Super Superpowers!

by | Apr 24, 2023 | Visual Arts

April 18, 2023: We’re just happy to be back at the Arlington County Detention Facility after three years of virtual – or no – classes! We knew Sharmila and her gentle art would be the perfect way to segue in with the general population. She wrote that she “…tasked [them] to create an entity that had special powers that was much needed in our world today…I am always amazed at what people create for this particular project. It’s so thoughtful…We had some very interesting conversations.

Quiz: Match the description with the superpower:

  1. Healing fly, a butterfly who senses any suffering and ailments with her special antennas anywhere in the world and can heal the person of any ailments they may have.
  2. Mother Earth, our ultimate super hero. With her powers of endurance and creation the woman needs to be honored as she is the source of all that exists.
  3. Blossom, who makes flowers and people blossom and bloom with her special powers.
  4. Guppy, who loves to give group hugs. She likes peace, harmony and love to spread with her special hugs.
  5. Food Man, who feeds the hungry and the homeless. His never ending faucet will provide you with any liquids be it juices or sodas. His side kick furnace can whip up any dish from any country for any amount of people.
  6. Rainbot, who has shower powers. She can do her special robotic rain dance and make it rain wherever and whenever needed, and can bless you with prosthetic limbs if you don’t have them (the creator’s friend lost a limb because of diabetes, hence Rainbot).

Cherry Blossoms and Dots

by | Apr 17, 2023 | Visual Arts

April 14, 2023: Our art teacher Sharmila Karamchandani summarized her Fun Friday at Casa Chirilagua so perfectly:

“Today at our Heard Fun Friday at Casa Chirilagua, kids from 1st to 3rd grades learned about dot painting and pointillism technique. We made cherry blossom trees and talked about their short-lived life. Then I asked the kids what were some of their experiences that were short-lived and yet they truly felt lot of joy and happiness with that experience.

Many tiny hands went up in the air. I was so surprised they were holding so much in their little hearts. A lot of them talked about their grandparents ( mainly grandmothers) who are no longer alive(almost half the class wanted to talk about them), one kid misses a baby bunny who he saw in his backyard but doesn’t know what happened to it, one of the volunteer shared how she had fishes and because of not knowing what was the right water to put them in, she accidentally put them in the wrong water and they died in two days. Some of them missed their pets who have died.

All of this happened so fast in about 45 minutes, we learned about a technique, some of them needed help with making their tree trunks, we spoke about difficult experiences and then cleaned up as most of them had white and pink paints on their body. They were all covered with paint. It could qualify as an immersive experience. 😂.

Phew!! Each time I leave the workshop my heart is so filled with gratitude to experience and witness these young kids. ❤️ Fridays are fun indeed!!“