The Saturday following Thanksgiving Day. we will be selling student prints at this amazing Alternative Holiday Market in Pine Island, NY. If you are in the area, do you holiday shopping by supporting both local and international organizations doing wonderful work with their communities. If you can’t make it but still want to support the YALL ART PROJECT during this holiday season, please visit our store at YALL SWAG. Happy Thanksgiving to all! We certainly are thankful for all the amazing support we have received from each of you.
Uplift Artucation Workshop features the YALL ART PROJECT
We are honored to be working along side Guazabara Insights & Sirelo Entertainment on a 5 week workshop called “Uplift Artucation Healing Art Sessions” woking with 10 young men from Jersey City looking to build community outside of juvenile detention. We’ve been exploring self expression and identity through photography and soon we will create a collaborative mural with the photographs they bring to life. We are three weeks in and Danny has been teaching basic tools that help bring one’s self expression through the lens go to the next level. Whether it be through compositional elements like the rule of thirds, point of view, the use of leading lines, etc. or just through encouraging outside the box thinking in terms of self expression and finding your voice in unexpected places. Stay tuned to view photographs these young artists have taken so far and to see the wheatpaste mural that unfolds from their imagery.
Giving Back with The Derek Luke Foundation
It’s always inspiring and uplifting when people take care of the communities that raised them. This is why I am proud and honored to have been a part of what the Derek Luke Foundation does to give back to Jersey City. Thank you for having us Derek Luke and Sophie Luke! We got to spend the afternoon “planting our seeds” of vision with the youth of Greenville, Jersey City through collaboration and play and painting. Always happy to help bring art into people’s lives.
THE CHILDREN OF TONSAI: The story of our unexpected painting collaboration
WELCOME TO TONSAI
The plan was to stay in Tonsai, a small island village in the Province of Krabi, for a just a few days to unplug and reset. Now that we have successfully completed our first Yall Art Project, Danny and I decided to take a break in Southern Thailand to soak in what we just accomplished and figure out how to shape our next project based on what we learned. We are in the middle of that process now, and little did we know we would be unwinding in such an unexpectedly pivitol spot.
When we first landed ashore Tonsai after two buses, a plane, tuk tuks, two more buses and a longtail boat, I was struck by the lack of businesses or lights anywhere in sight as the beach appeared to be a preserved jungle will no electrical power. We walked a rocky beach path to a concrete wall directing us off the beach and into the forest of palm trees. Turns out we had landed at a mountain climber’s paradise with a hidden gem of a town behind the wall.
THE WALL
The wall continued the entire stretch of the village. As I walked its length for the first time I felt welcomed by the art on the wall. I saw colors, shapes, poems, expressions, communications, songs, rebellion, and love from travelers from all around the world. It wasn’t long before I began asking the locals what the wall was all about. Who were the painters? Could anybody paint? Was the wall protecting the businesses from flood waters? Was it there to preserve the beachfront from foot traffic coming through to enjoy Tonsai's epic climbing and incredible hospitality? Could I paint on it?
I heard many different perspectives on what the wall means to the people of Tonsai. The building of the wall seems to be the result of the local landowner selling the beachfront property to have a Sheraton all inclusive resort built. Apparently the locals had two weeks to rebuild their entire village behind the wall and off the beach. The hotel has not yet been built and rumor has it, the resort might not ever come. But what is left behind is a long concrete wall blocking the beach front view that changed the community landscape and a preserved beachfront that has minimal footraffic and belongs to the wild. Perspectives vary amongst both locals and tourists on whether these changes are positive or negative for Tonsai and the sacred climbing spaces.
But however one views this wall, a visual conversation is unfolding between travelers from all around the world. It is truly an open living breathing wall with revolving layers, no rules, and support from the local community. The local community of Tonsai is one of the most hospitable, positive, relaxed and hard working communities I have ever met. They are natural builders, rebuilders and celebrators of life. A concrete wall pushing them off the beach could never stop the spirit of Tonsai from glowing. It's no wonder the wall immediately began transforming into a work of art. I received nothing but positivity and excitement for hoping to to add to this beautiful community piece. It's a dream come true to feel so invited to express my own art on this wall. All I needed was some paint.
It’s not often you find a gem like this where anything goes and open expression is encouraged. Trained as a community based mural artist, I take careful consideration when deciding the right time and place for a personal painting in public. To be allowed to paint a community wall as you wish is a real honor, so it was important to me to respect Tonsai and the people who live here in what I bring to life on their sacred wall. I also knew a large outdoor painting of my own would be an amazing way to process our last project. So I took the longtail boat to the mainland at Aunang, walked around the town until I found an artist painting and asked him where he got his supplies. He wrote a note in Thai and send me in a cab.
