Hey guys! Haven't volunteered in about two weeks, but I'm back with such an interesting story it will totally make up for it. Yesterday Gryphon and I got to work in our third community art event with Wham on wheels, and it was so much fun!! I've taken notice that less arts festivals are taking place in Surprise while there are more projects or organizations that take care of it. But in Peoria there seems to be a lot more events going on that have Wham and other places coming out to join in and help. This specific event was by the Theatre Works building, and the weather was so nice (plus I didn't get sunburn like the other two times; bonus!). We helped from 10-2 with Connie and one of the other teachers that we've seen around. You'll see both of them actually in my documentary that will be ready by next Friday(;. We set up, started to unload the supplies, set up the tables and chairs, then we had a half hour to go and sit down before everyone showed up. There were bounce houses, music and games as well as free food. The fire department and police officers came out to set up their own booth, bringing free bikes and helmets to kids for free as well as smaller toys and balloon animals. Our booth was unlike the rest of them where we let the kids paint any animal they wanted, and they got to just walk up and draw whatever they wish. There were so many cute kids, and there were ones that could draw pretty well too! I got three different interviews for my documentary including council woman Vicki Hunt to answer a few questions, and I'm super excited to show it !! We got to see people dance, paint and sing as well as act; so it was a fun filled day all revolving around the arts! Only one more volunteering session, but Wham is a pretty cool place to get involved with with so many different connections; it's crazy!
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This week Gryphon and I went to volunteer at Wham on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. We switched around our days because of some recent schedule changes on my part, but we went in and waited for Marty and Connie to come back from Wickenburg. We waited for a few minutes, but the volunteer who was working the front desk (we didn't catch her name) chatted with us about the effects of pulling art electives from the public school district and how upset she was about it. She said "It's always the first thing that gets cut. They don't realize how important it is, how many decisions that go into creating a piece of art". She is a strong supporter of art education, and is a visionary of what art can do for peoples lives. We talked a little more about both of our projects with her, and when Marty or Connie still weren't back we decided to help around when we could go around and at least clean up everything a little bit and take out all of the garbage. Walking through we got to explore the studio a little more (the building itself is huge). We got to look at more of the smaller class rooms, go and see the new lobby/ display area add on, and of course to look at all the displayed art. There are hundreds of pieces that are out along the hallways from the youth and veterans classes as well as the members and volunteers of the Wham community. Each piece is unique and beautiful in its own way, and some of them have really inspired me to create pieces using techniques I've never heard of before.
This week Gryphon and I volunteered at Wham on Tuesday afternoon after a long break because of our trip to Europe. While we waited for Marty to come and collect us from the lobby Gryphon and I got to look through the recycled art show that happened this past weekend. Some of the pieces were so unique, but one of my favorites was a dress made completely out of recycled newspaper and another canvas with a mans shoes actually having the tips of real cut shoes. We got to look through the gallery for a little while then Marty called us back to one of the main rooms for classes. We helped to dust and mop the disgusting floors from the art show, and it was quite the task. There was glue, glaze and so much dust and dirt it took the entire time. Some people get confused when they hear we do these sort of things, but really it is one of the most humbling volunteer jobs us teens could do. We support and help the local organizations, and any job that they need done because that is what a community is; people supporting and building up one another. Wham is one of the best places to volunteer at, and every time we go in we are greeted with big smiles and we get to meet new members every time because there are people always there working and playing around in the studios or offices. It is such a cheerful and vibrant environment to be in, and I will continue to work with them in the coming years.
Well, recently over Spring Break I traveled to Europe and went on a tour with some of my classmates around England and France. It was an AMAZING experience and can not wait to go back, but anyways I'm here to talk about the fantastic ways I saw art therapy throughout our trip!! In so many cities that we traveled too there was so many art museums and local artists on the streets, it was crazy. There were chalk artists, graffiti artists, watercolors, pastels, ink; you name it and someone was doing it. While we saw a lot of it done in London and Oxford, would say the place I saw the most was in Paris. This city has everything to offer for an artist, and so many iconic things to draw that it was hard to pick a painting to buy. But the most interesting thing I saw was that the people on the streets who were doing the art. They had dirt on their clothes, they looked tired and cold; they had a small thing of supplies and a blanket laid out but they had the best smile on their faces and were BEYOND talented. I bought a few pieces that I will upload later, but these people are performing various forms of art therapy by coping with their situations and preserving to provide for themselves and possibly their families. This is a strong device and motivational strategy to make a living and to help themselves. This trip has opened my eyes in so many ways; but the use of art by people in these cities has really blown my mind.
