Bringing in the Burbs!

If you're a kid living in upper middle class America, Christmas break offers some very comfortable options; skiing with the church youth group, spending all of those Christmas gift cards at the mall, playing video games, or just laying around on the big comfy couch in the bonus room and watching Jersey Shore re-runs.  But the youth from First United Methodist Church in Millington, TN take a different approach to Christmas break; they get uncomfortable.  

Every year, the youth from FUMC of Millington are led out of their cozy heated homes, they kiss the leftover Christmas turkey, mashed potatoes, and pie goodbye and they head to some of Memphis' most unpolished neighborhoods to participate in a church mission project called Down and Out. Down and Out is a program intended to introduce the youth from FUMC of Millington to leadership and volunteer opportunities in struggling communities surrounding Millington.  In addition to this, it gives them an opportunity to experience what life might be like in the shoes of residents of the area where they are visiting. At home, the youth have choices, but during the program, they have none.  They give up their Northface Jackets for donated clothes, all of their meals come from a local food pantry and they even hand over their cellphones (!!!). 

We had the opportunity to meet the youth of FUMC yesterday as they gave some of their time volunteering at Caritas.  Amy Baltensperger is a recent graduate from Millington Highschool and though she is no longer a member of the youth group at FUMC, she came back to participate in the Down and Out program for her fifth year. "People don't see the value of service enough...Maybe because they're scared of Memphis or they haven't been exposed to it [communities like Binghampton] yet but working with the Down and Out program puts you in a different mode of thinking." 

The beautiful thing that we at Caritas get to witness on a regular basis is the gathering of all types of people from in and around Memphis, FUMC's visit from Millington is evidence of this. Caritas, in a sense, is like a magnet for a city in search of connection and the gathering that occurs here proves that we all share the same heart.  

First United Methodist of Millington Youth Group

     Thursday, December 27, 2012 

Written By: Maggie Russell, December 28, 2012

Got a Heart For The Arts?

Wondering what to do today?

What a better way to spend a Saturday than supporting local artists at Caritas Village!  This Saturday, from 10-6, Caritas happily invites you to make a happy plate in Caritas Café (try the burger) and enjoy the work of local artisans.   If you’re feeling a tad uninspired by all of the holiday’s rolled back prices and blue light specials, the artists at Caritas might revive a little bit of your holiday spirit! 

Daniel Frederick is a recent transplant from Austin, Texas.  Daniel is, first and foremost, a photographer but he moonlights as a dichroic glass artist. Dichroic glass, when baked at a temperature between 1400 and 1600 degrees Fahrenheit , melts and produces a strange optical effect.  The most distinctive element is its ability to morph colors depending on the angle at which it is viewed.  So, a piece of dichroic glass that appears blue from one angle will appear green from another.  Daniel uses dichroic glass to create pendants.  His glass pendants take on strange shapes, making sort of wearable abstract paintings or sculptures.  Daniel makes a deliberate choice to create the pendants in this way; he wants his work to not only be visually pleasing, but tactile.  The decision to do this was inspired by his wife, who suggested that the way the pendants felt were just as important as the way they looked.  Daniel might not have made the choice to approach the glass this way if it were not for his wife, who is visually impaired.

Dena and Paul Francis are a creative couple.  They spend their free time in their garage with a chop saw and a special router that they use to cut out fun shapes like trees, gingerbread men, and a funky Santa.   A couple of years ago, Dana became inspired by work that she had seen around town and on pinterest and she thought to herself “Hey! I can do that too.”  So, she did!  Dana and Paul’s work is an invitation to smile; almost every piece has something to say.  For example, on the funky santa, the phrase “Peace, Love, and Santa!” is hand painted on his belly.  Many of her other pieces are simple blocks that spell out positive words like “Joy” and “Believe.”  Dana says that she makes her pieces because they make her happy.  In turn, her work brings happiness to others.  

