A poem/prayer for the New Year

Prayer for this House

by Louis Untermeyer

May nothing evil cross this door
and may ill fortune never pry
about these walls may the roar and rain go by

By faith made strong these rafters will
withstand the battering of the storm.
Though all the world grow chill will keep us warm.

May peace walk softly through these rooms,
touching our lips with holy wine
until every casual corner blooms into a shrine

With laughter drown the raucous shout
and though the sheltering walls are thin
may they be strong to keep hate out and hold love in.

Images from Casa Sophia, Managua, Nicaragua, site of my latest artist residency.  

A residency in Managua, Nicaragua

I've been AWOL for a couple of weeks. But I have a good excuse: I've been out of the country. In Nicaragua to be exact. Over the past ten years my wife, Lynn, has developed a regular working relationship with a non-profit organization in Managua called Cantera. The mission of Cantera is to build a more just, equitable and sustainable society through holistic community development using the methodology of Popular Education. This year Cantera invited me to accompany Lynn in the capacity of artist in residence for a two-week period. We just returned last night.

During my residency I wrote poetry and made photographs that I hope capture a little of the resilient spirit of Nicaragua. On the one hand it is a tropical land with abundant natural beauty and on the other it is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere (after Haiti.) As the residency coincided with Christmas, some of the images reflect the season, which looks very different in Managua than it does in Milwaukee! I'm still editing the poetry but here is one of two initial selections of photos. The other set can be seen on my Urban Wilderness blog.

To see a different selection of photos from my residency go to Urban Wilderness.

Childhood: an exhibition at A Smith Gallery

I am pleased and honored to announce that two of my photographs from Nicaragua have been accepted into a juried exhibit at the prestigious A Smith Gallery in Texas.

"Joy," from the Nicaragua portfolios

Here are the details:

Childhood, a juried exhibition

A Smith Gallery, Johnson City, TX

Feb. 26 - Mar. 27, 2016

For more info go to A Smith Gallery.

"Drawing Them Out," from the Nicaragua portfolios

To see additional images from my latest trip to Nicaragua in 2014, go to my Flickr album.

Nicaragua book now available on Magcloud

My latest book is a selection of photographs from several of my regular trips to Nicaragua.

Between 1999 and 2010 I made six trips to Nicaragua under the auspices of a non-profit organization called Bridges to Community. The mission of Bridges is to promote cross-cultural interaction through the process of living and working with local communities. Volunteers from the United States work with local people to build houses, dig wells, or create other types of infrastructure sorely needed in these communities, many of which have been devastated by hurricanes and earthquakes. Most of the images in the book are portraits of the beautiful, hard-working, and resilient Nicaraguan people - and I have a special fondness for the children!

The book can be previewed and ordered on Magcloud by clicking here.

Arts Without Borders returns from across the border

I've been absent from the blogosphere for nearly 3 weeks because I've literally been across the border - a long way across, in Nicaragua. Even after a week back in the US it's hard to readjust to "normal life." I'm writing a longer piece about this but it's taking a while, so I thought I'd simply post this note with a couple of teaser images from my trip.

I go to Nicaragua every other summer with a group from Unitarian Universalist Church West, where I'm a member, to build houses under the auspices of a non-profit called Bridges to Community. I've written much more about these experiences on my website. This summer marks my sixth "brigade." Although I've always taken pictures, each time I go I find myself easing a little further out of the role of construction worker and into the welcome role of photographer. As I was still nursing an injury from shortly before this trip the role was more guilt free than usual.

The image above shows Antonia kissing her son Axel. It could be anywhere and is blatantly sentimental. But it isn't anywhere, which is the point. Antonia is the new owner of one of the two houses that our brigade built in four days in collaboration with a professional crew of masons provided by Bridges and with other members of the local community. Antonia herself worked very hard, mixing concrete, lifting heavy blocks, and everything we needed to do.

The image below is more symbolic of the relationship between brigadistas from the US and the local community. Jackson, on the left in this image, is the proud owner of this second house under construction. He is pictured with Dana, from Milwaukee. They are working together and, as in every brigade I've been on, have created a bond that transcends language, culture, and geography. We see this through the narrow grid of construction material, the metaphorical frame that unites them - and partially obscures what they are about. It is my hope to bring their effort into view with my photography.

To see more images from the brigade, go to my flickr page.

To learn more about the Nicaraguan experience, go to my website.