Since my last post, there have been four more very successful ‘Reading Kite‘ (‘Cometa Lectora‘) rotating library visits and I am thrilled with the project so far. However, rather than post more about that, I thought I’d treat you to the art of children in La Ladrillera, a village to the south of Chiclayo grateful to have water thanks to Community Project funding donated through Chalice earlier this year. Centro Esperanza coordinated with the municipality (which also gave some of the funding) to make the infrastructure for the water project possible.

These young beneficiaries of the water project are excellent artists. Sadly, most of them attend a small school where there are a lack of teachers and quality teaching practices. Many of the children have mentioned that teachers hit them as a form of punishment; the cycle of physical and psychological violence is entrenched in many levels of Peruvian society (Centro Esperanza has long been working to address this). Educational programs are the primary focus of Centro Esperanza’s Project Chiclayo (as we believe education is far more effective than material handouts). I am happy to prioritize the children of La Ladrillera with a weekly art class as they are often more innocent, creative and focused than children in the urban ‘shantytowns’/’slums’ of Chiclayo. We work out of the living room of two of the participating artists, a room with dirt floor, limited lighting as the afternoon progresses, the occasional visit of free range chickens, and a soundtrack of turkey gobbles, duck quacks and dog barking. That is the daily reality for these kids and they concentrate very well. These sessions are a continuation of the art classes I was offering last year.

These photos are from a drawing session focused on foods. I guided them in observing photos to see what the foods actually look like before trying to replicate their shapes and colours.

Above: the Chirimoya, a delicious native Andean fruit.

Canchita, large corn kernels roasted and enjoyed as a snack here in Peru.
Even the youngest of participants are welcome.
Care for some tomatoes? I did when I saw this drawing!
Or perhaps it is time for a fruit salad 🙂

* * *
Our next session was focused on imagining what we could transform a plastic jar into…

This Thursday we experimented with overlapping shapes…
(I regret not taking more photos, but it is a challenge to take good photos during sessions–kids can sure be busy!)

Thanks for stopping by! ¡Hasta pronto!