Sarah Brubaker works with Nepali refugee women to make one of a kind, handmade jewelry.  The Nepali women of Memphis first began making jewelry with the help of Steve Moses of Christ Community Ministries.  Two years ago, Steve decided that he wanted to find a way for female refugees in the Binghampton area to make money.  With the help of Sarah, many friends and local artists, Steve started Ekata, which means Unity.  The name was chosen by the Nepali women who come together for thirteen to fifteen hours a week to make these delicate pieces of jewelry.  Sarah says that the first thing a person usually notices about Ekata jewelry is the fact that it is beautiful; the good cause is just an added bonus.  And, it is; the jewelry features semi-precious stones and spiraling sculptural elements of 14k gold filled and silver pieces.   Ekata serves as a means of income and a place to build community for the refugee women that call Binghampton home.

Andra Mccoy graduated with her MFA from The Memphis College of Art with an emphasis in textiles.   Her vibrant scarves, jewelry, felted wool pieces, and small hand sewn dolls demonstrate that she is a Jane of All Trades.  Andra’s scarves and fabrics are multi-dimensional.  She weaves pieces of felted wool, beads, knitted and crocheted accents and mismatched fabrics into many of them.  The accents in her scarves and jewelry are upcycled; fabrics and beads that lost their flair on something old and out of style and have been repurposed into Andra’s fun and whimsical wearable pieces.  Andra’s first memory of fabric is one of her mother and grandmother’s quilts.  In a sense, Andra’s work is like a really great quilt; it brings together old, new, forgotten and precious pieces of her world to create a one of a kind piece. 

Harriet Buckley is also a Jane of All Trades.  Her philosophy on art is that, in order to keep ideas fresh and creativity alive, it’s important to work across all mediums.  Harriet seems to have a particular allegiance to leather, though.  She makes bracelets, pendants, earrings, change purses, and anything else her heart desires out of leather scraps.  The scraps come from larger sculptural pieces.  Harriet has been working in leather since the 80’s.  At some point, she came to the realization that the scraps could be put to wearable use.   She paints the leather and adds repurposed metals to the painted pieces.  Harriet’s booth at Caritas features watercolors, jewelry, and a lot of other fun flair!

Daniel, Dena, Paul, Sarah, Andra, Harriet, and some other great Memphis Artists will be at Caritas from 10am-6pm on Saturday.  Come on by and say hello!!!

Caritas Village on World Aids Day

The 2012 Annual [choice] Life Over AIDS Art Exhibition was a "GREAT SUCCESS!"

Caritas would like to thank the exhibiting Artist: Liz Bass, Jamond Bullock, Lauren Beyer, Phyllis Boger, Mary Bowman, Lindsey Byard, Marilyn Califf, Maria Ferguson, Lurlynn Franklin, Dawn Kimble, Marcellous Lovelace, Carl E. Moore, Darlene Newman, Tammy Groves Thornton, Sarah Ray, Frank D. Robinson, Malik Seneferu and Bill Piacesi.

Caritas would like to thank all of the wonderful artist who made this years 3rd annual 2012 Aids show possible. Their creative talent and creative interpretation of Aids awareness made this exhibit the best one yet. We would also like to thank our prize winners who were selected by independent judges from various parts of the art community for their uniqueness.

We would also like to thank everyone who came out to see Caritas Village in-house produced film "Love Choice" and Malco theaters who allowed us to view the film free of charge. We will be releasing the film on DVD in the spring of 2013 if not sooner so please check back or contact Onie Johns for more info.

Thank you our sponsors, Artist’s Link, Memphis Area Visual Artist, Caritas Village, Choice Life Over AIDS, National Aids Fund and Choices "Memphis Center for Reproductive Health".

My Evening with Lurlynn Franklin by Leslie Barker

A couple of weeks ago I ran into Carl Moore at the Caritas Village. I mentioned that I like to write and Carl asked me if I would be interested in writing for the Caritas Village Arts Blog. Because the Caritas Village is one of my favorite places on the planet and I have a hard time saying no to anything arts related, I quickly said “yes.”

