Art Therapy

I have become friends with a man who lost his house in the earthquake, his name is Eduardo. Because his house was unsafe, he had to move, he moved closer to our house, and I see him when I walk to town. He is in a wheelchair, and his hands and feet are crippled. He sits outside under some shade, and watches the day go by, all day, everyday...

One day when I was there chatting with him, some towns people said he and I had something in common, that Eduardo painted. That got me thinking, why couldn't I take the paints to him, and see what he can do? We started with a pen and paper, and he did really well, so the next time I took paints.

I was thinking of making him a paint set of his own, but I know he can't undo jars by himself, I think the water colors would be best, since they are all on one palette.

Can you tell this is Christo? I did help him even up the heart, but he did the rest, I was very impressed! Yesterday I made my paint kit a little more portable, and Mike is making me a clay handle. 

Always gotta get the chihuahuas in the photo...

I also was recently commissioned to paint "something beachy" for Kimberly at The Cottages, she had some old chunks of wood hanging around, and I gladly accepted the challenge. She picked up the finished works yesterday and paid me! I'm now a "professional artist" ok, kind of a stretch, but hey, I got paid! (Smile)

Have been working on something for our friends at Casa Mar...

And the back...

I seem to be painting almost everyday, but still doing things with driftwood and plastic, Mike has been making clay beads and such for me to use on windchimes and shell hangings.

Our hope is to help artisans in the area sell their works. We will plan with Casa Mar an art fair, and invite other artisans to join, and see where it takes us. High season is coming, and it's never too early to start making things for Christmas and Carnivale. We envision a small store front someday and putting San Jacinto on the map as an artist beach town. So...stay tuned, the adventure continues!

(the GoFundMe is still active, if you'd like to donate to Eduardo, he and many more still need some help. The government assistance from the earthquake is taking much longer than proposed.Thanks so much!)