Quilting Joe’s Story
I spent the day sewing Joe's story and it's coming together. Along with all the closed doors I mentioned in an earlier post, which represent all of the closed doors he faced when in need, I added a small suitcase…
Telling Joe’s Story
The background fabric has arrived from Spoonflower, so I'm ready to start sewing Joe's story. (Note: At his request, I am not using his real name.) As Joe told me about his life and what brought him to the shelter…
Completed Chuppah!
The commissioned chuppah is complete! I really had a good time working on this piece and I hope it captures the scene that is so meaningful to the happy couple. Now I'm excited to be able to really focus on…
Art from the Abyssinian House
I visited the after school program at the Abyssinian House today and worked with 7 wonderful students there for the "Temporary Shelter" project. (As a side note, I'm excited to report that I am now more than 75% of the…
Help Me Tell the Stories of New York’s Homeless
Those of you who have been following my blog know that I'm working on an installation piece that will tell the stories of New York's homeless. I am delighted that the project will be partially funded by the Manhattan Community…
More Art by Homeless Children
Last week, I had the opportunity to work with another group of children at a homeless shelter in the Bronx. This group, ages 5-13 was truly amazing. They have been through so much in their short lives, but are optimistic…
Making Art with Homeless Children
This afternoon, I visited the University Family Shelter to do a fiber art workshop with their children. This is part of my Temporary Shelter project for which I'm collecting stories of New York's homeless. The art, created by the 12…
Collecting Stories
On Thursday, I went to the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in NYC and spoke with several of the men currently staying in their homeless shelter. I was surprised and honored that the men were comfortable speaking with me and sharing…
In Search of Home
This piece tells the story of a homeless man I met in a faith-based shelter in NYC. He asked that I not use his real name or image, so I'll call him Eric. Eric lost his job at a hotel…
Seeing the Homeless on our Streets
As I mentioned in an earlier posting, I am working on a Social Justice Series while continuing the series on prayer. The first piece in this new series is a small 12" x 12" piece titled "See Me." "See Me"…