for art's sake

Her presence was noticed. The drawing class of 14 sought out the unfamiliar face and knew why she was there. They had been told by the instructor that tonight's class would involve figure drawing.

With a few instructions, the students each stood ready at their easels, charcoal in hand. The young woman stood in the center of the room and dropped her robe.

Because the instructor had been drilling the class about form, shape, line, movement, the class looked at the nude model as just another object--no different than the many arrangements of still life they had drawn all semester.

It was a moment that the instructor had hoped for. This group of raw artists began the year with little knowledge of how to put form on paper, and now they are given the task to draw the purest of forms--the human body.

All for the sake of art.

how i made a personal difference - Meals on Wheels

Blog entry for final project:

Poverty among the elderly will always be part of our society. We can't escape it, and who knows, we may be part of the statistics someday. There are small things that can be done to help those in need, even if we can't solve the problem. My experience was delivering Meals on Wheels.

I joined a husband/wife team, John and Carolyn, who have been delivering meals for almost 20 years. As I listened to them tell their stories of the people they have met, it made me think of my grandparents and how fortunate they were to have family close by to take care of them.

After we picked up the "hot" and "cold" coolers from the food services at Stormont Vail Hospital, we checked out the detailed directions/map to the 11 homes waiting for their meal--sometimes it is the only meal the person eats that day.

It was a very chilly fall day as I followed Carolyn up the creaky stairs to the first home. "Roberta" (name changed for privacy reasons) was waiting at the door in her paper-thin nightgown. Her shades were drawn and the house was completely dark. She took the sack filled with Jello, bread and milk plus the tray of beef stew and cornbread, thanked us and shut the door. It was routine for her and food was more important than conversation.

One of the next houses struck me as sad. The front porch was strewn with old furniture and trash, these shades were also drawn and it took a long time before anyone came to the door. Carolyn said that a couple lived here and she knew that he was very ill. It was a pleasant surprise to see him answer the door. Even though he was very frail, he seemed very happy to have lunch. I noticed, though, that the rush of cold air out of the house was almost as chilly as the outside air. Closed shades probably help insulate, but a little sunshine could also help perk up one's spirit.

More stops, more broken down homes, more quick thank-yous. The recipients of these meals get fed five days a week. Some divide these small portions into two meals and even try to make it through the weekend. It's not a perfect plan, but at least there is some nutrional value.

I asked one woman what she would do without Meals on Wheels. She replied, "If I didn't have them, I would just eat cereal."

It was a brief time, but I have asked to to have my name put on a regular route next year. I really felt like this is one small thing I can do to help those less fortunate than me.