VISUAL ARTS

Paintings available via commission only. Please contact me for rates.

VISTA DEL MAR COMMUNITY MURAL

Our mentor, June Kaewsith shared, "What I enjoy is seeing complete strangers work together. It goes to show how much community can be built in a small amount of time when creativity is involved."

Mixing colors

The kids were delighted with the experience. Brenee, age 17 pronounced, "This was my best day! And I didn't even want to paint in the first place."

Aaron, age 15, exclaimed, "I haven't painted in so long, so this is a good thing for me. Painting makes me feel happy. It releases all my anger when I paint."

M.D., age 18, remarked, "I like that we're all together. The volunteers are great, awesome." And Kenneth, age 14, said, "I like getting to do our own designs. It makes me feel great, like relaxed."

Ryan, age 16, said, "I didn't want to be here today on my birthday. But this was a great day! Painting brings up mixed emotions in my life, like bad emotions, sad emotions, dramatic. Whenever I feel mad, I always draw and it brings out good stuff. Afterwards, I feel like I took a weight off my chest."

Our sponsors, Create Now and Sony Entertainment

Stevie Kloeber is the Assistant Production Coordinator on "Wheel of Fortune." She said, "Today's been a lot of fun. I really like that the kids had the experience of the planning process with designing the artwork. It was a lot of fun to pair up with one person and really have the freedom to change the colors of the designs and make it their own piece of art."

Finishing touches

The final product, thanks to the help of 60+ youth and volunteers!

"On March 8th, 2013 - 22 teenagers were given a special private tour of Sony Pictures Studios. It was a thrilling experience for them to get to see the studio lot.

The next day, Create Now arranged for more than 40 Sony Pictures Emerging Professionals to help around 45 of these youth to paint diverse murals on different sides of the 18-acre Vista Del Mar campus in Culver City. These kids are mostly in foster care and/or the probation system.

Artist June Kaewsith led one Create A Mural Now workshop that has the theme of "Healthy Lifestyles." The project consists of 13 large wood panels that line the walls around the barbeque patio between the Teen Lounge and the Game Room. June had previously met with the kids so they could draw their designs of the fruits, vegetables, flowers and other images that are depicted in their mural. "

To continue reading, please click here...

LYDIA HOUSE MURAL PROJECT

In the summer of 2012, I received the opportunity to work on a community mural project with the women and children of the Long Beach Rescue Mission.

To read my blogs about this process, click the links below:

Mural Project: Day 1 (The Lydia Tree)
Mural Project: Day 2 (Circle Painting)
Mural Project: Day 3-8 (Metamorphosis)
Mural Project: Final Day (Unveiling!)
CREATE NOW Reflection

Thanks to Create Now, a great non-profit based in Los Angeles that aims to transform the lives of youth in need through arts mentoring and experiences. Project sponsored by Boeing.