So now that we’ve been back in NYC for a couple of weeks and are unpacked and settled, I finally have the time to post about our last week in DR working with the children of La Vereda and the completion of their beautiful mural!
I wanted to leave each child with a parting gift, and since we had plenty of art supplies left over from our classes, I decided to divide everything up into little art packs for the children. Renzo and I decided we would give one to each child at the mural celebration party we had planned:
pack of art supplies
handmade sketchbooks for the kids using leftover paper
packing up parting gifts for the children
renzo and I had fun decorating the packs of art supplies
The last session of our mural painting was really exciting! We had asked the children to think about the type of animals they might see, and we provided visual references for them to work from. In addition we did some last minute touch ups and added a few details including a banner held by two birds in the sky which reads “Painted by the Children of La Vereda 2012”.
Here are some images of our last day of painting:
sunny day in the campo
guillermo painting his amazing cow
working on the mural
beautiful smile, beautiful painting
black cat, white cat
working hard!
having fun with the kids painting!
Some details:
samba, rooster, pig & lamb
cherry tree
zanahorias y flores
la vaca!
burro
muy bonita!
Renzo and I organized a mural celebration as a culminating event for the children. We had snacks and music, and we had a chance to give the children their art packs and say goodbye. It was bittersweet.
fiesta de las pinturas!
fiesta fun!
hermanas lindas!
cico dancing!
good times at our party
smiling chicas
emily, diana y bebe
guillermo with his package of art supplies
One last pic of the painters and the finished mural:
Celebrating our work!
Those last few days in DR were quite a whirlwind of painting, celebrating, saying goodbyes, and packing! It turned out we had WAY more stuff with us than we could bring back on the plane, so we ended up giving plenty of things away. I had some extra art supplies from my personal stash that I decided to give to Diana and Guillermo, two of the older students in our art class who happen to be siblings. I was really touched when we stopped by their house to see that the project had inspired them to start making paintings at home using the supplies from their art packs…and what made it even better was that their dad was painting with them! It turns out their dad likes to paint and has paintings all over their home. It was just lovely to see a family making and enjoying art together. We left the cans of varnish and brushes with them and they promised to put a clear coat on top of the mural for us.
Here is a before and after of the full mural:
Before
After. So beautiful!
I hope the children remain proud of their work. It is quite amazing that our group started with no formal art experience! I think the children have created a beautiful gift for their community. I love their painting and I hope the people of La Vereda enjoy it for quite some time. I would love to see more opportunities for children in the campo to express their creativity.
Well this may be my last post. I would love to post once more to just recap my favorite images from our 5 months in Dominican Republic, but the reality is now that we are back in NYC we are in full baby-preparation mode so time is limited these days. We’ll see.
Thanks to everyone who followed the blog and our journey for all of these months. It was really an incredible and life-changing experience and I feel so grateful to everyone in our lives who supported us (family, friends, & employers) and made our journey possible.
Now, we are embarking on yet another journey…parenthood! So it’s only fitting that there will be a new blog coming soon…
I haven’t set it up, so there’s nothing to see or read there quite yet. But I promise to send out an email and post on facebook once it’s up and running.
Once again, gracias para todo tu amor y soporte!
Much, much love to you all!
xo A
dominicanroots 
Annie:
I really must tell you how much I enjoyed your blog ~ reading abourt your experiences in DR and how you and Renzo inspired the children. Congratulations on a job well done and this experience certainly readied for parenthood. I know that you will be fabulous at it.
Congratulations to you and your little artists who created this beautiful mural that so many will enjoy. What a beautiful experience for you, and the children as well! I know that this adventure will be a wonderful memory for all of you, and also for those of us who loved watching it come alive.
Love,
Your very proud Mom
I’m so glad to see your Dominican adventure was a wonderful experience for you and for all of the children that you touched. I can tell you that it was great reading your blog and seeing all of the happy faces on the children and watching the beautiful work that you did.
I am sure this was as rewarding for you as it was for the children and I am proud of everything that you did there.
Love you,
Dad
anne thank you soooooo much!! that is my place, my country and you did an excellent job!!!!!!!
I am very proud of you. It is a beautiful thing that you have done for the children and the community. It was a pleasure reading your blog throughout the year. Love you, Rev Riz
Those kids look so happy and proud, love it! The mural is amazing, and it’s obvious they had a blast learning and creating with you and Renzo. Can’t wait for the new blog (but mostly can’t wait for the new addition!!!!)
XOXO Sami