isabella

It was in 2006 when I first meet Issy. My friend Nicholas wanted to make sure I met  his little sister.

At that time, the full orphans lived in a separate part of the orphanage. They were pretty much a rag-tag band of kids. They were definitely kept on the "poor side" of the compound. They looked skinnier and less healthy than the other children, their clothes were more tattered, and they ate their porridge and posho sitting on the ground rather than at tables. (Two years later, the director integrated the full orphans with the half orphans and boarding students. The area where Nicholas, Issy and the others had lived became - and still is - the "big boys" dorm.)

Issy was petite and shy. She didn't speak much English in 2006. I knew she was a little artist, though, because on that first day we met she showed me a small sculpture she had recently shaped out of some mud she'd scooped up from the ground. This was, essentially, how she introduced herself to me.

I have had the good fortune to see Issy every year since then. Each December I am fortunate to get to know her better; she has amazed me with her resilience, her quiet inner strength, her smarts, her artistic abilities, her leadership qualities, her humor, her dancing and singing and most especially - with her kindness and grace. (She is one of our sponsored students, and she is at the top of her class!)

Issy is a lovely and special young woman. I am proud to call her my friend.

Over the years Issy's artwork has matured just as she has. She has always been interested in portraying people, especially family and village scenes. She works from her imagination, not pictures. She's got incredible talent and a style that is her own. It's easy to pick out Issy's work from all the others.

Today is her 14th birthday.

On behalf of your many devoted friends and fans (some you have met, and some you have not) I'd like to wish you a very, very happy birthday, Issy!

Things came full circle this week when Melissa sent me this photo of a recent sculpture Issy made. AND this recent picture of the birthday girl herself.

Both are quite beautiful, don't you agree?

kids helping kids: emily trenton and emily collins

There are two young women taking part in the doll project this year. They really aren't kids, I guess. At CTT we love it when young people reach out to help other young people, and we simply (and gratefully) refer to this as "kids helping kids."

Emily Trenton is an incoming junior in high school. She is in the art focus area, and she also plays field hockey and lacrosse. She took Drawing 1 as a freshman and was awarded a silver key in the 2011 Scholastic Art Awards for her mixed media piece "Le President." When she took Sculpture 1, also as a freshman, she won a silver key for her ceramic bust of Queen Elizabeth in her youth. Emily added painting to her class schedule this past year. In her Sculpture II class, she created an independent study in fashion. She made dresses, including one made out of wooden blocks and one made from flattened bottle caps.

  

Emily will transition into AP Studio Art (3D) this fall... after she gets back from two months of teaching sailing at a girl's camp in Wisconsin, that is.

Emily Collins is a sophomore at the University of Arkansas. She is a pre-nursing major and a proud member of the Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority. Originally from Prairie Village, Kansas, Emily led a global service/awareness club “Coalition” at Shawnee Mission East High School. I met Emily when I spoke to that group in 2009; it was on that day that she decided she wanted to go to Uganda. She became a member of Team 4. During that trip, one child in particular stood above the rest in Emily’s eyes. Emily writes:

"Claire Faith, a P6 student was quiet, yet sassy in her quick eye rolls and hidden smiles. The very first day, she took on the role as my photographer and guide, documenting her classmates in their most natural and posed positions and leading me by hand around the SMK grounds. With quiet moments and many jokes throughout the week, Claire Faith and I became inseparable.

 But the moment I realized we would be bound together for much longer than the trip was one day after we had returned from the lake and Claire Faith was trying to fix my broken camera. She worked so hard even after I had given up and told her it was okay. She finally surrendered and asked for my phone so she could play ‘Bug Crusher’ some more. Lying on her stomach on my bed with her petite feet swinging in the air, she beat my high score and simply looked up at me with her sly grin, saying, ‘You have a lot to learn from me’. She had no idea how right she was.”

Emily is now Claire Faith’s sponsor.

“I taught a sewing class when I was at SMK, and fashion design has always been a huge part of my life. I bought the batik fabric in Kampala and decided my doll needed something really dramatic. Whenever I think of Africa, I think of Claire Faith and I picture her strength. I see her in my doll and I wanted her to not only be elegant, but have a sense of heroism. Claire Faith and I are going through school together in a way, and some days when I am not prepared for a test or I choose to slack off, I snap back to reality and know that we must succeed together. The doll’s height , mounted above pattern and material, illustrates that though I am driven and determined, most days, I believe in Claire Faith more than I believe in myself.”

jason pollen

Jason Pollen is an internationally acclaimed artist, designer and educator. He has been on the faculties of the Royal College of Art in London, Parsons School of Design and Pratt Institute in New York City and as Professor and Chair of the Fiber Department at the Kansas City Art Institute.

