Daily News Article

Awesome Video

Thanks to Rafael Ortiz for making this awesome time lapse video of my work!

http://www.vimeo.com/14601505

Art Break

I returned to Henry Street today to paint with some of the seniors.  Together, six of us sat down and put some paint on canvas.  

Margaret decided she wanted to keep my painting...

Margaret's painting and mine side by side...

Moonlit lake

View of the mural as seen from back room en route to front:

Round the bend:

Close up of the lake:

Close ups of the sky:

View coming from front room en route to back:

The three finished faces: left) Tony the cook, right) Angel the man who requested his face on the wall, and bottom) Sammy the custodian.

Note on the faces: they created a general stir in the morning.  Some snippets for your enjoyment:

1) "Hey hey hey - that's Tony boy up there! Looks just like him."  

2) "(to me) Hey, can you paint me? With a bikini in Puerto Rico?"

3) "Check it out, that's Sammy!  (to me) Make his mustache have more gray hairs."

4) Angel to friend: "That's my face, see." Friend: "That ain't your face, Angel.  You don't look that good." 

5) "You're painting me!" (said another older man with glasses and no hair.  He was mistaken but the resemblance was enough that I agreed. That actually happen two more times. :)

Mediterranean Hallway

Mediterranean Hallway: 

This hallway used to be white.  Today I gave it some pizazz.  Now the walk from the front to back room shouldn't seem quite as dull with columns, planters, climbing vines, a fountain, and a sailboat.  Thanks to Momma for the suggestion of the arched columns and Mediterranean ocean view!

This mural spans two walls and across a corner.  You may notice several faces in the keystones of the arches.  Instead of the gnomish faces that classical columns usually sport, I found several eager volunteers.  Oddly enough, one senior had joked from day one that he wanted his face painted on the wall.  Today, when I called him over and told him he'd have his chance, he burst out laughing; he took the reference photo very seriously, however, barely smiling and squaring his shoulders.  Tony, the cook, came over later in the day and said, "You know, I've been thinking.  I kind of want my face on the wall too.  Right over on that one since my office is by there."  Done.  The third face is Sammy the custodian's; I gave him no choice in the matter.  Since he's been more than helpful to me, he ought to have some reward.  I plan on tightening the faces (not quite done), so I'll post a close up shot of the final product tomorrow.

Rounding the corner...

Halfway done with mural, a man came up to me and said, "God bless you.  If I had a church I'd let you Sistine Chapel it."  This was awesome for two reasons: 1) this is the first and only offer I've had to paint a hypothetical church 2) he used Sistine Chapel as verb... making art sound gangster cool.

Today's highlights included dancing the Macarena in the middle of the first room (the seniors found this amusing) and the photo taken by the NY Daily News photographers.  They wanted a shot of me with the seniors in front of a mural, but the seniors were hesitant to enter the lime light.  "Please don't leave me alone!" I said finally.  "Oh baby, I won't leave you alone," one woman said.  She came bravely to the front and put her arm around me. "My baby!" she said.  "You done good."  This made me superbly happy.  People followed her lead and filled in all around me.  One woman buzzed up in her wheel chair too! What an amazing group of seniors; I am lucky to have found Henry Street!

HSS Pictures in Progress

Thanks to Sari, I have these fun pictures of me with the seniors and of the murals at HSS in progress.

I always get nervous when people see the mural in the stage below: (don't know if you can tell, but this turns into the Tuscan column)

My favorite photos: (so many people wanted to be in this first one that we had to take another photo.  for the record, one of these women was the one to demand the sun rays...)

the best part of the photo below is the peace sign:

waterfalls in progress:

Last HSS Mural

Downstairs gym:

Yesterday I tackled the blank wall of the gym at Sammy's (custodian's) suggestion; he figured it would encourage residents to work out instead of requesting more sodas.  We'll find out if he's right! Since I had just gone jogging the previous day on the running path (Manhattan Waterfront Greenway) not five blocks away, my inspiration was quick coming.

View of mural coming down stairs:

Men's Bathroom:

Assuming the men would not want luscious gardens filling their bathroom, I opted for a more creative and masculine option: paint paintings.  A combination of abstract and landscape seemed to do the trick. 

I've truly felt like a star at HSS; the residents have treated me with more respect and love than I ever could have imagined.  A woman yesterday pointed at the waterfall mural, pointed at me, and then blew me kisses. "Beautiful!"  Today, a man who looked like a meeker version of God in Bruce Almighty came into the men's bathroom, put his hands over his heart, and said, "I love you!"  Wow.  I am so touched!  People didn't seem to want me to go. "When are you coming back?" "I'm done today."  "Oh, so you come back tomorrow?"  "No...."  "Next week?"

Well, not next week, but I will be coming back!  Not to paint, but to teach painting to the seniors so they can fill the other blank walls of the center!  I can't wait to see what they come up with and bond with them a little more.

Cheers.

Waterfall Wednesday

Several strange things happened today.  I began preparing the selected wall for paint per usual by peeling off tape and stickers left over from days or years ago.  One woman, possibly not remembering me from before, became very upset that I was taking the stickers off.  I explained my mission, and then! A 180 occurred.  She grabbed me by the elbow and steered me toward the coffee machine and muffin pile reserved for the residents.  Bypassing the cook sitting next to the station, she ignored the 25cents advertised price and fixed me a muffin and coffee...for free.  "Enjoy, enjoy!  Beautiful work!" she complimented me before I had even started.  My rewards grew with the painting, however, as she gave me several McDonald's coupons that looked pretty new.  She knows the way to a girl's heart!

Henceforth, the day went as planned until the last minute.  I was literally putting my paints in my bag to pack up when a woman said, "You need a sun".  I was hungry, ready to see the real sun outside, and not so willing to add a sun unless it transformed the ugly fire alarm.  I tried to go for the fire alarm but the woman arrested me.  "No! To the right."  Okay, I added a sun to the right.  And then of course the sun's reflection in the water and pink highlights on nearby clouds.  "You need rays," another woman insisted.  I did not want to add rays, which would change the atmosphere from more or less realistic to slightly cartoony, but she WANTED those rays.  And by god, she would have them - alternating long and short like we drew them in a highly sophisticated kindergarten class.  I bit the bullet; after all, this was their home, not mine.  I was just there to make art that made them happy.  I finished the last ray.  Everyone at the table behind me nodded in approbation.  At this most unopportune time, the particular Chinese master referenced in a previous post came by. 

He pointed at the rays in disgust, making the circular bursting motions of light with his hands.  He shook his head and made negative sounds.  "He loves it!" said the woman who had suggested the rays.  "I don't think he loves it," I said, "I think he doesn't like it."  "Oh no, he loves it".  She clasped her hands in delight and pride.   The Chinese man gestured more violently, giving a thumbs up for the whole painting but down for the sun... desperately hoping I would understand his jist.  I did, and I looked at him sympathetically; I was caught between two forces and did not know which way to turn.  "They like the rays," I ventured, attempting to move the blame a bit from myself.  Chinese man threw up his hands and walked away.  I sighed and began to repack my bag.

"If he doesn't like it," the ray woman said firmly now, "it's because he's foreign.  See, I'm from Puerto Rico and we know what the sun looks like there."  "I'm sure you do," I said, aiming to escape the oncoming speech about racial differences.  I left her smiling at her sun and decided to leave it up to the administration about whether the sun rays stay or go...

Reflection on previous work: the long dark, pipes that run along the ceiling are benefiting by association from the dark bamboo fence used to hide the ac.  The are beginning to look a little alike!