corntooth

I just came back from a wonderful experience working with a group of kids and another Brazilian artist. This trip was set up by The Partners of The Americas and gave me the opportunity to stay with a wonderful family in Braco Do Norte , Santa Catarina Brazil. It all hit me when i realized how much work i had in front of me and how many peoples lives i would be affecting. As a volunteer i designed  painted and worked with kids to create a 50 foot mural that explained the history of their town.  Nadya Becker, whom is a very talented artist from this town, helped me sort through information and gave me ideas on the design. She helped bridge the gap between my clumsy american ways and the Portuguese speaking school kids. These kids were wonderful and worked hard. I stayed with Nadya’s  parents and was treated like a king, which meant being stuffed with unbelievable amounts of beer , meat, and whiskey(with Nadya’s cool brother). It was pretty rough being away from the family this long, and it reminded me of the many years of touring in punk rock bands all over the world without cell phones or wifi service.  This will be the subject of my next entry..  The end result was overwhelming. A lasting mark on this town, a partnership created, and a sense of accomplishment knowing that these kids took a small kind of ownership, along with the townfolk , in this mural.  At times there were 20 people just hanging out watching me paint. I met Custom frame builders and fabricators, grocery clerks, plasterers  painters, bankers, the town mayor, photographers, i was in the paper , on the radio, the local tv news, toured picture moulding factories, visited a newly met friends wife in the hospital. CRAZY!!! Most of the people here had never seen public art, let alone a freaky American riding his skateboard around town, singing at the top of his lungs to his cranked ipod, while throwing paint around.  So at the end got a tattoo to remember this, gave my skateboard to Nadya’s son, gave a speech about the importance of public art to the people, and got on a plane back to my family. The hope is to go back next year with the family to surf  and hang out. We have already been offered three different beach houses to stay..    I love that part