Artist of the Month for February is Jenny Doyle!

Jenny is honored for her artwork.

Jenny's collage and watercolor.

Three colored pencil drawings by Jenny D.

Jenny's artistic interpretation of a shamrock and a rabbit.

A sunset with birds in watercolor by Jenny D.

Each month a Hope University student is honored for their artistic talents.  They receive a certificate and accolades from their fellow students.  Also, their work is displayed at the back of the gathering hall for all to admire.  This month, February, we honor student Jennifer Doyle for her artistic contributions to Hope U. 
What Jenny has to say about her art: 
"I like my artwork, I think I do a good job at art."
"I like to draw with colored pencils, it is good for my coordination to stay on the paper".
On water colors she says, "I like working with watercolors too, it is easier to move my brush back and forth on the paper with watercolors."
On collage, "I like to paste down the pieces so they won't stick up. I thought a lot about the colors, I asked myself, 'what colors should I use' before I chose them."
We are all enjoying Jennifer's work, she is so enthusiastic about her artwork and that inspires us all.
Great job Jenny!

Hoot! A New Product at the Hope Boutique

A shy owlet.

Just a peek.

Pensive gray owlet

Owlet says 'hello'.

You may (or not) be familiar with the Hope University Boutique.  The students at Hope U make a wonderful line of gift items that they sell at the Christmas Show and at other venues.  We have beaded ornaments, 'refrigerator' magnets, felted purses, earrings, felted soaps, knitted wrist warmers, knitted hats, hand sewn felt play food, jewelry created from the students artwork, greeting cards, calendars, mugs and journals just to name some. 
The knitting class recently added a new product....'owlets'!  Each owlet is hand knitted by one of the students in the knitting class and then sent on to the sewing class to have the eyes and beak added, then the ears, seaming and stuffing is completed by a staff member.  Then you have a finished, hand knitted happy little owlet.  We have some great ideas for these little guys, and hope we can keep up with demand!  Also an idea has been 'hatched' to create a stop action film staring our very own little Hope owlets, so we are adding a 'stop action' camera set up to our wish list.  We hope you like our new additions, if you would like to purchase or reserve an owlet or to donate a stop action camera set up please go to our website to contact us.  Hoot-Hoot!

Halloween at Hope U

Vera (on right), music therapist, assists Melanie with chocolate covered pretzel making.

Tanette Tuttle shows off her best 'spider woman' smile.

Students helped to make, and eat the spooky snacks.

Kim Mumper chose a to be a waitress for Halloween this year.

Jason Rosales, as Batman in Repose.

Tina and April show off their costumes together.

Artistic Director Shelley RuggThorp paints Darren Crow's face.

Darren shows off his pirate paint!

Carol Ryden is a very happy pumpkin princess.

Alexis D'Luna had much fun in her 'Jasmine' costume.

Halloween fell on a Monday this year and the students of Hope University had some fun.  Our annual Halloween party was a hit to be sure.  There were spooky snacks, 'bobbing' for chocolate covered pretzels, paper hat making, face painting, a 'pumpkin walk', a costume parade and of course, lots of dancing!  Here are a few comments from the students about this years Halloween party:
"I really like the music."
Lori Slikker
"I liked all of the decorations that we made."
Kris W.
"I had fun in the costume parade."
April Renick
"Getting to dress up like a witch was fun."
Joanna Buon-Cristiani
"I liked doing the pumpkin walk game."
Margaret Kelley
"I liked everything!"
Tanette Tuttle

Admiring the Mural

Cindy H. admires the mosaic.

Darren C. gets up close to a leaf.

Vicki V. poses with a flower.

Joanna B. with a car.

Rene, Chris and Karen enjoy their veggie burgers.

Hallway art gallery.

Diane, Chris and Rene view the art work.

This week the students of Hope University are took several small groups on a field trips to Integrity House in Santa Ana California.  We had  lunch with them, enjoyed the hallway art gallery and admired our beautiful mural which was created in tandem with that program.  Students, staff and volunteers from Hope University all collaborated in creating the mural on the outside of the Integrity House building.  It incorporates drawings, paintings and mosaics of the students art work. Whimsical and representational as well as some portraits of the clients at Integrity House.  We enjoyed veggie burgers, french fries, salad, apples slices and lentil soup, all of which were prepared by the staff and clients at Integrity House. 
On the dedication addition to the mural it states:
Trees represent a place of shelter.
Flowers represent the blossoming of a person.
Birds represent the ability to soar beyond other peoples expectations.
All of these are true about both programs and the students and clients who attend them. 
They find shelter and understanding with peers and staff at their programs.
They blossom as people, friends, family members and productive members of society.
They often soar well beyond all expectations put upon them by society and even themselves!
All so very true, and so much can be learned from them and their amazing ABILITIES!

Guest Artist Tom Walker

Kimmie N. shows off her creation.

Karen L. basks in the simplicity of her metal design.

Tina G. and Michelle E. are proud of their metal sculptures.

 A student explores the play of light and shadow on the metal.

Three metal sculptures.

Tom Walker demonstrates with a jack-o-lantern in metal.

Darren P. and Carol W. concentrate on their designs.

In August we had a guest artist come to Hope University.  His name is Tom Walker and his medium is metal.  He makes sculptures both large and small using metal to create his art.  Tom brought with him some rolls of wire which he cut into smaller lengths.  Each student was given a length of wire with which to work.  He showed the students some examples of shapes to make, like a pair of glasses or a bicycle and talked about how to work with the wire.  It looks almost like sketching in three dimensions! The students really enjoyed working with the wire and having a guest artist come to teach is such a treat!  We are all very thankful to Tom and hope he can come back again to help us create more art.
"I made a dolphin."
Lori Slikker
"I made a penguin and an Orca whale."
Tanette Tuttle
"I made a flower."
K.
"I made a snowman."
Bradley Clayman
"I made a Christmas tree."
Darren Crow
All of the students were inspired by Tom, he really brought out their metal creativity!