Erminia

I have tons of photos, artwork, maps, yada yada on my wall. Most of the pictures I have of the girls staying at Villa Esperanza are right next to my door, so everytime I leave, I see their faces (not that I need anything to remind me of them...)

One of the things next to my door, is a card I received from FEI a while back, with an image of a painting Erminia had done. Erminia is one of the girls staying at Villa Esperanza. Some information about Erminia on the sponsorship poster reads: "Erminia's dad recently died after battling a horrible illness that their mother also suffers from. Her mother's health is failing fast, leaving no one to care for Erminia. Erminia misses her father but is finding healing and care at the Villa. She has many close friends among her Villa housemates. Her sister, Scarleth, also lives at the Villa." According to the poster, her exact birthdate is unknown.

She was one of the first girls I got to meet at the Villa. She was very quiet, but extremely sweet. She sat next to me at dinner the first night, and would only giggle if I tried to say anything to her. I suppose that's to be expected though, considering I don't know too much Spanish and I probably said something really strange ;] Hopefully when I see her next, I'll be able to actually have a full conversation with her that makes sense.

Anyways, I've been thinking a lot about her lately (well... I think a lot about all the girls at the Villa ALL THE TIME IT'S RIDICULOUS). She's the inspiration behind my new painting. Maybe some day I'll get to share it with her :]

(sorry for the glare!!)

It is of a girl  painting in La Chureca (the dump). It's much harder to paint garbage than you think! Yikes! But that's basically what the background is... garbage. There's the landfill with the yucky smoke, then there's the scattered garbage. Then there's the hill with a house made out of garbage. Just tons of garbage!

I didn't make the girl look like Erminia, partly because I couldn't quite create flattering features within a tiny area, and partly because I want the viewer to imagine any little girl living in these conditions. And my tiny version of Erminia's painting doesn't come close to how cute hers is, but I tried!

The purple dress resembles the dresses the girls at the Villa have, and the flowers remind me of the flowers at the Villa. I only placed the flowers around her, not in the background, as if to say she has a beautiful life despite her ugly home.

So that's that! The second oil painting I've ever done! Thanks Erminia ;]

The Lord's Timing...

I just wanted to thank you all for your support :]

I had my first official sale today and had the pleasure of handing an original painting off to an amazing person! It was definitely a new and exciting feeling. I am so thankful for her :]

I think the Lord's timing is so funny. The weekend I post my project and make my first sale for FEI, is the same weekend I get to hear Joseph Anfuso, founder of FEI, speak. Very cool! It was amazing to hear part of his story and vision.

I also got to see a lot of people I haven't seen in a while. Huge blessing! I was able to talk with some girls I previously led and share with them some details about this project.

And someone has commissioned me to do a painting for them! So I've got work to do!!! (I conveniently finished my summer quarter for school today too... hmmmm.... ;])

Thanks everyone!!! :]

Background...

So here's what's going on:

I went to Nicaragua last March with Forward Edge International, a missions organization. I honestly had no idea I would literally "fall in love" with all the children. I've always loved children, I just didn't know how much. But I promise I won't go into much detail here. I will say that one of the girls I met at Villa Esperanza (please check out the links section!!), Miurel, inspired me more than I ever could have imagined, in several ways. She taught me how to love more, to forgive, and to trust. The Lord continues to bless me through this little girl!

To get to the point, I decided to send her a drawing I did of a monkey (she called me monkey because all the girls said I had hairy armpits... which I most certainly did NOT... it was a long plane ride :p). One of my team members asked me what I do with this "talent". I didn't really know how to answer him.

I began thinking about what I really could do with my art. I soon figured, I love art and I love Nicaragua! Why not find a way to support the kiddos while doing something else I love? Why waste what the Lord has "gifted" me with?

So that's what I'm doing! Everything is inspired by what I saw in Nicaragua. And a portion of the proceeds will be going to FEI (Forward Edge International). Please keep in mind, originals will be given to the first person to buy, but I can always order canvas prints with custom sizes for you! And prices are always negotiable!

It will be a VERY slow process, as I work full time and go to school. I only get a chance to work on the pieces on the weekends. So as of now, I only have three to post!

I started the project a few weeks ago. I kept thinking about the children living (yes, living) in La Chureca, the dump within the city of Managua. Little girls, ultimately abandoned by their parents, are often in charge of their large families. They take care of the babies, and even older siblings. This is my first pastel for this project. Ningunos Niños, depicts one of those little girls. She is holding a baby as she takes care of the "laundry".

I didn't add much detail. I wanted the focus on the girl, the baby, and the laundry. The gray of the background represents the smog from the landfills. She is standing on a cinder block amongst more garbage. Obviously she is too short to reach the laundry, implying she is very young, and responsible for a lot.

I think this one is my favorite so far, simply because I love working with chalk pastels. You can get really messy :]

Many children in La Chureca end up prostituting themselves for the first pick of the trash, or anything else they need. Parents are often times the ones to arrange this. Now the smell of La Chureca is pretty icky and the smog is no bueno for lungs, so people will wear gas masks or handkerchiefs when entering the dump. One of the first things I noticed when entering La Chureca, was the gas masks the truck drivers wore. The truck drivers take advantage of the kiddos. So when I think of gas masks, I now think of truck drivers. And when I think of truck drivers, I now think of the terrible things they do to the children or anyone else they can get their hands on.

This is a drawing of a child walking barefoot through La Chureca. She is stepping on a gas mask (Yes, that's a gas mask... I tried to draw it... turns out I have no idea how to draw them :/) as if stepping on the cruelty of these men. To the left of the girl is a little boy. Is he desperate? Does the truck driver see the desperation? And again, we see the smog from the explosions amongst the trash.

This one doesn't really have a heavy message or anything. Some girls in a Mosquito village in Puerto Cabezas did a dance about soup for us. We joined in, but completely embarrassed ourselves. But that's okay, because we had fun, and were able to share the joy we received from the Lord with them. It was two just before we left Nica, so it was a good ending to our trip.

Nicaragua's national colors are white and blue, so all students (if they even have the opportunity to have an education, which many don't) have to wear these colors. Girls have to wear these skirts. This is embedded in my mind, because some day I hope to teach in Nica. This may be a familiar image for me!

This was my very first oil painting! My dad actually got me all the supplies for my birthday last month (so cute). I think the reason why I like this one, despite the lack of passion, is because it was a way for my dad and I to connect.

So, now we're all caught up! I'll be posting as I work on other pieces, to let you guys know where I'm at as the project continues and explain the background of each piece. Not every post will be this long ;]

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

Muchas gracias!