INSPIRATION
Tonsai is an incredible slice of mother earth. The power that emanates from the awe inspiring natural habitat of Tonsai can reset anyone to complete presence. I made sure to spend a few days experiencing the local community and soaking in the epic nature. With nature like this, I knew I needed to let it completely swallow me before I would know what I needed to express in my painting and what would be worthy of such a wall.
photo by Danny Deblasio
Having been in Thailand for over 4 months, I have almost exclusively seen art depicting the Buddha. Primarily a Buddhist country, it's almost impossible to go a single day without seeing multiple representations of the Buddha. It occurred to me there was not a single Buddha figure painted on the entire stretch. And I hadn't realized how long it had been since seeing art in person that was not related to the Buddha figure. I spent time drawing and studying the Buddha figure in Mae Sai and had been wanting to draw my own version after all that practice. This felt like the perfect launching point for my piece. What I imaged would be a traditional male buddha figure instead emerged as a feminine buddha representing strength, wisdom, and trusting your inner guidance.
I had to paint on the last available stretch of the wall, which is largely still untouched. My theory on why the wall is still open at this entry/exit point is that 1) it's the only section with power lines across it, not leaving a fully open block 2) it's the only section that is not directly adjacent businesses. I thought I could open up the conversation on this stretch of the wall buy utilizing the power lines in the design.
Once she emerged, I knew she was in charge of the direction of the mural. Tonsai is truly a magical place and I knew that she would inform me of what this mural needed to be. I was so humbled by this place that I figure it best to just let her take it from there. I was at her mercy.
And that's when those little rascals showed up.
THE CHILDREN OF TONSAI
photo by Danny Deblasio
Like the local monkeys, they helped themselves to my paint and brushes and immediately got to painting. Mixing colors, demanding more mixing cups and better paint brushes. They were large and in charge. Did they not know I traveled all the way to the main land to find these paints?!?
I selfishly felt like, “Noooooo, I always paint with kids. This is mamma time!"
But my heart also felt the joy they were experiencing to be painting. And it was their wall after all. I was invited by them to paint on it, who am I to control such a thing?
So I let it happen while they ran amok all over the remaining space of the wall. After all, it is their summer break and they live on an isolated island with little to do other than help their parents with the duties that keep life running on Tonsai. The village runs off a generator and only has power from 6pm to 6am so the children are in the streets looking to play.
They dug their hands in my paint and off they went scribbling their marks.
Finally a rain storm had us all running for cover and my little team of painters disbanded. When I returned the next morning, I noticed all my supplies were missing. Tonsai is not a stealing culture so where could they be? I had a sneaking suspicison little kiddos might have the answer to this mystery, especially because I noticed a ton more little paintings dazzling the wall. I wandered around the village looking for those little critters and I came across this little guy first:
He had fresh blue paint on his forehead and ears. And certainly had no idea what I could be speaking of. I found the next crew of older kids and they claimed they had no idea, trying to hide their guilty giggles. Finally, I worked one of the 5 year olds into showing me where they had hid them. He giggled his way to a place behind the wall in the jungle. And of course, now that the paints were out again, they were ready to create some more.
VANEEN:
Walking the length of the wall in the aftermath of the children's raid, I noticed the word Vaneen with an arrow on many of the panels. I assumed it was the name of one of the kids until later that day I ended up stopping at a little spot to eat on a walking path that wasn't along the wall.
Ohhhhh...she was trying to make a sign for her parents restaurant called Vaneen that was off the path. As I ate truly one of the greatest veggie sandwiches of my entire life, I realized that my Buddha Goddess has given me the answer to what this mural needed to be.
This is the very last available section of this wall and it should belong to the children of Tonsai. I spoke with the owner of Vaneen and shared with him that his daughter was trying to paint the name of their restaurant on the wall. He lit up with joy and shared that she loves to draw and wants to learn. So the next day I helped her paint the letters to match their restaurant logo. I asked her what her name was and she said they call her Neen, short for Vaneen.
I want to help her learn how to paint whatever her heart desires in this space and also help her make a truly proper sign for her parents restaurant. The tourists that pass through Tonsai don't often look for the restaurants off the path since there are plenty to grab your attention on the main road.
I want the children of Tonsai to know they are the bosses of this island and own the rest of this wall. The wall is filling fast and it could be completely filled in a matter of months. I would abosluetly love to work with these children and help them create their masterpiece with intention, teaching art techniques along the way and offering guidance towards a work of art they will have continual pride in.
I feel it is my moral obligation to put down my brush and let the next generation of this community share their own vision of what their home means to them. A home that so generosly offers itself to people all over the world.
The next 2K in artwork that we sell will go to buying all the supplies for the children. There is no place to buy paint on Tonsai so we will have to take a boat to the mainland and stock up on supplies.
