Does everyone make New Years resolutions? If so what are they? I always think to make one but then I realize I test myself control all year! 4 months ago I gave up soda simply to prove to myself that I could and I succeeded! My New Years resolution is to keep testing my self control randomly! I hope everyone had a safe and radical New Years! Let’s welcome 2012 with high-fives and a strong spine. Cheers!
Tis the season to be thoughtful. Sometimes when the holidays settle down and my brain has time to jump around through thoughts that have been pushed aside to allow the day-to-day actions to be completed & I always end up sailing deep into memory lane when I was in Uganda, Africa. To not turn this blog post into a large emotional journal entry, I will keep this simple. August-October 2010 I had a lot of money saved up from working. I refuse to use my money for pointless things that I really do not need so I decided to go to Africa. I applied to teach and live in Uganda for a month or so and I was accepted. I purchased my plane ticket and within a few months I was on a plane by myself going to a 3rd-world country where I knew not a soul. When I arrived I was escorted to a small village called Golomolo near Lake Victoria where I lived among 300 orphans in a hut without plumbing or furniture (you get used to it almost immediately). I taught art & science to the children and I fell in love with every single one of them. The emotions I experienced I can not describe in depth enough for people to understand what a beautiful experience it was, I have never cried so much in my life, and leaving was the hardest thing I ever had to accept. I write this today because I woke up today thinking about my time there and I started to tear, I really miss the connection to humanity I felt while I was in Africa.
Honestly, my first few nights in Uganda I cried almost every night. I felt guilty for taking advantage of so many things I had back home and how easy life was for me. I wanted to give every child that same life and so many times I wished to trade places. But the thing was, these children were as happy as could be! Happier than any kid I’ve ever seen in the States and then I thought “why would I want to take that away?” That is the beauty of culture. I admit, when I returned home I tried to work on some paintings I started in Africa but I got too emotional while trying to finish them so I have about 4 canvases that are not done and I wonder sometimes if maybe they are as complete as they will ever get. People ask me if I’d ever go back again and I reply, “If I could I’d be on a plane there right now to stay.”
If you’d like to see more pictures of this life-changing journey I’ve got more on Flickr
I know a collector of these Kidrobot Dunny Toys so for Christmas I decided to paint him a painting of him putting his South Park Dunnies on his shelf instead of actually adding to the collection. I also thought it would be funny to have a much larger Munny Toy standing boldly before the toys because the expressions on the South Park toys is “oh crap!” (a play off of Toy Story and every other movie where the toys come to life) I painted it on wood using Ink and Acrylics/ Wood Varnish.
Illustrations were done with my brain Ink and Letraset Markers on bristol paper.
Oh Winter, how I love you when I’m not driving! View more Hello! Snowmen on my Flickr
