I’m having a harder and harder time keeping my blog up to date. Before yet another work week flies by, here are some highlights pictures from the past week.

The 1st drawing workshop in Raimondi (with youth who are choosing to participate in a three-week workshop I am offering) began with some drawing from observation last Wednesday morning, with a focus on shading; all the drawings were done solely with pencil (no colour). We also discussed what art is and what the local region of Lambayeque is (culture, traditions, geography, etc.) according to the participants as a start to brainstorming drawing subjects for the following session.
An elderly woman pruning in the park by my house that morning
and had no problem with me taking the weathered rose she had just clipped
when I said it would be used in a drawing class.

After the workshop, I shared a moto-taxi with Melany, one of the youngest artists, who lives the farthest away from where the Raimondi activities are taking place. It is always interesting to see where the Proyecto Chiclayo participants live–and their living conditions vary a great deal in terms of who has the luxuries of running water or concrete floor or an in-house toilet–or not–or a roof made of modern materials (concrete or tin) or sugar cane, etc.

On my walk from where my convi (small bus) left me to the office, I saw many athletes from Los Juegos Deportivos Bolivarianos, both training and sightseeing. For about two weeks now, Chiclayo has been bustling with athletes from across Latin America as it co-hosts the games with the city of Trujillo, a few hours south. The games have been taking place since 1938 and Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela were the original participating countries, ones liberated in part thanks to Simon Bolivar (hence the name of the games). Other countries now also participate: Chile, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala and Paraguay.

Most of the events are at local educational institutions, both high schools and universities, including one a minute-long walk away from my house (last night I could here the cheers from the the final boxing match). Sports taking place in Chiclayo were chess, basketball, boxing, cycling, women’s soccer, grass hockey, handball, roller skating, rugby, wushu, and weight lifting. Apparently Peru dominated the in the early years while now Venezuela and Colombia take the most medals home, while Peru is currently in 4th place.

Athletes from Colombia enjoying looking at local and national handicrafts and clothing at a small park…
…where many flowers are in bloom. Trees here are painted white at the bottom to prevent rotting.

At the second drawing session in Raimondi on Tuesday some fantastic drawings were begun, inspired by photos of local scenes and locals postcards I had brought in, plus some books the participants brought in (although I was hoping they would bring in things or photos to draw and only use mine as extra if needed).
The level of concentration was perhaps the highest I have ever witnessed with these teens.
Jean Carlos using the technique of grid drawing I taught him to draw a pig I photographed at La Ladrillera.
He has since added some boats to the background of his drawing.

Birds seemed to be the interest of all the girls: Fanny, Viviana and Zoila Ivón.

The day after the drawing session in Raimondi, I had another at San Lorenzo, on the other side of Chiclayo. I didn’t capture any photos, but at the second session this morning I did.

I am excited to see the progress made next week.
For now, I am off to a session with toddlers and kids at La Ladrillera…¡hasta pronto!