Tag Archives: education

Jan4

A Heart for Art

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ImageI’ve never been a huge fan of hearts — I have to admit that right away. But one day, in a classroom in Ethiopia, that all changed. 

I was working with two fantastic musicians from my home state of Michigan, Seth Bernard and May Erlewine Bernard. They were playing music for the sweet kids at the Ethiopia Reads Kindergarten in the Merkato district of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and I was guiding the art class in which the music served as inspiration. Seth and May stared playing a classic Beatles song as a warmup, and it struck me: The song was “All You Need is Love.” The lyrics made me ponder my students, poor even by Ethiopian standards, living in the tiniest of corrugated metal and mud single room “homes,” with few, if any, possessions. But they did have love. The sense of community in these depressed neighborhoods never ceased to amaze me.

I often interview my sweet ones’ mothers or caretakers. After I’ve heard all the very real, all-too-common sad stories, I always ask, “If I could tell my friends in America what is good about your life, what would it be?” The ladies always pause, then smile and say, “Bunna, my friends, my community.” 

Bunna is the Amharic word for coffee, and coffee in Ethiopia is not ever consumed alone, but as a community. It is served as an event, a ceremony. The women roast and crush the beans, and the next thing you know, you’re sipping some amazing Ethiopian coffee — but much more importantly, you’re gathering with your neighbors.  

ImageI have often heard American mothers comment in horror about the number of very small, very young Ethiopian children that show up by walking themselves to school. I try to explain that an Ethiopian child is never alone; the eyes of the community are always on them, always! 

So this is why the song struck me. All my students did need is love, and so I took it as a sign to guide the day’s lesson: We all did heart paintings that day. The kids closed their eyes and listened as the musicians sang, and we contemplated all the ones we loved who loved us and created a beautiful painting to reflect all that love.  

ImageIt is those paintings that inspired my heart series, and it’s because of those sweet kids that I always donate all proceeds from these paintings back to them. Now I love hearts, because all you really do need is love, and the love from these pure, sweet children radiates. I guess we all blossom with love!

Jan3

Introducing … Absolutely Art: A Project for Change

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ImageAfter nearly a decade of learning on the ground in Ethiopia and traversing the globe to improve ourselves, we’re ready to give Art Aid International a makeover of sorts — and that includes a new name.

What I’ve learned in my 40 years on Earth — plus my real time in the field in Ethiopia — is to follow my gut and to listen to my heart. “Aid” has become a word I don’t like. It implies a sense of hierarchy, dividing the world into the “haves” and the “have nots.”

I have gained so much more than I have given in my time in Ethiopia. How I wish we could do an exchange whereby people with such little monetarily could share with those of us who happen to be financially fortunate, teaching us about what really matters — which I believe is something you gain by the absence of “things.”

Yes, I have access to the mere $21 that it takes to send an Ethiopian child to school every month, but that’s only a product of my birthplace, not of my own doing. That $21 a month means the world to parents who can’t afford to send their child to school simply because of where they were born. Seems kind of crazy unfair, doesn’t it? But that says nothing of me or them — just of chance, really.

ImageSo this word “aid” started to bug me, to fester in my thoughts, and I felt compelled to set it right. I decided this project has outgrown its old name; it needed a new one to honor the people it’s there to serve and to highlight that, in a much broader sense, we give and we get — it is an exchange.

Thus, Absolutely Art was born, a project for change. I do believe in change: I believe every child has a basic human right to education, literacy and to live out loud in full color, despite there place of birth and parents’ income bracket. A dollar a day — a typical Ethiopian salary — doesn’t afford education for sweet children eager to learn, but it affords love, community, basic human dignity.

So with the humble heart of a student, I’m really excited for this new chapter in learning and growing and sharing art! Join me in celebrating Absolutely Art: A Project for Change!