Weekend art happening

SUNDAY....SUN day...with HOLLY HUGHES eternal life force...directions...radiance.

We talked about the sun and what it felt like. Warm, comforting like a Mother. Without the sun there would be no life. We wanted to do something that would continue on after the workshop was over. Something that would radiate in all directions and in time, so that other people could enjoy it and connect to it. We decided to paint a mural of the sun in the stairwell. Our sun started around a light fixture in the ceiling and it's radiance was illustrated the long arms and hands. Out of the hands came images of life...a tree with fruits, a human with a DNA chain, the earth, the moon, the ocean with fish, and a butterfly. We also traced our hands or painted colored hand prints on the wall with our names and countries and used words to share our hopes and dreams. At the end we asked everyone else to add his or her hands and thoughts. We made a paint box with brushes and markers, and painted one of the sun's hands holding cans of paint and brushes with a message inviting others to add to the mural and to "ask at the desk for paint and markers". We look at our project as a skeleton, or a seed, and hope that with time it will spread through the whole stairway. Our group was small, only 4 kids plus me. They weren't all comfortable with the paint brush, but in the end I think they had fun and were happy with the project. The stairwell in cheery and the hostel manager was very excited about a place for other visitors to leave their mark.

DIRECTION

• Buy local, organic, re-usable, recylable, multi-purpose, fair trade items.
• Use ethical banking/ invest surplus money in environmental improvements.
• Have environmentally friendly hobbies - allotments, local sports, permaculture group.
• Support sustainable tourism and environmentally friendly holiday options.
• Use energy efficient appliances. Consider which appliances you really need.
• Know your priorities and your rights - campaign, stand up for what you believe in and make sure you practise what you preach.
• Use natural body products and healthcare - consider the environmental impact and knock-on effects of unnatural things - e.g. hormone imbalance in fish stocks.
• Work out your eco-footprint and ways to reduce it.
• Consider going vegetarian or vegan - think more about what you consume and the impacts.
• Improve communication and cooperation - share effective solutions.

Websites:

• www.ethicalconsumer.org
• www.globalwitness.org