Saturday, October 29, 2005
Sometimes it just feels good, all the way down.
Yesterday as planned, I met Jonathan, the boy/man who sells handmade cards on the street, and went with him to his house to see where he lives and does his artwork. He lives near the top of a steep hill that can only be reached by climbing up a rock path, in two rooms clinging to the side of the hill in a squallid area. He patched the holes in the floor to make it liveable. He has a bed in one room, and a table with a chair and a small painter's easel in the other room. That's it.
He barely supports himself, there aren't many tourists in Mwanza. He says he usually sells one or two cards a day, and maybe one large $5 painting a weekHis immediate worry is that the rent is due soon. And he has been invited by an NGO working with the World Bank to come to Germany for an invitation-only show of art work by worldwide street artists. His way would be paid, but he must scrape up the money for the passport.
There is a charity ball coming up next month, a feel-good annual affair put on by the expat community here. A bunch of us went last year, and it was fun. But I suggested that maybe I could introduce him to Maria to see if she would be interested in auctioning some of his paintings at the ball, giving him a percentage of the take. Don't know, but it is worth a try.
But, now for the warm fuzzy part. Yesterday I gave him all my art supplies - I haven't used them hardly at all, and he works with such poor tools. That included some top-grade paper, pens and points, some bottles of ink as well as some good watercolors. He was completely surprised and pleased. So today I met him, and he showed me the new style he is using with the pen and ink work. He is good! He applies the ink heavily with a brush like woodcuts, but then he uses a pen to add fine detail. He was delighted to say that he sold two of these cards already today.
His grin was wall to wall. Mine too.
Yesterday as planned, I met Jonathan, the boy/man who sells handmade cards on the street, and went with him to his house to see where he lives and does his artwork. He lives near the top of a steep hill that can only be reached by climbing up a rock path, in two rooms clinging to the side of the hill in a squallid area. He patched the holes in the floor to make it liveable. He has a bed in one room, and a table with a chair and a small painter's easel in the other room. That's it.
He barely supports himself, there aren't many tourists in Mwanza. He says he usually sells one or two cards a day, and maybe one large $5 painting a weekHis immediate worry is that the rent is due soon. And he has been invited by an NGO working with the World Bank to come to Germany for an invitation-only show of art work by worldwide street artists. His way would be paid, but he must scrape up the money for the passport.
There is a charity ball coming up next month, a feel-good annual affair put on by the expat community here. A bunch of us went last year, and it was fun. But I suggested that maybe I could introduce him to Maria to see if she would be interested in auctioning some of his paintings at the ball, giving him a percentage of the take. Don't know, but it is worth a try.
But, now for the warm fuzzy part. Yesterday I gave him all my art supplies - I haven't used them hardly at all, and he works with such poor tools. That included some top-grade paper, pens and points, some bottles of ink as well as some good watercolors. He was completely surprised and pleased. So today I met him, and he showed me the new style he is using with the pen and ink work. He is good! He applies the ink heavily with a brush like woodcuts, but then he uses a pen to add fine detail. He was delighted to say that he sold two of these cards already today.
His grin was wall to wall. Mine too.
