Hope For Creativity

Founded by Moira Landry, Hope for Creativity is a non- profit charity organisation aimed at providing art supplies to children in homeless shelters. Since 2009 she has personally delivered thousands of art packs to homeless shelters in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and at 17 was named as a Distinguished Finalist by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. She fully supports her charity and raises the awareness of homelessness and the affect on children in particular.



"I believed, that if I could give a child experiencing homelessness something new that was meant just for them, at a time when they were used to having to give up things, it might change their lives."   

This year 51 artists from 24 states and 3 different countries, submitted their respective talents, to produce amazing designs, for an online action. The theme, "Engage in Boundless Expression", was chosen by followers on social media and offered endless possibilities. The auction runs from September the 11th until October the 11th.

Now whilst this seems all very admirable and frankly astounding, being from Scotland, I had no previous knowledge of the charity before Karen Hallion shared a status update. That's all it took for me, the Doctor Who / Disney Princess artist had commented that she was designing a palette for a charity auction. Well being a braggart and slightly big headed I believed I might be able to contribute something to the artistic world, whilst helping a dedicated teen realise her goals.

So I applied to join in and my mind overflowed with ideas and concepts In short order my palette arrived, but the pac-man lookalike, blanked everything. I sat and stared at it with the confusion I usually reserve for a blank wall, I really didn't have a clue what I was going to do with it. After a couple of days of turning it round, fiddling with pencils and brushes, I caved in and decided to just start.



I doubt I'm the only one with this approach, a blank canvas can be very daunting until it is marked. So I colour washed it, with a kaleidoscope of water colours. Once the initial coat was done, shapes started to emerge from the hazy soup. Apparently the topic title had inspire romantic leanings with the term 'Engage'. Well I was far to uninspired to back off now, so a proposal it was to be.

 

It didn't take me too long to realise that my traditional male figure wasn't going to pan out quite the way I'd intended, my ineptitude aside, I plodded on. Embracing the equality of relationships and love in general, it really didn't matter. The layers built up and skirts and tone (of sorts) appeared. The theft of a gold pen from my daughter served to highlight and add depth to the details. 

Now my artistic beauty is available online to bid on , look at it sitting pretty on display with all the other

ones!
Taking part in this charity event really made me feel as if I've accomplished something this year, I really look forward to next year, and hopefully a more inspired and thought out work.

Check out the links below and do your bit to support a great charity and an inspirational teenager.
Website
Facebook
Online Auction
My palette
Etsy store