Jason has designed textiles for dozens of renowned fashion and home furnishings firms. He regularly collaborates as scenic designer for the Kansas City Ballet. He is President emeritus of the Surface Design Association and also an American Craft Council Fellow. The Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina will honor him with the Outstanding Artist Educator Award in August 2012.

miki baird

Miki Baird has pursued her career in the arts in Kansas City since graduating with a BFA in sculpture and an MFA in art from the University of Kansas.  She is the recipient of numerous grant awards and commissions including a 2012 Studios Inc residency award through the Brad and Linda Nicholson Foundation.  She has also received an Arts KCFund Inspiration Grant, a Missouri Bank Artboards Commission in conjunction with Art Through Architecture/Kansas City and the Charlotte Street Foundation and was an AiA Kansas City/Art Through Architecture commission finalist in 2010.  Her work was seen on the sidewalks of downtown Kansas City after receiving an Avenue of the Arts Municipal Commission and Grant and she participated in residencies with Vehicle Tow Services of Kansas City under the auspices of the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services as well as community outreach in collaboration with the Salina Art Center.  Miki held academic positions from 2000-2007 at the Kansas City Art Institute in the Departments of Sculpture and Interdisciplinary Arts, and in 2004 she participated as artist/instructor with the MFA Program of Vermont College.  Exhibitions include Eric Fischl’s America: Now and Here, Familiar: Portraits of Proximity at the Kansas City Jewish Museum of Contemporary Art’s Epsten Gallery and the Flatfile Collection of the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. 

Miki's doll is titled "held…..between earth and sky". This is what Miki has to say about the piece:   

"This little banana doll is covered from head to toe with earthscape and skyscape photos.  The images are selected from my collection of real life atmospheric and terra firma backdrops.  The photos are taken in varying locations and weather conditions, during changing times of day and throughout the seasons of the year.  Many are photographed in and around Kansas City but others are snapped on road trips throughout the Midwest.  They are the extracted hues and shades of the sky and the earth that make their way into my cache of diminutive visual tastes of environment.  I think of them as incremental dabs and dribbles and blurbs from our surroundings that are not always detectable in a broad range of viewing and rely heavily on my camera to help me find each of them.  Every discovery is a collaborative venture between the lens and myself.  I usually work with the photos in groups associated with their origin of locale but for the collaboration with the children of St. Mary Kevin Orphanage I decided to make selections from multiple groupings.  The compilation is intended to portray the color and texture of the many wonderful volunteers who have developed lasting relationships with the children served by Change The Truth." 

wire sculptures

For the past two years, I have encouraged the children at the orphanage to try and make animals out of the banana leaves. This past December a few of them gave it their best shot by making armatures around which they then planned to wrap the fibers.

When I saw how intricate and gorgeous these sculptures were, I realized immediately that they were perfect as is. Willy did try to cover one that he made, and it obscured the beautiful and delicate gestural qualities of the piece. So the decision was made to leave them just the way they were.

This body of work will make a very special addition to the auction at our June 29th event! Congratulations to the young artists who made them. Incredible, aren't they?

marie mason

Marie hits a home run again this year with her doll. It's title is "Knowledge is Power". This is the third year Marie has graciously agreed to be part of the Doll Project. Here's how she describes herself:

"I love dogs, cats, the garden, and the great outdoors. The sunsets, the bad weather, the beautiful flowers that grow with encouragement, the seasons, the starry night and the sunny day. In all of what is nature and natural, there is inspiration for my paintings. I was born in California, raised in Seattle and have spent lots of time in Las Vegas, Nevada and Corvallis, Oregon. I have a BFA from UNLV and taught school for ten years in Las Vegas before moving to Kansas City. I invite everyone to visit my store and gallery – it’s called Bella and Company – in Weston, Missouri."

Check out Marie's new blog, where she features her latest work. Gorgeous-o.

marcus cain

It seems fitting to follow Anne's doll with Marcus'. These two artists are on a well deserved roll, both having received the Charlotte Street Award this year. (Of the three winners of this prestigious award, CTT is honored that two are participating in the Doll Project!) Marcus and Anne are also currently exhibiting their work at the Sherry Leedy Gallery in Kansas City.

