students who attend the Art Creation Foundation for Children in Jacmel, Haiti. The idea is a simple one: Children helping children through the visual arts.

The genesis for this idea was a statistic I read in the spring of '09 on the World Health Organization's website:

1. Poverty is a multidimensional and cross-sectoral phenomenon. To facilitate a comparative analysis of the different poverty profiles across the world, a standard definition of poverty, based on daily consumption, has been adopted. This definition considers as “poor” anyone who cannot afford a daily consumption of US$1.

2. Using this US $1 as the universal poverty-line definition, more than two billion people worldwide can be counted as poor.

I am not a wealthy person by America's standards, but to 1/3 of the world's population, I literally live in luxury. The rate of material consumption and waste in my country is appaling when one stops to consider that billions of our brothers and sisters on this planet do without the basic necessities each and every day. Millions of those suffering are children.

I asked myself, "what can I do to help?" I wanted to make something tangible that could sell for one dollar: the daily wage of someone on the Universal Poverty Line. After playing with the clay, I made a little heart that could fit easily in the palm of my hand or a pocket. It seemed ideal. A heart, with the word HOPE stamped underneath, hand formed and beautifully glazed, its lovliness brought out by the intense fire of the kiln. The layers of symbolism fit nicely.

After some experimentation and brainstorming, I came up with this:
1. Press-mold clay hearts into handmade latex molds
2. Stamp the word HOPE on the bottom
3. Smooth, glaze and fire

Some of my students noticed what I was doing during my free time in the art room. Without fail, every student who asked "got it" when I explained that ONE dollar was the average daily wage for 1/3 of the world's population. They immediately wanted to help. Students started visiting me at lunch and before school to make hearts. When they were finished with their assignments, they requested to make even more hearts. Word got around, and even students I didn't teach were popping in!

I knew we were onto something......