The Kickstarter that never happened... (yet)

This is the Kickstarter project that never happened. YET! I say "yet" because the project is still on my lifelong "to do" list. The video below and this website all happened thanks to a UO journalism student who interviewed me and made them for a class assignment. At the time, I was still teaching art in the schools and had just completed my first mural for Madagascar with a 4th grade in Eugene. If you have no idea what project I'm talking about, watch the video and/or click the link above. 

The video was made last Spring. That following Summer, I was in Madagascar for a totally unrelated short-term job. While I was there, I asked the Director of Population Services International in an urban center of Northern Madagascar, (Diego-Suarez/Antsiranana) if they would be willing to help distribute and install the cloth murals around to rural villages when they go out to do their health presentations. The Director was beyond stoked on the idea, and agreed to help me whenever I could make more health murals with U.S. students and mail them over to him. I was of course, beyond stoked as well.

Presenting my project idea (in Malagasy of course ;)

This means that the project would go like this:

1.) I go into a school and teach a week(ish) long workshop about Madagascar to K-12 students. We learn about the country, and also do art projects relating to it. We also learn about mural-making, and make a mural together that visually explains a health issue (such as the care of mosquito nets, and/or the importance of using them to protect against Malaria).

2.) The mural (on cloth) gets shipped to the Director of PSI that I spoke with last Summer. He gets his Malagasy health professionals/presenters to bring the mural out with them when they go out to rural villages to do their presentations to communities. They install the mural (with the community's approval) on a wall somewhere in the village (hopefully at a clinic/hospital). This feels good because it is Malagasy people doing all the talking to other Malagasy people, and just using our mural as a visual aid for their presentations/reminder for after they leave. And on our end, I'm helping expose American kids to another country they might not have known much about before.

3.) Repeat steps 1-2.

Someday, I will do this again. And again. Posting this blog so I don't lose my momentum, or let this one slip through the cracks while I'm busy focusing on my JOB job, and mural business. Not letting it go!

It's finished...and only just begun.

I got written up in the local newspaper today for my latest project!  It came out in papers today and was well-written and thorough.  Read the article here.  

The pilot project is almost complete! And I say "almost" because even though our part of the mural is finished, it still has a long way to travel to get to its final destination.  I will ship out the mural this weekend. I just got an email from the Peace Corps Volunteer who will receive it for his village.  He says:

Hey Corie,

The painted mural looks awesome!  We're really lucky to have that coming to Tsivangiana.  Last week I met with a group of five mpanentanas (health workers/informers) there.  We plan to use the mural to launch a week of malaria trainings - on bed nets (we're going to go house by house and check bed net usage, take pictures of people there doing it right and wrong, and put these next to the mural as examples - like a Wall of Bed Net Fame) and on making Neem Cream (a natural bug repellant).  We haven't yet finalized the programme/dates but we're looking at maybe the last week in January.  I will let you know.  The ladies (the mpanentanas) are really mazoto (diligent) so I think it's going to be great.  We'll try to get the most out of this great mural you all have made!  And yes we'll make sure to send you all lots of pics.   

Thanks,

Eddie  

So awesome!! I feel overwhelmed with... I guess the word is satisfaction.  It's the same feeling as when I've had a painting in my head for ages, finally paint it, and it comes out just right or better than I imagined.  I dare say, I feel proud of myself.  I also feel very grateful to those who helped me get all this together.  My whole Peace Corps family was so willing to jump in and help: other volunteers, my former supervisor and language teachers there.  My expert muralists I learned this cloth-mural technique from over the summer at my internship with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.  My friends and family here listened to me and helped me sort through ideas.  Thank you all so much!!!

The pilot project went great.  Now it's sort of like, what's the next logical step for this thing?  I hope to do more of these with more schools in Eugene and Portland (next school year).  Then, who knows..... maybe someday this can become my J.O.B. through some big health organization (COUGH*Population Services International*COUGH) so kids in the U.S. can make health murals for places all over Africa or the rest of the developing world.  For now, I'm reveling in my first victory. But.... "Dream Big", right? 

I'll leave you with some visuals:

Our mural: 

Panel 1.) washing the mosquito net with regular soap instead of detergent. 

Panel 2.) Hanging it in the shade to dry (so it doesn't lose it's mosquito repellent). 

Panel 3.) tuck it in really good under your mattress. 

Panel 4.) Fix any holes in the net. 

This was the original mural design. The folks in the village in Madagascar will be the ones to finish the border and the words in Malagasy, explaining each panel. 

Thanks for reading,

Corie

Rice Gluing Adventure!

Madagascar mural project mini update:

I made some glue out of just cooked rice and boiling water. Then I went to the local graffiti wall and pasted up samples from 2 different mural fabrics: one thicker, one thinner.  Both fabric samples were painted with the paints we will use here in the U.S., and the oil paint that will be used once the mural is in Madagascar. Guess what? The glue worked amazing and adhered both samples to the wall! I think after this experiment, I decided I like the thinner fabric better...easier to put up and felt like it would stick better. 

(For other muralists: this is the Pellon 830 fabric. It's actually called "Easy Pattern" and used for pattern making. You can buy it at pellon.com . It's also pretty affordable and comes in small amounts (the other fabric only comes 250 yards at a time!)

Also, I'm going to silkscreen some of these designs on t-shirts to help me fundraise for this project and future ones. I'm so excited that this is happening!!!!!!! If you want to see what project I'm talking about,  read this. Yay!

Mural Barter!

I'm working on a new project that is super exciting for a number of reasons!

Reason #1: the mural is for my friend, Maggie.  It's always fun to brighten up the spaces for people you know personally.  It just makes me want to get it perfectly exactly what will bring them the most joy! 

Reason #2: Maggie is a Masseuse!  So, we are trading "services": I'm making her a big shining mural in her carport, and she is giving me, count 'em.... 5 massages!  I've already gotten 3 and every time I go see her I just get all melty and feel sooo incredibly relaxed afterwards!!  So, some of you may still be stuck on "in her carport".  Well, since you asked, Maggie has her own massage practice out of her house.  She uses a lovely little extra bedroom that is all set up with her table, (which is heated, OMG, heaven for poor-blood-circulation me, who always has cold hands and feet!) music, and beautiful asian-inspired decor.  She has really transformed that part of her house into a beautifully dreamy space where she can do her great healing work on people. This room actually has it's own separate door from the outside, so clients aren't going through her house.  This door is through the carport.  So Maggie has been dreaming of having a calming, asian-inspired mural painted on the wall that her clients see right as they enter and exit her massage studio.  She wanted something soothing, simple and beautiful.  I did a few sketches for her:

                                    

We started out with these 3 basic ideas.  We decided on combining elements from each, the birds, the flowering tree and mountains of the second sketch. After adding a muted color palette, our final sketch came out like this:

I cannot WAIT to paint this mural for Maggie! I am loving the idea of bartering. It's how so much of the rest of the world is used to doing business.  "Hey, I'm a tomato farmer and you're an onion farmer; give you some of these for some of those?"  I like it.  More posts on this project to come. Until then, 

Cherry blossoms and hugs, 

Corie