This week was really the highlight of volunteering so far! Gryphon, Mira, and I last Saturday all drove out to Peoria Park, and worked with Wham at a community festival for five hours! We got there around 8:30, and helped set up with the teacher before all the children arrived. That day the children were going to paint a cactus in a pot, and let the younger ones paint or draw whatever they liked. Wham set this up so it didn't cost the parents anything, and allowed the children to get involved and engage in painting and social interaction with the other kids. We helped get paint brushes, talked to the kids, set up their sketches, got them supplies, cleaned up the stations, cleaned up the supplies, and talked to the parents about the free art classes Wham offers throughout the summer (which we will also be volunteering in). It was a busy, hot and exciting day, and we got to talk with more of the Wham members, as well as one member of the TeenWham Club, Damien. It was so much fun getting to talk to the kids, help them paint and put what they imagine on paper, but also helping the very little ones and their parents. It was BEYOND cute to see all of them have smiles on their faces, and for them to take pictures and take the paintings home to keep around the house. It was interesting to see the students engage with one another, and try to hold conversations with us teens and the teachers. This is what makes volunteering so worth it; is to see how happy people are afterwards and to give them memories that they are able to keep. That's what it is all about. An awkward sunburn, paint chipped nails and fifty freckles later I still have a few marks from last weeks events to this day, it was still worth it.
This week Gryphon, Mira and I all carpooled to Wham again today for community service. We met with Marty and we got taken into the back room, where it has been roughly a month since its been cleaned. We got it back into pristine condition, and along the way reorganized the closets that we haven't cleaned in about a month. It was completely trashed, but we helped take everything and place it in a way that was accessible and neatly displayed. We took out the trash and helped to set up for the next class tonight that one of the teachers would be doing. We set up and moved around the tables, as well as some of the carts to make more space. On top of all of that, we helped change out some of the art in the hallways and put in new ones, including the childrens and veterans classes that they offer. It was interesting to go through each of the papers and see how different they are, yet still be related to the same prompt or topic. I sometimes even get inspiration from them and apply that to some of my art pieces! We then went and organized another one of the smaller yet messier closets full of various different sizes of easels, where I may or may not have dropped one of the heavier pieces and bruised the top of my foot (':. Climbing on top of the counters and forming an assembly line, we got done just in time to finish putting everything in neat piles on the tall shelves and dusting it off. Five minutes before we left, we even got to walk through and see some of the new pieces that were going in the monthly gallery that had won prizes, which was super cool. Some of them very very cartoonish and colorful, others were muted yet looked very dramatic; and as always the sculptures were cool to be seen set up. We were talking to Connie ans Marty at the end of our hours, and we arranged to volunteer at a community event and help teach children in Peoria this coming weekend; so that shall be fun!
This week instead of posting about my volunteering hours, I figured it would be interesting to spice it up and show how I am applying what I have learned to my life outside of the project. It was very interesting reading about the three parts of the brain and how they interact and communicate, especially when creating a art piece. I was able to go and sit with Jane (my family friend) and paint while keeping in mind the principles discussed with the book and some of the research I found weeks prior. I was inspired by a piece in Wham that was so organized and structured, I wanted one of my own. It took a while to measure out and divide evenly into squares, but while doing so it was a challenging and engaging exercise my brain isn't used to regularly doing with school work. This painting was the biggest stress reliever, and honestly is the most pleasing thing to look at in my room. I was inspired while volunteering at Wham, and I was always drawn to it when walking through the gallery. They say that the feeling of a paint going on a canvas evokes emotion, and for me it put me at rest. It was calming, and I was able to stop stressing about how much homework I had or what was going on the next few weeks. Putting them into perfect squares and layering on the paint was a mindless, simple way of distressing myself and doing something that puts me at ease. 12/10 would recommend art therapy to any teenager at PHHS or anywhere else; there are so many things that you could do with it that everyone could find something they love to do. I love doing it, and while a lot of adults say that we have nothing to stress about, we really do. Art therapy could provide the answer to relieving stress driven teenagers who do not have a way of relaxing or relieving themselves in the midst of their busy lives.