If you want to help Neen and her friends create their masterpiece, you can support this project in the following ways:
1) Purchase any works by Catherine Hart
2) Through purchasing our Yall Art Project SWAG
3) or by DONATING DIRECTLY to the Yall Art Project.
Thank you all for your support! We couldn't do what we do without all of you. We love you so much.
We've completed our project!
Please enjoy our final video to see our process from beginning to end. We love you all!
Part One Complete: Mural Design begins at the DEPDC
Yall Art Project Underway!
We are officially underway at the DEPDC! Our students are so thoughtful and really helping us see the world through their eyes with their extraordinary pictures. We are excited to see and learn more as this project unfolds.
The YALL Art Projet Begins at the DEPDC
Our first project has begun with the warmest welcome from both the staff and students at the Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities Centre in Mae Sai, Thailand. The DEPDC is an amazing organization that has worked for 25 years to both prevent and protect children from human trafficking in Northern Thailand. When we discovered the DEPDC in our research, we were moved by their mission and knew that we wanted to serve this community. However, we could not have anticipated just how moved our hearts would be as we develop a real time connection with these amazing children, the extraordinary staff, and the reality behind their mission in this region. In the Golden Triangle region where Thailand meets both Myanmar and Laos, many families are trapped in a cycle of poverty and debt, making the children particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and human trafficking. As many as 10,000 children are "recruited" each year. The DEPDC, through extensive research and practice, is dedicated to breaking this cycle that has become intricately and deceptively woven into so many facets of the cultural fabric in the area. Upon reading through the compiled research, what stood out to us the most was that teaching vocational skills alone is not enough to prevent children from entering the cycle. Along with vocational skills, the children must be armed with self- confidence. They must develop a sense within that they matter, that they are worthy, and that they are capable of creating the life they desire. This struck a deep cord within us and only further strengthened why we want to do this project. So our job now is to take that research very seriously, and nurture the vision and perspective of every single student. While we are doing our best to learn the basics of the Thai language, we are very much up against a true language barrier. But ultimately it has been a blessing in disguise because it has forced us to cut right to the heart of what matters. The photographs the students have produced so far have truly impressed us so stay tuned for more updates as the project unfolds.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for daily updates on our project.
Cameras and Holiday Gift Ideas!
Hello Supporters! We are so pleased to announce that because of your generosity we were able to purchase 15 cameras for our first project! We are so thrilled that we are able to arrive in Chiang Mai on Dec 10th with these cameras for our students. THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts. We are so excited to keep you updated on the work our students create with these brand new tools of expression. Our hearts are filled with gratitude.
AND we are also excited to announce that we will be having an auction to help us reach our goal for the remaining projects. We will be auctioning off three original prints that were so graciously donated by legendary concert photographer Robbi Cohn. These would make a great gift for all Grateful Dead fans! If you haven’t already, please make sure to LIKE our Yall Art Project page on Facebook to get details on the upcoming auction and to place bids. Thank you Robbi and learn more about how awesome she is HERE.
Last but not least, we will be offering a special reward for our donors. Two 11” x 14” prints of one of Danny’s photographs and one of Catherine’s drawings OR one 16” x 20” print for each $175 donation. We need to work hard to reach our financial goal to continue the project in all our locations. So please spread the word to friends, family, coworkers, or anyone who may want to get some art and donate to an amazing cause. The holidays are around the corner and art makes a great gift! Below are the available images.
If you make a $200 donation or more at www.gofundme.com/yallartproject, we will contact you to find out what prints you would like and where to ship them. We will ensure their arrival by Christmas! Thank you all again for your support, you all mean the world to us and we carry each of you in our hearts as we embark on this adventure.
Stay tuned, more to come!
All our love,
Catherine and Danny
From East to West
Traveling from east to west, preparing for our launch to Thailand, we were reminded of the vastness of landscapes, perspectives, and ways of life in this great and expansive country. We traveled down the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Carolinas, through the south down to New Orleans where we filled our souls with music and dancing.
Then on to Austin, TX to see old friends and back up North through Santa Fe, New Mexico where we immersed ourselves in art and desert skies.
The Grand Canyon was our next stop where we camped for the night and sat in awe on the edge of the epic canyon and watched the sun set over the Americas. Driving straight through the strange desert of Nevada to Northern California where we camped in the golden rolling hills to spent precious time with friends and family. Our final stops are Portland and Seattle before heading down the coast for Los Angeles where will leave for Thailand from on Dec 7th!
With every border we crossed, we learned more and more about each other. Traveling with someone will certainly highlight where you are aligned and where you differ. We each learned to expand our compassion for each other and intend on bringing this with open hearts into the collaborative projects before us.
Thanks to the generosity of all who have donated, we were able to officially books our flights!
We are halfway to our goal of 20,000 and with your help, we know we can do it.
We love you all!
