Author: Melissa Schilling

الشمس لم تقل للأرض ابدا "أنت مدينةً لى". انظر ماذا حدث لمثل هذا الحب. لقد أضاء السماء كلها

Red Chalkboard Wall

Melissa Schilling Art Projects 8 Comments

Make Your Own Custom Colored Chalkboard Wall

1. Pour 1 cup of paint into a container. Add 2 tablespoons of unsanded tile grout. Mix with a paint stirrer, carefully breaking up clumps.

2. Apply paint with a roller or a sponge paintbrush to a primed or painted surface. Work in small sections, going over the same spot several times to ensure full, even coverage. Let dry.

Naphka

Melissa Schilling short story series

She was the first name I memorized.
Naphka.

Unfortunately for her, she is the shyest girl in the orphanage. I would sing out her name every chance I had and she would cringe and hide her face everytime I did it. I would chase her around and hug her and dance with her. Day after Day. Week after Week. Visit after Visit.
Tenacious.
Relentless.
I wanted to connect with this little 7 year old soul who had dark eyes that had already lived three lifetimes filled with more guts and horror than any adult, let alone child should ever circumnavigate.

We gave all the girls at the orphanage new dresses and then asked them to draw themselves in the dresses.
Naphka’s painting depicts two faces on one dress and both faces are crying.

Recently I began demanding kisses. I would point at my cheek and Naphka would come reluctantly over to me and plant a small kiss on my face.
I wasn’t sure if she loved the attention, secretly. Or if she went to sleep at night praying I would leave her alone.

Two days ago I learned that she loved, loved, loved, LOVED the attention and outreach.
Naphka doesn’t have any parents or family and she had been living out on the mean streets of Port au Prince, alone. Eventually she was brought to the OJFA orphanage where HOPE Art does the majority of its art therapy programming.

The woman who runs the orphanage came over to me late on my last night in Haiti. She said that when I had walked out of the orphanage, for the last time that afternoon and the gate latched behind me, Naphka had burst into tears and thrown herself on her bed. It was one of the precious few moments she showed any emotion at all.

I realized the tears in her painting were tears of joy. Finally someone cared enough about her to want her to look nice, touch her, hold her and kiss her.

I am counting down the days until I can sing out her name.
Naphka

11.11.11: Make Stef’s Wishes Come True

Melissa Schilling Fundraiser

We need $730 to make this happen!

New HOPE Art member and seasoned seamstress Stef Gesiorski has decided to travel to Haiti in January. She will be working on sewing projects with the girls at OJFA. Their clothing is in a sad state of disrepair. Though it’s nothing a few zippers, needle and thread can’t fix. Many of the girls at the orphanage have party dresses donated from all over the world that no longer have buttons or working zippers. Often you will see 12 and 13 year old girls in clothing that gapes open exposing their bodies as they walk in the streets to school.

We are now accepting cash donations to pay for Stef’s flight through our Pyrex Donation Site. We are also accepting donations of sewing kits, sewing supplies and bras (training up to 34B).

Stef will also help with building a vertical urban garden in the courtyard of the orphanage. And she’ll be working on the commemorative poster project on January 12th, on the anniversary of the earthquake.

Thank you for your support!

…a trail of HOPE, a commemorative street portrait project

Melissa Schilling Art Projects

Thank you to all of our kickstarter donors who made this project possible …

Juliya Obukhovskaya, Monica Dolan, Melissa Felix, Tiffany A. Yandt, Cara, Jo, Keri Muma, Mark, Cathy and Frank Vives, Maritza, Sandra Cherk, Trink Praxel, Chantelle Roche, Katy Bilodeau, Anonymous, Christine Bradley, Lucy and Dave, Elyse Wood, Tom Neuhaus, Katie Kolb, Mica and Taylor, Bridget Hansen, Rebecca Marlitt Schilling, Suzanna Ferebee, Beth Thorpe, Nathalie Philippe, Charlene Sandlin, Lailani Ali, Stephanie Raugust, Susana Arias, Deborah N. Behles, Melissa Rockstar, Krystel Cassis, Roy Ehlenberg, Anita Salem, Kris F. Heil, Stefani Gesiorski, Kathleen Barbaro, Justin Helton, Dave Coleman, Debra Sloss, Kalle Thompson, Wes and Beth Dalzell, Sandra D. Siano, David Eurpongpan, Don. A. Zimmerman, Chris Munich, Elizabeth Castles, and Joanne F. Wong

We will be heading back to Port au Prince, Haiti on January 6th and staying through the 20th. On the anniversary of the earthquake on January 12th, we will be papering the streets around Carrefour (a slum neighborhood in PaP) with portraits of the young girls we work with at OJFA. These portraits express hopes, dreams and goals for the future. It is our pleasure to foster the manifestation of HOPE in this hard hit city, in the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.

Each donor will receive a high resolution photograph they may share with friends and family showcasing the portrait they personally helped fund.
All money raised goes towards art supplies, printing costs and travel expenses from the Bay Area to Port au Prince.

Thank you a million-fold.