Marcus is an artist, writer and Executive Director/Curator of the Kansas City Jewish Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, Kansas. Former positions include Owner/Co-Director of Satellite Exhibitions, Editor in Chief of Review: Visual Art Culture magazine, Instructor of Painting and Drawing and Corporate Partnership Exhibitions Coordinator at the Kansas City Art Institute and Assistant Director for Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art. 

As an artist, Marcus has exhibited nationally and his artwork may be found in such public collections as the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, BBC Worldwide America, American Century Investments, H&R Block, Sprint Corporation, Westin Hotels, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, and the private collection of Designer Todd Oldham. He is represented in Kansas City, MO by Sherry Leedy Contemporary Art. Marcus treated his doll as he has his most recent body of work. About that work, the following was included with his bio at the Sherry Leedy show:

"These images begin to share a realm of thought that is consistent with the way I experience everyday life - as something full of both wonder and dread." - Marcus Cain 


In Marcus Cain's latest paintings, dots and points of color swarm together and linger at the edge of image and transformation, hovering and shifting into a likeness not of an individual, but of a spirit portrait or visual idea. In Cain's paintings, energy gathers and dissipates, as fleeting and eternal as fireflies on a summer night or the glow of stars in the Milky Way. Particles swirl in an infinite ebb and flow. It is as though the painting holds a universal soul that looks back at us through time and space, a ghostly presence with something to say."

this student's commencement speech is a must-read

Want to read about hope?
Do it here.

anne austin pearce

This is Anne's first year as a doll artist for Change the Truth. I am so happy she agreed to be part of the project. Anne was born in1968 in Lawrence, Kansas. She received her BFA from the University of Kansas with an emphasis in printmaking in 1990 and her MFA with an emphasis in painting and drawing from James Madison University in 1996. Anne has exhibited both nationally and internationally and has works in the permanent collections in the Nerman Museum and University of Central Missouri.  Most recently she was awarded a Charlotte Street Visual Arts Fellowship (huge and monstrous achievement!) and has a solo exhibit titled "Undertow" at Sherry Leedy Gallery (make sure to check it out). She is currently represented by Bertrand Delecroix Gallery in NYC and Sherry Leedy Gallery in Kansas City. She is also a Visiting Assistant Professor at Rockhurst University and Director of Greenlease Gallery.

About her work in general, Anne writes:


"As a deliberate visual collector of the anthropologically ordinary, I stare at people wherever and whenever possible. I gaze, thinking about their grandparents and great-grandparents, and their genetic make up. I know they have felt pain, humor, love and that they have formed opinions. Motivated by a curiosity to understand human nature and visually reflect these observations is the conceptual basis of my work."

susan white

Susan White is a graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute and has pursued graduate studies at Rhode Island School of Design.  She had an artist residency at Youkobo Art Space in Tokyo in 2010, funded by a grant from the Lighton International Artist Exchange Program, administered by the Kansas City Artist Coalition.  And she has recently received an Inspiration Grant along with Jung A. Woo, from the ArtsKC Fund of the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City for an exhibition that they will install in the fall.  Her work has been exhibited at the Salina Art Center, the Bemis Center in Omaha, the Byron Cohen Gallery in Kansas City among numerous venues.  She has work in the Viewing Program at the Drawing Center in New York. 

Susan has been a good friend to CTT; this is the third year she has participated in the Doll Project. She is even featured in Lynne Melcher's film about the project!

Here is what Susan has to say about her work and the doll she made this year:

"I've always wanted to be the kind of artist who made primarily one kind of work, or worked with one material. But the lure of the world is too much for me and I consider myself highly focused to have narrowed it down to three primary forms, pyrographs, thornworks, and video/installation.  I work with  the thorns from the honey locust trees that grow up and around the trunk as well as along the branches.  Using the pencil point tip of a burning tool, I pierce each thorn to create a hole through which they are self-doweled.

This piece was inspired by my neighboring artist in my studio at the Livestock Exchange Building, Maria Creyts.  Maria recently spent several weeks in Nigeria and it has been through her that I’ve become somewhat familiar with the incredible headwraps that the women of Nigeria wear.   This thorn headpiece is a result of Maria’s African influence."

let the doll parade begin! suzanne garr

There will be 23 decorated dolls at the 5th Annual CTT Friendraiser/Fundraiser. They represent a "collaboration" between the children at the orphanage who made them and the artists who then adorned them. In the days to follow, all dolls will be featured here, along with some information about the artists who worked on them. First up: Suzanne Garr.

