It was a entire feeling of giving and giving back. What a great way to begin!
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
The Drawings, The Thank You's
It was a entire feeling of giving and giving back. What a great way to begin!
A Description of My Adventure to Mexico
This describes my project. This is how my GoFundMe campaign (gofundme.com/gailhodder) reads:
Plans are in motion to fulfill a journey to the Tepehua community of Chapala, one of the poorest in Jalisco, Mexico.
I am ready to give back to a very poor community and will volunteer for one month to teach art to children. In Chapala some parents cannot afford to send their children to school. While parents try to provide the basics of living, children are often left on the streets. Luckily, the Tepehua Community Centre , is providing assistance through education of all facets and they would greatly benefit from having me volunteer there to teach visual art and craft. Studies have shown that arts education improves reading, writing and math skills, improves social skills and is motivational, especially to those in poor communities. But, perhaps more than this, being creative and making art and crafts brings great joy to children. While we Canadians may consider drawing and coloring a natural occurrence in our children’s growth and development, for some children in the Chapala region, having a piece of paper and a pencil, and an opportunity and place in which to create and have fun makes a huge difference to their day. My plan is to teach a group of older children a technique first, and then have them teach the younger children the same technique. We will explore many aspects of making art and creating but concentrate on the motifs, colour palate and images from their culture.
Part of my time with the Tepehua Community Centre will also be spent teaching the organizers some art skills, so that they can feel confident teaching and passing on these skills. The Community Centre will provide me with free accommodations. Yay!
Here's a short video of me discussing my profession: Gail Hodder - Visual Arts Educator
To show my appreciation, each contributor to my GoFundMe campaign will receive an original charcoal drawing from me!
Funds raised will be used towards my transportation to Mexico, art supplies for the children and my meals.
I will be starting a Facebook Page/Blog to promote my Fundraising Journey and to post lots and lots of videos and images of my time in Mexico with the kids!
Let's do this together!!!!! Be a part of this journey with me!
Thank you,
Monday, November 2, 2015
What inspired me?
People inspire me.
Tammy, a woman in my community who adopted 2 children from China and raised countless dollars for other families wanting to to adopt.
Emily, age 19, from Prince Edward Island, who did the El Camino, not once, but twice!
Trudy G, a fellow jeweller from New Brunswick who has been going to the Chapala region for several years to teach the adult women new jewellery making techniques.
My kids! Loudon and Brennus are age 12 and 10. I want to teach them that there is a whole wide world out there. They are so fascinated by my venture and with the ease of technology, they can follow ever step.
My children's uncle inspired me when he and a group of other doctors went to Africa to provide free health care to a village. One year, he took his two oldest children with him, who were just tweens at the time.
I lived in Canada's Arctic for 5 years. Living in another culture inspired me.
Other people's stories and adventures inspire me. Stories of Inuit being lost on the tundra and surviving. Modern day adventurers like Don Starkle, Paddle to the Arctic and Victoria Jason, Kabloona in a Yellow Kayak who paddled through the Arctic. I read both of their books while living in Repulse Bay, NU. While living in Inuvik, NT, I recall many stories of people travelling the famous MacKenzie River by any means, even rafts.
I was once on the Dempster Highway with friends having a picnic and out of nowhere comes an elderly man on a bike. Coming from the south meant that he would have had to travel over 700 km on a gravel highway. He told us it was a personal journey.
When in Inuvik, there was a film screening about a husband and wife team who followed the Canadian herd of Caribou on foot. Karsten Heuer and Leanne Allison documented this powerful adventure; Being Caribou.
Adventures by actor Ewen McGregor and friend Charley Boorman when they traveled by motorcycle all around the world going through many countries and therefore encountering many cultures. Both adventures were filmed; Long Way Round and Long Way Down are a must watch.
Movies inspire me: Into the Wild, The Wild, Tracks, The Way...
Tammy, a woman in my community who adopted 2 children from China and raised countless dollars for other families wanting to to adopt.
Emily, age 19, from Prince Edward Island, who did the El Camino, not once, but twice!
Trudy G, a fellow jeweller from New Brunswick who has been going to the Chapala region for several years to teach the adult women new jewellery making techniques.
My kids! Loudon and Brennus are age 12 and 10. I want to teach them that there is a whole wide world out there. They are so fascinated by my venture and with the ease of technology, they can follow ever step.
My children's uncle inspired me when he and a group of other doctors went to Africa to provide free health care to a village. One year, he took his two oldest children with him, who were just tweens at the time.