My first blog assignment was to interview Lurlynn Franklin about her exhibit, Colored Cartoons in Undeniable Blackness.  The opening reception for the exhibit was Friday, September 14, and I rushed there after work to meet Lurlynn and check out the art. The day had been a whirlwind and I think I subconsciously expected my interview/exhibit experience to be the same. I was wrong.

As soon as I walked into The Caritas Village, I was captured by the striking story quilts hanging in the gallery. The already colorful room exploded with even more vibrancy than usual. As if that was not enough to slow me down, I then introduced myself to Lurlynn Franklin. Her calm and incredibly strong presence told me immediately that this woman is someone I wanted to know. She graciously took the time to talk with me about her work and act as my personal tour guide on a journey through the exhibit.

  Our conversation began with Lurlynn discussing her various styles of artistic expression. The pieces hanging on the walls before us are a stylistic departure from her previous work. She explained, “This series - the style of it is nothing like the other work that I have. The theme is Colored Cartoons in Undeniable Blackness. It’s focusing on what people consider stereotypical black life, but there is a larger element of truth in that. I am balancing both of those and I’m doing it in a really humorous way.” Lurlynn’s paintings prove that people can handle tough subjects much better when you serve it to them with a big helping of humor. She certainly tackles some of the toughest of subjects. From teenage pregnancy to social justice, Colored Cartoons fearlessly tackles current issues with warmth, bright colors, and sharp wit.

My personal favorite of the story quilts is “Po Babee Lost in the Sixties.” In the painting, a mother and her child in a brightly colored room, wearing clothes that scream of the 1960’s, with and over-sized hand holding up a peace sign, and a lava lamp on the floor. Behind them is a book shelf, full from top to bottom with books by writers such as Malcolm X and Richard Wright. Lurlynn expresses that this was one of the most autobiographical pieces in the collection, and it is the bookshelf that makes it so. The books represent the journey through her own life, each one signifying a different phase or era. The bottom of the shelf, representing the most recent years, is overflowing onto the floor with books by world-changers, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In addition to the beautiful story quilts, poems hang on the wall as well. Lurlynn has been writing as long as she can remember and accompanies her paintings with words, giving the exhibit a deeper level of wisdom and completion. Those of us who were there for the opening reception were lucky enough to here her read the poems herself.

Lurlynn Franklin is an artist with an incredibly fascinating point of view. It was refreshing and inspiring to speak with an artist with such passion and conviction. Every pattern, stitch, color, line and curve on her paintings is intentional and filled with purpose. I am grateful for the time she spent with me and that light that she sheds into dark corners and onto difficult subjects.

Do not miss Colored Cartoons in Undeniable Blackness by Lurlynn Franklin. The exhibit will be in the Hope Gallery at the Caritas Village through October 27.

Artist Lurlynn Franklin Talks about her Recent work at Caritas village.

Women for Provocative Arts talk to Lurlynn Franklin about one of her paintings during her reception at Caritas Village. "Colored Cartoons in Undeniable Blackness" Will be on exhibit through October, it is recent work by Franklin and can be considered some of her most direct art dealing with social standard racial stereotype. 

Franklin states that it is "a collection of story quilts and poetry which are distinctly African American in content, addressing the thin line drawn between stereotypes and truths. Both the writings and the visuals lend themselves towards social commentary, deliberately falling short in being hardcore political, the work lightly and deceptively skims the surface of personal politics, focusing on the mainstreams of modern "colored" life with humor and sarcasm."

Tom Graves at Caritas

The next session of Racism to Reconciliation: Arts & Culture

NEW SESSION!

R2R Arts & Culture Session 2 , April 3 - May 22

Caritas House | 2532 Everett | Tuesdays, 6 – 8pm

Except where indicated by an asterisk (*) details to be provided.

The next session of Racism to Reconciliation: Arts & Culture starts Tuesday, April 3rd! Registration will remain open until April 3rd or until the class size of 12 has been reached.