Suzanne Garr is a self-taught photographer/artist originally from Pennsylvania. She now lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her beginnings in photography and art began when she was young. She would find boxes of black and white photographs in her grandmother's attic and ask all kinds of questions about the people and places she saw in them. Her favorite subject in grade school was art, and after school instead of playing outside, Suzanne could be found helping the art teacher refilling supplies and hanging other students' work. She continued with her art and photography throughout high school and college, when she received her first camera. She worked on the college yearbook while receiving a degree on journalism and marketing from St. Bonaventure University. Her career started in magazine publishing as a writer/editor and then ventured into print production.

Over the years, Suzanne has renewed her passion for photography by attending workshops lead by documentary and portrait photographers Thatcher Cook, Francis Ford and Paul Calhoun. She has had solo and group exhibits in Baltimore, Milwaukee and Minneapolis. Her doll was featured in last years "New Letters" magazine, and she was a finalist in the Photographer's Forum Magazine 2011 Annual Photo Competition.

Suzanne has been a devoted friend to Change the Truth. She was a member of Team 4 and Team 5 and will co-lead the Team 6 trip to Uganda this December! (Much more on that to follow.) Suzanne is pictured here with her dear friend Oliva, a child from the orphanage.

This is what Suzanne wrote about her doll:

"Your Very Own Name


What's in a name? Well, to 180 orphans, everything. Just imagine, if you can, being an orphan and living with so many others. How do you stand out? What makes you unique? It's your name. It's yours. It was given to you at birth, and no one can ever take it away from you. When it came time to design my banana doll, an idea came to me based on my trips to St. Mary Kevin Orphanage. I remember the kids coming up to me and asking, 'Do you remember me? Do you know my name?' I wanted to somehow incorporate the names of all the children whose hands I'd held, whose hugs I'd received, whose tears I'd wiped away, whose laughs I'd shared and the space in my heart where they all now reside.


This doll is a reflection of that idea and includes some of the generously donated Christmas gifts that were hand made for the children in 2011. The knitted hats were donated by a group of Wisconsin knitters. Kids made the button bracelets. Julie Armour, a retired school teacher and friend, designed and crafted the felt necklaces. The skirt on the doll is a collection of beaded strands, each containing the name of a child who has touched my life in a very special way. The chalkboard base is what you find in every classroom at SMK, the place in which the children learn their lessons each day. The ledges are lined with photographs that were taken over the past two years while volunteering at SMK as part of Team 4 and 5. They depict the faces and moments shared with these very special children. Like all children, they love having their picture taken.


Although the children at SMK are orphans, they each have a name and a special place in many of the hearts of the volunteers who have traveled to meet them, love them and be their friends. Each time you look at this banana doll, you will see a name, and behind that name is a very special child who is loved world over.


Knitted hat by Mary Sue Protz
Felt necklace by Julie Armour
Mechanical assistance by Steve Engel and John Ehlers"

a garden in uganda

One day when Team 5 was at the orphanage last year, the headmaster of the school mentioned something about a garden that was going to be planted. I had noticed that preparations were under way for some major planting in an area that used to be dirt and rocks (mud after a good rainfall).

The children began to work very hard shoveling, planting and watering.

Soon I learned it was going to be called "Gloria's Garden."

On the day we handed out the Christmas gifts to the children, the garden was dedicated. In one corner was a small space that had been cleared away for a little avocado tree. The young plant was handed to me for a ceremonial digging and planting.

Anyone who knows me knows I love avocados. Especially the ones that grow in Uganda.

So now there is a garden named for me, and it appears to be thriving. Melissa recently sent these pictures. They make me smile.

last day in santa fe

One of the most honest crits I received on day one was from a fellow photographer. He recommended some edits to my Uganda portfolio and did so in a constructive, positive, but no BS kind of way. When I woke up on day two, I was beginning to feel a little braver about possibly showing the Estate Sale portraits and decided to ask my new friend for a truthful appraisal of them. He loved the work.

(I needed that boost of confidence.)

So I put it in my back pocket and set about showing two bodies of work to the reviewers yesterday.

I think I feared the Estate Sale pictures were too personal. I also worried about the fact that they were shot with my iPhone.