Other people's stories and adventures inspire me. Stories of Inuit being lost on the tundra and surviving. Modern day adventurers like Don Starkle, Paddle to the Arctic and Victoria Jason, Kabloona in a Yellow Kayak who paddled through the Arctic. I read both of their books while living in Repulse Bay, NU. While living in Inuvik, NT, I recall many stories of people travelling the famous MacKenzie River by any means, even rafts.
I was once on the Dempster Highway with friends having a picnic and out of nowhere comes an elderly man on a bike. Coming from the south meant that he would have had to travel over 700 km on a gravel highway. He told us it was a personal journey.
When in Inuvik, there was a film screening about a husband and wife team who followed the Canadian herd of Caribou on foot. Karsten Heuer and Leanne Allison documented this powerful adventure; Being Caribou.
Adventures by actor Ewen McGregor and friend Charley Boorman when they traveled by motorcycle all around the world going through many countries and therefore encountering many cultures. Both adventures were filmed; Long Way Round and Long Way Down are a must watch.
Movies inspire me: Into the Wild, The Wild, Tracks, The Way...
Why...why this and why now?
I want to wake myself up.
I grew up in a small town in a traditional family. My mom was a stay at home wife and my father worked every day.
I always wanted something different. I dreamed of travelling and seeing the world. I moved to another province (PEI) when I was 18 to attend university and met so many people from other places and other cultures.
From there, I moved to another province (Ontario) and met more and more people from more and more cultures. I was fascinated.
After art college I moved to Canada's arctic where I was completely immersed into the Inuit, Inuvialuit and Gwich'in cultures for 5 years. It was a dream for me and I loved it.
When I had my first child I imagined him coming with his dad and I to many different places. He was born in Inuvik, NWT. His first flight was across the country at 6 weeks old. His second flight was moving to PEI at 8 months old.
I had my second child 2 years later and I became a stay at home wife for 5 years. We bought a house, and became a traditional family.
This was not what i had planned, not what I had dreamed of. My marriage ended 5 years ago and it honestly took 5 years to get past it. Lawyers, legal fees, division of property, child custody, etc is crippling.
Now, my children are well adjusted to two households and are old enough to not miss their mom (too much). My finances are back on track and I have a job that will permit me to take a month leave without pay (and I've saved my vacation days).
It's time for me to get back to my my childhood dream, to live an non traditional life, to travel, to explore another culture. It's time to teach my children too.
I don't want to work 9-5 every day without life experiences that will change me. I want to grow as a human. I want to feel and see and smell and taste a different place that will stay with me and become part of me. I want to wake myself up to how well I have it. How much we have. How lucky I am.
I grew up in a small town in a traditional family. My mom was a stay at home wife and my father worked every day.
I always wanted something different. I dreamed of travelling and seeing the world. I moved to another province (PEI) when I was 18 to attend university and met so many people from other places and other cultures.
From there, I moved to another province (Ontario) and met more and more people from more and more cultures. I was fascinated.
After art college I moved to Canada's arctic where I was completely immersed into the Inuit, Inuvialuit and Gwich'in cultures for 5 years. It was a dream for me and I loved it.
When I had my first child I imagined him coming with his dad and I to many different places. He was born in Inuvik, NWT. His first flight was across the country at 6 weeks old. His second flight was moving to PEI at 8 months old.
I had my second child 2 years later and I became a stay at home wife for 5 years. We bought a house, and became a traditional family.
This was not what i had planned, not what I had dreamed of. My marriage ended 5 years ago and it honestly took 5 years to get past it. Lawyers, legal fees, division of property, child custody, etc is crippling.
Now, my children are well adjusted to two households and are old enough to not miss their mom (too much). My finances are back on track and I have a job that will permit me to take a month leave without pay (and I've saved my vacation days).It's time for me to get back to my my childhood dream, to live an non traditional life, to travel, to explore another culture. It's time to teach my children too.
I don't want to work 9-5 every day without life experiences that will change me. I want to grow as a human. I want to feel and see and smell and taste a different place that will stay with me and become part of me. I want to wake myself up to how well I have it. How much we have. How lucky I am.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
The first step into my journey to help give back is raising the fund to get to Mexico, with art supplies in hand.
www.gofundme.com/gailhodder
"I'm not afraid to be goof when I teach, as long as the kids learn." ~Gail Hodder, 2015
www.gofundme.com/gailhodder
"I'm not afraid to be goof when I teach, as long as the kids learn." ~Gail Hodder, 2015
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