 

Time Sensitive Info: Registration by March 5th is required for those class participants who wish to take part in our visit to the Prison Stories class on Monday, April 16th at 6pm. (This will be in addition to the regular Tuesday class meeting that week). The early registration is necessary because background checks need to be conducted in advance of visiting the prison.

If you have questions, please feel free to write or call: bmsarden@hotmail.com or 901.281.2810 There is no fee for this (or any other) class at Memphis School of Servant Leadership

ABOUT THE COURSE

In Racism to Reconciliation: Arts & Culture, we use various forms of creative expression, including visual arts, theatre, music, food and film to: 1) Inform our search for relevant, meaningful understandings of racism, power, privilege, cultural identity, and marginalization; to reveal how these manifest in this community and our personal lives; 2) Guide the development of models for reconciliation that reflect the insight and energy of our unique culture, and the wisdom of our experience; 3) Encourage thoughtful, non-judgmental communication in the context of this class and beyond

 

SESSION 2 CLASSES & ACTIVITIES

Food, Memory, CultureIt’s a potluck dinner with a twist: Make/bring a dish to share that has meaning to you, something that tells a little bit about your life and where you’re from.

Variations on a ThemeAssignment. Choose from a wide selection of short articles, videos, images, poems, ads and more that have implications of race, cultural identity or marginalization. Spend some time reflecting on the materials and share your thoughts and feelings with the class.

Romeo & Juliet* The R2R Arts & Culture Class is invited to attend Hattiloo Theatre's production of Romeo & Juliet.

Hip Hop, Race & Religion

Andre E. Johnson, PhD is the Dr. James L. Netters Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Religion and African-American Studies at Memphis Theological Seminary where he teaches classes in prophetic rhetoric, black church, African-American theology, rhetoric and religion, pulpit rhetoric, race, and hip hop theology.

The Women of Prison Stories* (Monday, April 16th @ 6pm)

The Prison Stories Project is an outreach program of Voices of the South. It provides a year-long writing and theatre-intensive program for women currently serving time in the Shelby County Prison System. The R2R Arts & Culture class participants will visit the prison to meet the current class of women whose writings are the source material for the Prison Stories performances at TheatreSouth.

The Transformative Power of StoryJoann Self Selvidge, True Story Pictures

Phil Darius Wallace, Actor

Virginia Murphy, Playback Memphis

Wendi C. Thomas, Journalist

To Ask A Question
Before we can "speak truth to power" we must find the courage to ask hard questions. We will identify questions about race and identity that we might as of those with whom we are in relationship, if not to find answers, then to make known what is important to us.

Talking Back

In-class workshop. Respond to selected text, quotes or facts that refer to or may imply themes of race, power, privilege, marginalization, and reconciliation. Those who wish to share their writing with the group will have the opportunity to do so.

Born Into Brothels (documentary)

A portrait of several unforgettable children who live in Calcutta's red light district, where their mothers work as prostitutes. Spurred by the kids' fascination with her camera, Zana Briski, a New York-based photograper, living in the brothels and documenting life there, decides to teach them photography. This session meets at the home of Brooke Sarden, class facilitator.

 

Racism and Reconciliation in Pictures

Ongoing assignment, open to all Racism to Reconciliation participants, past and present. Photographs will be shared at the end of Session 2. Special thanks to Fred Terry and Stephanie Miller.

Village People Art show

Come join the Caritas Village creative community for the 2012 second annual Village People Art Show where we exhibit the talent of artist, friends and supporters of the village. This years theme is "Unity Through Color" which celebrates the arts and the multicultural community that we live in.

Please submit your work by January 31, we are accepting any medium, and artworks  must not exceed 36" in size and small sculptures should not weigh over 10 pounds and must fix on a pedestal securely. Works maybe hung salon style in order to accompany all submissions. Caritas reserves the right to reject works that maybe considered offensive or derogatory in content.