Remembering Romero

Tomorrow, March 24, 2010, marks the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero.  Archbishop Romero spoke out on behalf of the poor of El Salvador in the midst of military repression, overwhelming poverty and shocking economic disparity, ultimately paying for his courage with his life.  Apparently, this extraordinary man is not as well known as he should be, so I thought I'd do my small part to right that wrong.  If you'd like to know more about Romero, start with this recent tribute.

Presente, Oscar Romero!

In the mailbox

The mail just arrived at my house and it included the inaugural issue of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Magazine-- with my illustration on the cover!  It's basically a jazzed up version of the JVC logo, which encompasses the four values of spirituality, simple living, community, and social justice.  This was a truly rewarding project, and I was thrilled to get the opportunity to do some work for a wonderful organization like JVC. 

Back in December, I mentioned that I was working on three illustration projects.  Well, this is the mysterious third one.

Look, a byline!

I wish you a merry Christmas!

I was excited to have the opportunity this year to design the Christmas card for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Each year, over 250 volunteers commit to spend a year working full-time in nonprofit organizations, living in community with other volunteers, and exploring JVC's four values of spirituality, social justice, community, and simple living.

This wonderful organization is very close to my heart. I was a Jesuit Volunteer for a year after I graduated from college. I taught art in an after-school program and summer camp in Washington, DC, and lived with five other volunteers. It was a wonderful and challenging year, and I'm proud to count myself among the thousands of FJV's (Former Jesuit Volunteers) around the world. Enjoy your Christmas cards, JVC supporters! Everyone else out there in blogland... happy holidays!

Illustration Friday: FLYING

It's never too early to think about Christmas cards, right?

Vote for Zoo-Mates!

I don't mention my other job-- my day job, real job, paycheck-wielding job, however you want to put it-- very often on this blog, but today I want to highlight a really great program and ask for your support.

I work at the Center for Community Engagement at the University of Cincinnati. One of the coolest programs we get to take credit for is called Zoo-Mates. Zoo-Mates pairs college students with children experiencing homelessness for yearlong mentoring relationships. The pairs meet once a month at the (incredible!) Cincinnati Zoo and once a month at the children's school or another place in the community (the art museum was one!)

I don't run this program--one of our fantastic graduate assistants handles that quite capably--but I tag along whenever I can. You'll see why once you take a look at these pictures and stories: zoomates.blogspot.com.

Now we've stumbled upon an organization called True Hero, which awards funding to deserving student service projects based on votes from community members. So can you do me (and my community! and the kids!) a favor? Click here and vote just once for this fantastic, innovative project, and allow it to keep working.

Thanks!

Let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King

There is a feeling like the clenching of a fist
There is a hunger in the center of the chest
There is a passage through the darkness and the mist
And though the body sleeps the heart will never rest
Oh, let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King...

-"Shed a Little Light," by the incomparable James Taylor

It's a big week! Martin Luther King Day of Service tomorrow, inauguration on Tuesday, Lost season premiere on Wednesday, and I'm back on my blog today. (Yes, I recognize that there are strikingly different levels of bigness in that string of events. I'm just being thorough.)

p.s. This is a re-imagining (this one in pastel on paper) of an earlier piece (that one in paint on a canvas apron.)

p.p.s. Happy 2009!

Blog Action Day

Today is Blog Action Day, a day when millions of bloggers world-wide have made a commitment to write (or draw, in this case!) about issues related to poverty, in an effort to raise awareness, prompt action, and get a conversation started.

I've chosen to focus on fair trade. According to Co-Op America, "fair trade is a system of exchange that honors producers, communities, consumers, and the environment. It is a model for the global economy rooted in people-to-people connections, justice, and sustainability."

For more information on fair trade chocolate, including where to purchase...

For more information on fair trade coffee, including where to purchase...

For more information about what you can do to promote fair trade, visit TransFair USA. (Now's a great time, because in addition to today being Blog Action Day, October is also Fair Trade Month!)

Finally, a shout-out to Illustration Friday visitors-- the only strings I could find in this illustration are the strings that connect it to my last post, the preliminary sketch for the chocolate illustration. Thanks to Aimee for her insightful comment on that one, which led me to take my drawing a step further and ultimately inspired the coffee piece, too. Another testament to the wonders of blogging!!

Illustration Friday: SUGARY

Just a sketch today. I'm hoping to get this finished for Blog Action Day on October 15th. Happy October!

World Water Week

This week, it turns out, is World Water Week.

In observance of this, Cincinnati and twelve other cities are participating in the TAP Project this week, "a campaign that celebrates the clean and accessible tap water available as an every day privilege to millions, while helping UNICEF provide safe drinking water to children around the world." Customers at participating restaurants in these cities are given the opportunity to pay $1 for their complimentary water, which will then get passed on to UNICEF who can put it to great use: for each dollar, one child can get clean drinking water for 40 days.

More information about the human right to water:
World Health Organization--Right to Water
World Water Council

and what you can do:
WaterPartners International
Journeys Within Our Community
WaterAid

A current project

This is a half of a two-part commission I'm currently working on. Just thought I'd share!

Today was a wonderful, relaxing day despite the foundation-rocking, power-disrupting winds howling outside. I did some drawing, read some of The Secret Life of Bees, signed up for Kiva, drank some chai, and made falafel. If only every day were Sunday. Back to work tomorrow.
--------
"Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we're here." -The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.

Catching up...

This Christmas gift to my Mom was given on time, but it's being shared quite belatedly (camera problems) It's acrylic paint on a white canvas apron.

And here's Mom showing it off, runway style:

King

Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 15, 1929- April 4, 1968

An interesting examination of Dr. King's legacy and what it's perceived as today.

Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe

Today* is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of the Americas and one of my favorite things about being Catholic (she's right up there with Dorothy Day and Francis of Assisi.)

If you're not familiar with the beautiful Guadalupe story, I googled high and low to find this wonderful blog post (written by someone I don't know at all, but written powerfully!!)

Or even better, read Tomie dePaola's The Lady of Guadalupe (and this anecdote he shares on his website-- might be interesting for some of my fellow artists!)

Happy Guadalupe day!

[*today being the 12th of December. Blogger's time stamp is acting up.]

Illustration Friday: EXCESS

We live in a country full of excessive lifestyles, excessive options, excessive waste, and yet so many have less than they need. I don't know any magic solutions, but I know there's something very wrong with that picture....

p.s. This is an old piece, from college.

p.p.s. Have you seen this? Improve your vocabulary AND the lives of others over at FreeRice. Thanks to my sister Anni for alerting me to this FABULOUS way to waste excess time!

Another try

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I've intended for a while to do more portraits in the style of this Gandhi piece. These are two sketches for a portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Though I guess if you couldn't tell that, I haven't done a very good job.) They're very preliminary and both would need some serious improvement before I even think of color. Right now I like the style of the first and the pose of the second best, though the addition of hands would be a challenge for me, but who doesn't love a challenge? (True story: the only day of figure drawing I missed was the one day we covered hands and feet. Three days on the skeleton, a billion on gesture, ten plus of self portraits, I couldn't have missed one of those? Oy.)

I'd love to hear input on these. I'll also need help picking a color scheme and a quote-- anybody have a favorite MLKism? My first thought is "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," but there are so many gems....