Curious?

Lauren and company singing to the artwork.

A Curious dinosaur inspires song.

A collage of art and appreciation at Catalyst Gallery for the Curious show.

Oscar Novello appreciates his work.

Jennifer Doyle marvels at the artwork's detail.

Pei-Lin agrees with the judges that this is a first place piece.

The students of Hope University along with other programs for adults with intellectual disabilities were invited to submit their art work for a gallery show called 'Curious'.  We had many submissions and lots of artwork to be juried.  The show went well with several of our students selling work as well as being honored for their work. 
First place went to Chris Friedman for a lovely and delicate colored pencil piece,  2nd place went to Lori Reyes for a print made from her drawing 'Mystery of the Nile' and 3rd place was awarded to Juan Pieri for an amazing block print on words with ink.  There was a well deserved Honorable Mention given to a collaborative piece in watercolor and colored pencil to Chih Tseng and Bradley Clayman who worked together beautifully.
The show was held at a gallery called Catalyst in Westminster California.  
The students were able to go on a field trip to view the artwork and enjoyed improvising music, song and acting to interpret the artwork. 

"Shopify" Preview

A set of 4 refrigerator magnets made from original student artwork.

New item for our 'Shopify' store.

We will soon be opening our own 'Shopify' portal linked through the Hope University website. Our Hope U handmade boutique will still be open for your etsy shopping needs.  The Hope University students are making so many wonderful items that our inventory is expanding enough to offer them in other venues.  Hope Handmade made appearances at the Patchwork handmade marketplace in Santa Ana recently, as well as at our Holiday show.  I hope you check back often as we debut new items here on the blog and on our website. 

New Year and New Items in our Etsy shop!

"Purple Taffy" hand woven scarf.

Hand woven scarf.

"Lavender Meadow" hand woven scarf.

Hand woven scarf. 

It is 2014 and the students of Hope University are looking forward to another fun filled year.  Field trips, performances, parties, and fun with friends top the lists. 
Our Etsy shop has some new items for purchase.  We have listed a new item, our hand woven scarves.  The students do enjoy creating these one of a kind pieces.  Using a rigid heddle loom is a new skill that we were able to add to the fiber arts classes in 2013, and it has proved to be very popular. 

Summer of 2013 Lu-Wow!

Fun in the conga line!

Hula dancers perform 'Little Grass Shack' and 'Pearly Shells'

Joe and Leighan join in on the musical fun.

Richard and Christie rest after lunch.

The students and staff of Hope University just love the summer and we celebrate the Southern California sun with Spirit Week!  Crazy sock day starts out the week, followed by sports day, where you can dress in your favorite sports jerseys and talk sports with your friends.  On silly hat day it is always a surprise to see what comes in the door.  The week is capped off with the ever popular 'Lu-Wow' day, filled with food, dancing, Hula, limbo and a sunny summer feeling of being on vacation in the tropics. 

Etsy Sales!

Handmade felt bead earrings.

Hand knitted gadget holders.

Hand wrapped and felted soaps. 

Our Etsy shop has been humming with sales!  The holidays are fast approaching and ordering items from our Etsy shop just could not be easier.  Skip the lines and parking troubles at the mall and order from Hope Handmade on Etsy! 

India Visits Hope

Indian Dancer.

Telling a story.

Teaching us hand gestures.

Indian drummer demonstrating a special drum.

The students learning hand gestures. 

The students of Hope University were privileged to be visited by a traveling artist, Indian dancer and her musician drummer.  She told us a story with her dance movements, hand gestures and even the expressions on her face.  The drummer played on special Indian drums and showed us all of the different sounds they could make.  The dancer did not wear any shoes, but had bells around her ankles that sounded like twinkly stars when she stomped her feet.  She wore a very colorful traditional Indian dancer's costume that flowed with her movements.  As she danced and told her story the students watched with new appreciation for her art.  Between dances the drummer demonstrated the many sounds he could create on the special Indian drums.  He told us that is takes many years to learn the techniques and styles of drumming for Indian dance.  The dancer also was able to show us some hand and foot movements for us all to try.  The students all enjoyed a little trip to India through her dance.  

Print It! Print Show

Darren Petersen's First Place print, Automated Tree System

Fred Mezzo's Second place print, Lone Cowboy

Juror Carleton Christy had a challenging task in choosing winners among the many wonderful prints exhibited in Print It!, Hope university's exhibition of Print making at Catalyst Gallery in Westminster, CA.  While Darren Petersen won the first place cash prize for his Automated Tree System print, Fred Mezzo was awarded Second Place for his portrait of John Wayne titled, Lone Cowboy.  Ben Simendingers's etching Dust Cloud, was the Third Place winner, Cathy Acton's Bird on a Branch was recognized with an Honorable Mention.  Fourteen prints, beautifully framed by Randy Higby Gallery, sold at the show.