the art studio at Ciudad de Angeles:
an ongoing charitable project in Cozumel Mexico
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Our goal is to create community mural projects, and creative choice based art studios that are free and/or low cost, with access to affordable art materials and instruction, as a safe place of community and gathering in a creative environment.
Our vision is a Cozumel where people realize new skills and interests, where people grow, create, and feel empowered to take control of their own lives and lift themselves out of oppressive situations, and thrive in a way that lifts their community as well.
Art Power is on a mission to create transformative art studios that build skills, nurtures expression, and inspires self confidence in kids and adults facing difficult circumstances, and plants the seeds of positive change that improves their lives and heals their communities.
It all started with a couple of summer mural projects for a community arts center in my town of Berthoud Colorado. The mural projects give the kids an opportunity to participate and execute a project that is literally larger than themselves. The kids participate on every level--from designing, plotting, drawing and painting the murals, even scaffold safety checks and group accountability. My goal is that through this experience, they gain the understanding that they can go out into the world and make things happen that are bigger than themselves.
Those summer mural projects grew to be a weekly open art studio for kids and adults. At the studio the artists have the opportunity to try new techniques, work independently, and be a part of a supportive artistic community.
The next big step was volunteering with an orphanage in Mexico.
Ciudad de Angeles is an orphanage in Cozumel Mexico, home to 43 kids ranging from toddlers to young adults. Our relationship with CdA started out in 2013 as a quest to find a place to volunteer while we spent an extended stay on the island. My husband and I investigated a few options of places to volunteer, but when we walked into CdA, I knew that this was "the place".
We started with a mural in the portico of the administration building. About 9 kids participated in designing and painting the 23' x 10' mural over an 8 week period. The next winter another group of kids worked on a mural for the other side of the portico.
While I get all the fun of working directly with the kids, my husband, an artist blacksmith, spends his time at the orphanage designing and building beds for the kids, and security grills for the houses and administration buildings.
Four years later, both walls of the portico are all painted and bright, and the art sessions have developed into an 8 week art studio (temporarily set up each day in the library) where the kids can create and paint on canvases. We divide them into 2 groups of "grandes" and "chiquitos" to give the kids the opportunity to work in smaller groups and in an age appropriate pace. Although the main medium is paint, I try to introduce them to different methods and ways of working; this winter a colleague donated a large stack of stencils. The kids loved trying this new technique.
I let the children choose how they would like to work; it's free time for exploration, expression, and creativity that leads to self-discovery, growth, and new found skills. Art has the power to give them new perspective. Art has the power to communicate what can not be said. Art has the power to show what has not been seen. Art has the power to lift the artist and the audience to a new level.
Our goal is to create community mural projects, and creative choice based art studios that are free and/or low cost, with access to affordable art materials and instruction, as a safe place of community and gathering in a creative environment.
Art Power! envisions communities where people can realize new creative skills and interests, where people can grow, create, and feel empowered to take control of their own lives and lift themselves out of oppressive situations, and thrive to lift their families, friends and neighbors as well.
DONATIONS for purchasing art materials are needed and welcome! We have incorporated and we have have been granted 501(c)(3) not-for-profit status! You can donate HERE or send a check for Art Power, Inc. to 1521 N. 1st Street Berthoud, CO 80513, and please note "ART POWER, Inc" on your contribution. Thank you!
Our vision is a Cozumel where people realize new skills and interests, where people grow, create, and feel empowered to take control of their own lives and lift themselves out of oppressive situations, and thrive in a way that lifts their community as well.
Art Power is on a mission to create transformative art studios that build skills, nurtures expression, and inspires self confidence in kids and adults facing difficult circumstances, and plants the seeds of positive change that improves their lives and heals their communities.
It all started with a couple of summer mural projects for a community arts center in my town of Berthoud Colorado. The mural projects give the kids an opportunity to participate and execute a project that is literally larger than themselves. The kids participate on every level--from designing, plotting, drawing and painting the murals, even scaffold safety checks and group accountability. My goal is that through this experience, they gain the understanding that they can go out into the world and make things happen that are bigger than themselves.
Those summer mural projects grew to be a weekly open art studio for kids and adults. At the studio the artists have the opportunity to try new techniques, work independently, and be a part of a supportive artistic community.
The next big step was volunteering with an orphanage in Mexico.
Ciudad de Angeles is an orphanage in Cozumel Mexico, home to 43 kids ranging from toddlers to young adults. Our relationship with CdA started out in 2013 as a quest to find a place to volunteer while we spent an extended stay on the island. My husband and I investigated a few options of places to volunteer, but when we walked into CdA, I knew that this was "the place".
We started with a mural in the portico of the administration building. About 9 kids participated in designing and painting the 23' x 10' mural over an 8 week period. The next winter another group of kids worked on a mural for the other side of the portico.
While I get all the fun of working directly with the kids, my husband, an artist blacksmith, spends his time at the orphanage designing and building beds for the kids, and security grills for the houses and administration buildings.
Four years later, both walls of the portico are all painted and bright, and the art sessions have developed into an 8 week art studio (temporarily set up each day in the library) where the kids can create and paint on canvases. We divide them into 2 groups of "grandes" and "chiquitos" to give the kids the opportunity to work in smaller groups and in an age appropriate pace. Although the main medium is paint, I try to introduce them to different methods and ways of working; this winter a colleague donated a large stack of stencils. The kids loved trying this new technique.
I let the children choose how they would like to work; it's free time for exploration, expression, and creativity that leads to self-discovery, growth, and new found skills. Art has the power to give them new perspective. Art has the power to communicate what can not be said. Art has the power to show what has not been seen. Art has the power to lift the artist and the audience to a new level.
Our goal is to create community mural projects, and creative choice based art studios that are free and/or low cost, with access to affordable art materials and instruction, as a safe place of community and gathering in a creative environment.
Art Power! envisions communities where people can realize new creative skills and interests, where people can grow, create, and feel empowered to take control of their own lives and lift themselves out of oppressive situations, and thrive to lift their families, friends and neighbors as well.
DONATIONS for purchasing art materials are needed and welcome! We have incorporated and we have have been granted 501(c)(3) not-for-profit status! You can donate HERE or send a check for Art Power, Inc. to 1521 N. 1st Street Berthoud, CO 80513, and please note "ART POWER, Inc" on your contribution. Thank you!
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