RED ART PROJECT ON HOPEFUL FRIDAY

RED ART PROJECT, originally uploaded by bluebirdsandteapots.

Cielo From the beautiful The House In The Roses is hosting Hopeful Friday. At such a time as this, we can never have enough words about hope to keep us inspired. If you stop by Cielo's place you will find a link list. If you would like to participate, simply add your link. If you would like to feast on the hopeful words, visit all the wonderful blogs offering inspiration.

To celebrate Hopeful Friday, I thought I would share a bit about the Red Art Project which creates hope for underpriviledged children.



Teria from Sabii Wabii, Running with Scissors told all of us about the Life Through Art Foundation, which is based in Burbank, California. They provide art opportunities for children across the U.S.



As an umbrella non-profit organization they work with children and art educators to provide opportunities for underprivileged kids to experience the arts.



All disciplines in art...culinary, musical, visual and theatrical. Terisa asked us to contribute a piece of art that was red and contained an umbrella within the piece for the auction being held to raise money for this foundation.

So, I thought...

UMBRELLAS...

RED...



Ta Dah... "CHINESE GRANDMAS".



I took a wonderful 8"x 8" canvas block and created a collage from a series of prints I made in different fiber paper, which I layered. I had some of the piece overlap draping down the sides of the canvas.



Then I painted gold leaf, added several layers of varnish and it was done. I sent a lovely teak easel to rest the canvas on. I told the story of the Chinese Grandma painting on the back of the canvas.



I also included a little gift for Terisa, I hope she enjoys it. I must say that she is the most amazing fiber artist, so my humble attempt to create a textured canvas using paper pales in comparison to her work.



This is the package on the way to Terisa in California. She should be receiving the package either today or Saturday. You can't imagine how thrilled I was to find the perfect red box, which I added a gold tassel to and then OMG I found tissue paper that had the word RED decorated throughout. I am a presentation nut, so this was so fun...angel inspired, I am sure.



The song for this post is Red Umbrella sung by Faith Hill. I hope the auction is a huge success. Please visit Terisa, and read all about the Life Through Art Foundation. You can see the list of contributing artists for this wonderful RED ART PROJECT on their sidebar.

Here are the words found on the back of the little canvas:



Chinese Grandmas of Tai Tam Reservoir Road


When I first arrived in Hong Kong to live, I walked the trails and climbed the mountains of Tai Tam. Within a few years, I could briskly climb the steps to the top of the highest points and walk effortlessly along the hills.


One day, as I walked along the hills, which led to the mountain paths, I watched in wonder. A large group of Chinese Grandmas approached me. They were climbing up the hills, as I was walking down. The sunny day captured the patterns in the colorful umbrellas which they carried to protect them from the strong sun. I stopped to watch as the passed by, and to memorize the moment knowing that special scenes like that one needed to be embraced.

Those magical butterfly days still linger in my heart. Years later, after returning to the West, I painted that magical scene from memory. I share the Chinese Grandmas of Tai Tam Reservoir Road today, in hope that the scene will bring you the same joy that I experienced on that sunny day.

KarenHarveyCox

Original Watercolor Chinese Grandmas, originally uploaded by bluebirdsandteapots.

Here is the original watercolor painting. I painted this on hand-made Japanese paper, using Asian papers to create a mixed-media composition. The originals were framed in Canada by a wonderful framer in Bronte Harbor in Oakville Ontario. They did a wonderful job framing these pieces and chose a bamboo detailed wood frame. They are both rather large, and I have two versions. Both originals were painted in 1999.