R.H.A.P.: Red Hook Art Project

I'm so excited to announce that I have taken on a weekly volunteer opportunity at the Red Hook Art Project in--you guess it--Red Hook, Brooklyn.  R.H.A.P. is a non-profit organization dedicated to tutoring, mentoring and empowering Red Hook youth to develop their self-esteem, self-expression and creativity.  A longer term dream of mine is to open up or be heavily involved in an organization like this where I can give back to communities similar to the one I was raised in.  I'm a strong believer in giving back to communities in need and if I am able to do so using my skills, even better.  The kids pick up new skills and build on ones they already have, while my soul is fed-- everyone benefits!

Today my student and I worked on proportions of the face.  She is so quick, smart and talented and I feel honored to be a part of her new journey into the creative world.  Her drawings already show so much life and character, I can't wait to see what else she can do as we continue to work throughout the year.  I'll keep posting progress in the upcoming weeks but in the meantime, here is what she did in today's session.

Thank you to Tiffiney and Dierdre at R.H.A.P. for welcoming me into your awesome team!  For more information, hop over to their website:  http://redhookartproject.org/

Alum Art Show @ St. Andrew's + Workshop

I travelled down to Middletown, Delaware over the weekend to a show I was a part of at my former boarding High School.  It was great to see my former classmates and older fellow alums connect in this kind of setting and cause.  The campus is even more breathtaking than I remembered and I truly miss working in the wonderful space that is the O'Brien Arts Center.

I submitted 3 of my pieces, all connected by medium: linocut.  I recently converted a digital piece to a linocut.  It was such a pain to reprint so many times and still not be completely happy with it but at some point the deadline catches up and you have to let go.  Overall I am excited to see all three pieces together.

The workshop portion of the weekend was my highlight.  It was great interacting with the students and teaching them how to linocut.  In the beginning they were very precious and particular about their drawings but once I forced them to stop drawing and jump into the printing-- that's when the magic really began.  You can tell each of them have a unique style and eye for it so it was refreshing to see their different takes using one medium.  Some blood was shed in the classroom (newbies using knives--despite me telling them to move their non-working hand away from the knife)--but it's all part of the struggle of printmaking.  At least that sounds more interesting!  I think I may have a new interest in this teaching thing.  We'll see where this goes...

A special thanks to John McGiff and Bernadette Devine for inviting me!

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more photos from St. Andrew's Gallery: