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Experiencing
global friendships helps children expand their horizons, and it makes them see
themselves as part of a community larger than their own. Creating windows of peace to other worlds
enriches their understanding of cultural differences and acceptance. This project I am involved in is creating a
window to another world through Murals.
My
involvement with this mural project begins as I join a mural artist from
Altoona, Pam Etters Snyder. Along with creating murals in Altoona and Hershey (http://muralstalk.weebly.com/photo-galleries.html)
she is also involved in creating a window to another world for 6th
grade students from Juniata Gap School in Altoona and St. Patrick's Primary
School in Waterhouse, Kingston Jamaica.
The window between the
two worlds emerged as Patrick Taylor (Nickname ‘Moe’) a soccer coach who is originally
from Waterhouse, Kingston, Jamaica talked to the kids at Juniata Gap School about
his childhood circumstances. He grew up in poverty stricken part of Kingston
and witnessed crimes, violence and struggled daily to simply make it.
The most
powerful piece he shared with the students is that circumstances are almost
always given to you - at least when you are a child- and that making efforts to
overcome adversity is what creates a shift in your circumstances. The harder
you work and the more effort you put into succeeding, the greater your chances
are to change your circumstances for the better. He also talked about the
history of Kingston and the people who live there today.
So with that as
a start, Pam and her team designed the first portion of the mural to reflect
that history. There is large white space
left remaining in the mural. The white space will be designed with the help
from children at St. Patrick School in Kingston to complete the mural. The mural is about 10 feet x 4 feet (see picture).
So, now we are planning a trip to
Waterhouse, Kingston, Jamaica this May 2015 where we will spend a week towards completing
this Window to Another World mural project.
We will take a
day talking to the kids about effort and circumstances. We will also share
things about the students from Juniata school who created first half of the
mural. We will talk about their local
culture and what they feel defines them as a community. The kids will be given
time to draw pictures that represent them, their families, their culture and
community. This part is where the magic begins. We really do not know what
those children will come up with and how it will shape the mural.
From their
drawings we will design and sketch the final portions of the mural in the
evening. The plan is to use mixed media of paint and paper mosaics to complete
the mural. The next two days we will work with the kids to complete the
painting and then hang it in the school or local fútbol stadium where it will
be visible and respected by community members. This trip will give Mo an
opportunity to give back to his home community and be a shining example of the
rewards that come when you put effort into the pursuit of your dreams and
goals. What a great role model for these children to look up to for many years
to come.
Digital - Story Telling
We are also
planning the students from St. Patrick School in Kingston to communicate with
the students at Juniata Gap through Skype. At the moment I do not know what
that would be like however I do expect sparks in the eyes of children. I will
share more about that later.
As we plan this
trip, we are also forming ideas to be able to tell stories about our
experiences. We plan to use video camera, still photos, and a Go Pro camera and
take footage of the mural making. Also plan to make poignant observations on the
emerging relationships with the students. Recording confessionals in the
evening of our experiences and students’ experiences will serve as a wonderful
medium for digital storytelling. The
purpose of doing this is that digital storytelling can bind all its characters
to this short experience for a long time.
My thought is that
as we travel to Jamaica we go with the intent to help the children of St.
Patrick's Primary School in Waterhouse, and might discover that they have
changed us!
How to incorporate
mosaic element in the Mural?
As
I joined this team I suggested that we incorporate mosaic in the mural. After I
met her, Pam and I found an instant connection and I felt comfortable with her
right away. I feel privileged to be part
of this project. Since we are working on a canvas, to keep the weight down, I
decided to go with paper mosaics. Paper
mosaics take some getting used to. I
have never done paper mosaics before. So I tried a small project on canvas. I
liked to have the background painted in some darker shade like brown, or navy
since there is going to be no grout added at the end. I discovered that larger
the pieces more curled they become as I
stick them, so I had to repeatedly press them down with a flat piece of plastic
until the glue caught on.
In Kingston, we will have to do the mosaic part first, since it would
require some time for glue to dry. After
it dries I noted that some of the glue showed on the edges but then at Pam’s
advice I coated it with Liquitex Matt Medium and it seemed to make it even and
the extra glue got dissolved. It also helped to glue the edges of paper stick
better to the canvas. I think this will work. Also I found that we may have to use markers
to define the mosaic spaces.
Pam and I are also
considering using water diffusing paper for the students to color with water
colors, diffuse the colors with sprayed water, and then cut out leaves or
butterflies with it and incorporate it with mosaics. I will share more as I experiment more.
Fundraiser
Frankly I have
never had to have a fundraiser for a project. So at first I was not sure how
this will come together. However Pam is a person of faith and strong belief in
herself that she will be able to pull it together. I admire her courage to put herself out and be
confident that this will work out. I
guess the mural project is like a calling so people find ways to reach out and
give and get. So the fundraiser was an art paint party. Pam had four sessions in
one day and participants had a great art lesson plus snacks, conversation and
walked away with a wonderful art experience.
Pam raised $650 for the Juniata Gap to Jamaica trip and hopefully
planning one more such party.
See more about this experience at
this weblink - http://muralstalk.weebly.com/
and see the student art work at http://muralstalk.weebly.com/paint-party-fundraiser1.html
If you would
like to join the next party this coming April 2015, send me an e-mail (anjujolly@comcast.net) and I will
contact you as soon as I have a date and time fixed. If you are in DuBois, you
can travel with me in my car, up to Altoona and back to DuBois.
Donations
If you would
like to contribute to this project, please send me an e-mail or visit our crowd
funding link at http://muralstalk.weebly.com/donate.html or http://www.gofundme.com/muralstalk
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