Well, this week things went a little bit differently compared to weeks prior. I typically volunteer at Wham every Tuesday, but because of my schedule this week and Marty out being sick it didn't work out. But, today I helped Jane out with a few things. Jane is a family friend of ours; she's an adaptive arts teacher in different middle schools around Maricopa county, and also volunteers in lowly funded public schools and teaches middle schoolers once a week. Today we got up early and drove out to Chandler with Alyssa to pick up some glaze that Jane had found listed on Craigslist. The woman selling this had her garage full of art supplies and other things, and in the end we got 40 cases of antique lead glaze from the 1960's and 13 molds for $100!! To put it into perspective, there were eight large things of glaze that valued between $5 and $6, making each box between $40 and $50. There were around 22 large cases of the big bottles, but the rest were all smaller bottles of glaze that had 16 in each case, and averaged around $2. (We saved A TON OF MONEY!!). With this haul, it will be divided into three parts. Part of it Jane will keep for her studio, part of it will go to Wham to be used in different classes, then the last part Jane will use when she goes to teach classes for her company. This benefits all three parts of the distribution, and helps to bring more art into peoples lives by supplying them with resources and materials to use.
This week when I went to Wham, I kept on working on the Valentines Day crafts being sent out to the police and fire departments all around Maricopa country. Last week we cut out the hearts and decorated them with the kids, but this week we focused more on putting the folders together and the message that would go along with the hearts to each department. I started gluing the little poem that one of the volunteers who donated a large sum of money wrote, and about twenty minutes in I realized that there were a few typos in it. Wham was spelt "Whan", firemen was plural but police officers and EMT's were singular; it was a hot mess. Going back through not only did I have to pull the messages out that were already glued in, but I also had to go and revise the message on the computer. After personalizing the messages for each city and getting them reprinted, I started to glue them all back in to the appropriate folders. While doing this I made a new friend in the studio, a volunteer and friend of the lady at the front desk. I never caught her name, but she was a little bit older and a retired teacher that volunteer in dysart elementary schools. We got to talking about books that we liked, and possible future majors that I would be studying, and then we talked about her grandkids and about being a teacher. She has been interested in teaching children since she was younger, and then she found a passion for art as well. She has been teaching for quite a while, and talked about how happy she was to help the kids, and to teach them to grow and reach outside the box to open their imagination. She creates stories with them, she bonds and allows them to chose what they do within their artwork. While she is technically an english teacher, she not only helps them to develop their reading and writing skills but to encourage creativity and incorporates art in her volunteer lesson plans.
Once again Wham is serving the heroes of our community all across the west valley. sending love and giving thanks for all that they do! Wham put in a lot of effort into sending out these cards, and made sure that all the departments felt the love this coming Valentines Day! This week Mira, Gryphon and I went to Wham, and met with the founder Connie. We worked with her this week since Marty was preparing for a beginners sculpting class later that evening. We helped with a small adaptive arts class with a few children, and cut out hearts from various colors of poster board for the kids to decorate and color on. But, these hearts were also being sent to the local police officers and fire fighters around the community. The kids put little thank you messages and notes for them, and they will be sent to the stations the week of Valentine's Day! We helped the kids decorate and write their cards, cut out the forms, then helped clean and set up for the class.
This is just one of the many ways Wham gets involved and gives back to the community. This not only helps the children appreciate their local heroes, it helps them to connect and socialize with others while also comprehending their emotions fort others. In my book, it talks about how different versions of art therapy and classes help humans to increase their social skills and capability of accepting and showing emotions. By participating in this class and activity, it is helping the students connect and interact within the community and their peers. It is amazing to see these kids who have been through so much learn and grow more through these classes, and giving to others. |
AuthorLauren Schuster. Art Activist and Enthusiast. Archives
May 2016
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