To a person, the reviewers thought the work was funny, poignant, fresh and beautiful. I was bowled over and very happy. (I mean, you'd like to think your most current project is working, right?) I also got some really good suggestions about how I might move forward with the project, which I greatly appreciated.

I made a great connection with the woman from PhotoPhilanthropy, which could be very good for Change the Truth. My most exciting and fulfilling review of the day, however, was with the photo editor from the NYT Lens Blog (one of my favorite places to visit on the web each day) who basically told me he shouldn't and didn't want to like the Uganda work (he sees 1000's of pictures from Africa each day) but did and that he was smitten by the estate sale pics. In fact, it seems there will be a spot for both on his blog in the very near future. Hurrah!

OK, time to pack up and head back home to the midwest and begin the follow-up correspondence with those reviewers who have asked for it.  Here are a few pics from the day, though. Happy trails!

Good morning, Santa Fe!

Gloriann Liu

Isa and Dimitri

Tara Bogart showing her work

Jim (NYT Lens Blog Editor) 

day two

Yesterday was jammed pack. A full day of show and tell. My meetings went well, though I have to constantly remind myself that this is nothing short of a humbling experience.

The editor from National Geographic, for example, spent several minutes before even opening my box of prints, explaining the numbers game at a magazine such as his and how it's virtually impossible for someone like me to come along and get an assignment.

The woman from the Open Society Foundation told me that for the past several years, due to budgetary constraints, hardly any magazine or foundation calls photographers to say "Hey, we're doing a story in Haiti, and we need you to pack your bags and go there to shoot for the next month." What she did say is that the next time I go to Uganda, for example, I should write her (and others with whom I will hopefully develop a similar association) and say, "I'll be in Uganda for the next three weeks. If you have a story you'd like for me to cover while I'm there, please let me know."

Both those sessions were informative, and I did get good feedback about my work. My meeting with the book jacket designer from Knopf was good, as well. Since they have already used one of my images for a cover, they are definitely interested in knowing about new projects I'm doing.

Some of the best commentary I received, though, was at the "portfolio walk" last night. This was a crazy, hot, crowded three hours when we photographers hawked our wares to 300 - 400 photo-interested folks from the Santa Fe area. The reviewers came around, also. This meant I got to show my work to some with whom I did not get an appointment. The best crit came from Jamie Wellford from Newsweek Magazine.

I sneaked away from my post quite often during the course of the grueling three hours and took a look at other work. There's some really good stuff here. I love Isa Leshko's "Elderly Animal" series. And Dimitri Mellos' New York street work, just to name a couple of wonderful bodies of work.

Gearing up for six sessions today. Fun fun!

day one

Gluten free hand-made granola and gluten free/vegan muffins. YUM. A great way to begin the day!

It's a picture perfect morning in the high desert. This setting brings back so many fond memories for me. I started attending workshops here in 1996, just after I got back into photographing after a 15 year hiatus. I've sat around talking about photography with some terrific photographers and teachers on these very grounds. Teachers like Keith Carter, Peter DeLory and Andrea Modica. Fellow photographers like Monika Merva and Laura Pickett Calfee. I've even brought both of my children here for their own workshops. Abbie and I made a road trip out of it shortly after she got her driver's permit; she took a class in beginning photography. I brought Max when he was in middle school for a young photographer's class.

For me, this is a beautiful and inspiring place in so many ways. I'm glad to be here.

rabbit rabbit and welcome to santa fe

What a joy to fall asleep and wake up to the cool breezes of 7500 foot elevation Santa Fe. Each time I'm here, I fall in love with this part of the world a little more.

Review Santa Fe got off to a great start last night with a reception at PhotoEye Bookstore and PhotoEye Gallery for the 100 photographers and the reviewers. I was warmly greeted at the bookstore by the wonderful Melanie McWhorter who immediately put me to work signing copies of Kutuuka, Convergence and Among the Ashes. She had thoughtfully assembled a nice display of books by participating photographers.

I ran into old friends and met new ones. That's the piece of these review sessions that ultimately makes such a difference for me. I have an incredible support network of photo pals, all of whom I've met at workshops or reviews like this one.

Here are a few party pics. Much more to come from lovely Santa Fe.

Signing books at PhotoEye

Noel Swan Gilbert

Janet Stein and Christopher Rauschenberg

David Bram and Jim Stone