2011: Joshua's Promise, Meigs, Georgia
During the fall of 2011 I did an after school art session with teen girls through Joshua's Promise, a faith-based organization dedicated to the academic success of young people in Meigs, GA.
Future Self
I interviewed each participant and asked them about their hopes and dreams for the future. I asked them to imagine a super-power they wish to have that would help them reach those dreams. Each participant drew a body part or and object that symbolized their imagined super-power. I made a portrait of each one showing off their future selves.
2011: Thomasville Community Resource Center
During the summer of 2011, I conducted an 8-week long project called "Self-Portrait/Community-Portrait". It incorporated writing, drawing, mapping, photography, painting, casting and sculpting to explore ideas of individual and community identity. The culmination of the project yielded a series of painted mural panels that were displayed in the garden at the Resource Center. Other artwork created during the sessions was displayed inside the center. The following images are examples of the artwork that was made. The project was part of a program at TCRC focused on exposing teens who come from disadvantaged homes to art.
Plaster Casts
These are examples of painted plaster hand prints. The kids used personal motifs to decorate the surface of the cast.
Self-portraits
This was a Hockney-inspired exercise of taking multiple images of the same subject and making a collage from them. Participants were asked to photograph themselves or something that represents them.
Garden Rocks
These are examples of many pieces of slate that we painted with decorative designs. They were placed in the garden to add flashes of color.
Stepping Stones
These are a few of the decorative stepping stones we made by incorporating found materials. We picked up trash along the railroad tracks next to the center. From that trash we found the "treasure" that became mosaic material. The objects were submerged in mortar
Memory Jars
This activity was inspired by the folk tradition of making memory jugs. They were made by layering mortar onto Mason jars. Each participant decorated a jar in memory of a special event or person in his or her life. These are three examples of the jars.
Paintings
These are examples of the wood panels that we designed and painted as a group. The imagery came from drawings, texts and photos in the participant's sketchbooks. One one side of the panels we used recycled house paint. On the other side we used spray paint and stencils to create the compositions.
2011: Boys and Girls Club of Thomas County
This was a short project that took place over four two-hour sessions. The first day I asked the participants (boys aged 10-12) to write and draw images of their hopes and dreams. I grouped the drawings and text into three categories based on recurring images and words: "time ship", "great house" and "money life". I collaged these groupings into compositions. For the second session I asked them to use the collages and category titles as inspiration for drawing on large wooden panels. The third and forth days I worked with them to paint and collage on the panels. In the end I added some finishing touches to bring some focus and highlight the imagery. The resulting panels were displayed inside and outside the Boys and Girls Club Center.
2011: Thomasville YMCA
My wife and I co-taught an after school art class for 8-12 year olds at the YMCA. These are examples of a cummulative mixed-media project that developed over three class sessions. We began with drawing, then introduced painting and finished with sculpting. In the end they created a kind of diorama with 2D and 3D elements.
2007-2010: Tennessee Valley Art Association, Tuscumbia, Alabama
I conducted numerous Saturday Morning Art classes for 8-12 year olds as well as a teen painting class.