Juniata Gap to Jamaica: murals talk
Donation protected
My name is Pamela Snyder Etters and I am an artist, executive, coach and mother living in Altoona, Pennsylvania. I am a strong believer in personal growth through community involvement and service. I truly feel that a variety of experiences have led to a successful career in the arts which is why I make every effort to expose friends, family and community to new and enlightening experiences. I really enjoy traveling and believe cultural submersion is a valuable part of my personal and professional growth. I have won several awards for family and community service efforts as well as recognition for my commitment to education in the Altoona/ Blair County region. Most recently I was a recipient of the Altoona Area School District's Service to Education Award and Rotary International's Family and Community Service Award.
While I continue to work a full time positin with the Altoona Symphony, I still make time for my #1 passion, murals. I feel art is such a powerful and universal medium, and I have found a real voice amoung our local and international youth through my work. Some of my recent ventures have connected local students to children in Mastic beach, Long Island and San Jose, Costa Rica. Mastic Beach was an area hard hit by hurricane Sandy in 2012. Shortly after the hurricane I worked with 6th graders at Juniata Gap Elementary School to create a mural about hope, renewal and rebuilding. The students learned more details about the disaster, wrote letters and poems to children affected by the hurricane and completed a mural about the devistation, rising above the tragedy and finding peace and tranquility once again. This mural traveled to Tangier Smith Elementary School in Mastic Beach, Long Island where it was dedicated. Following the ceremony I then turned my attention towards the 5th graders at Tangier Smith. Together we talked about the gift they had received and what it meant to them. They expressed to me how amazing it was that kids they never met could care enough to create this for them.We talked about friendship and produced a mural that would forever connect these 2 schools and the children in each. That mural now hangs in Juniata Gap as a symbol of kindness and extension of friendship. The 2 schools gathered students together on Friday, January 10, 2014 and skyped with each other to complete the process and strengthen the bond.
Last year I worked on another mural with the subsequent class of 6th graders which was about understanding and relating to others across different cultures. Pointing out our unique qualities, but recognizing that on deeper levels we are more similar in thoughts, worries, goals fears, etc... The mural we created was then taken to San Jose, Costa Rica where myself and my soccer team worked with school children in one of the most impoverished areas of San Jose to create the second half of the mural (read all about the trip and this project here ). This half again highlighed the uniqueness of the individual and their culture while also shining light on the fact that we are indeed all reflections of each other.
This year we took the opportunity to once again share a cultural lesson with the children. Patrick "MO" Taylor is originally from Waterhouse, Kingston, Jamaica. A place he will refer to as a 'ghetto'/ poverty stricken district in Kingston. He grew up witness to many crimes, violence and daily struggle to simply make it. He talked to the kids about circumstance. He mentioned that a circumstance is almost always given to you (at least when you are a child) and that your effort is what creates a shift in your circumstance. The harder you work, the more effort you put into succeeding, the greater the chances of you changing your circumstance for the better. We also talked about the history of Kingston and the people who live there. We designed the first portion of the mural to reflect that history and the white space remaining will be designed with help from the children in Waterhouse. We are planning a trip to Waterhouse, Kingston, Jamaice this May where we will spend a day talking to the kids about effort and circumstance. We will talk about their local culture and what they feel defines them as a community. The kids will be given time to draw pictures that represent them, their families, their culture and community. From these drawings I will design and sketch the final portions of the mural in the evening. The following 2 days we will work with the kids to complete the painting and then hang it in the school or local futbol stadium where it will be visible and respected by communtiy members.
This trip will give Mo an opportunity to give back to his home community and be a shinging example of the rewards that come when you put effort into the pursuit of your dreams and goals. What a great role model for these children to look up to for many years to come.
This trip will not come without some expenses. While our plan is to spend come nights living with community members and some of Mo's family in order to submerse ourselves in the culture there, we will have a few travel, lodging, food and material expenses. Our goal is to raise $3,000 which would mostly cover the cost for our team of 3 to travel (this includes extra baggage for art supplies and other donated goods for the school), eat and explore while there.
I hope you will find this cause worth while to support and I look forward to sharing the results of our travels with everyone in May!
While I continue to work a full time positin with the Altoona Symphony, I still make time for my #1 passion, murals. I feel art is such a powerful and universal medium, and I have found a real voice amoung our local and international youth through my work. Some of my recent ventures have connected local students to children in Mastic beach, Long Island and San Jose, Costa Rica. Mastic Beach was an area hard hit by hurricane Sandy in 2012. Shortly after the hurricane I worked with 6th graders at Juniata Gap Elementary School to create a mural about hope, renewal and rebuilding. The students learned more details about the disaster, wrote letters and poems to children affected by the hurricane and completed a mural about the devistation, rising above the tragedy and finding peace and tranquility once again. This mural traveled to Tangier Smith Elementary School in Mastic Beach, Long Island where it was dedicated. Following the ceremony I then turned my attention towards the 5th graders at Tangier Smith. Together we talked about the gift they had received and what it meant to them. They expressed to me how amazing it was that kids they never met could care enough to create this for them.We talked about friendship and produced a mural that would forever connect these 2 schools and the children in each. That mural now hangs in Juniata Gap as a symbol of kindness and extension of friendship. The 2 schools gathered students together on Friday, January 10, 2014 and skyped with each other to complete the process and strengthen the bond.
Last year I worked on another mural with the subsequent class of 6th graders which was about understanding and relating to others across different cultures. Pointing out our unique qualities, but recognizing that on deeper levels we are more similar in thoughts, worries, goals fears, etc... The mural we created was then taken to San Jose, Costa Rica where myself and my soccer team worked with school children in one of the most impoverished areas of San Jose to create the second half of the mural (read all about the trip and this project here ). This half again highlighed the uniqueness of the individual and their culture while also shining light on the fact that we are indeed all reflections of each other.
This year we took the opportunity to once again share a cultural lesson with the children. Patrick "MO" Taylor is originally from Waterhouse, Kingston, Jamaica. A place he will refer to as a 'ghetto'/ poverty stricken district in Kingston. He grew up witness to many crimes, violence and daily struggle to simply make it. He talked to the kids about circumstance. He mentioned that a circumstance is almost always given to you (at least when you are a child) and that your effort is what creates a shift in your circumstance. The harder you work, the more effort you put into succeeding, the greater the chances of you changing your circumstance for the better. We also talked about the history of Kingston and the people who live there. We designed the first portion of the mural to reflect that history and the white space remaining will be designed with help from the children in Waterhouse. We are planning a trip to Waterhouse, Kingston, Jamaice this May where we will spend a day talking to the kids about effort and circumstance. We will talk about their local culture and what they feel defines them as a community. The kids will be given time to draw pictures that represent them, their families, their culture and community. From these drawings I will design and sketch the final portions of the mural in the evening. The following 2 days we will work with the kids to complete the painting and then hang it in the school or local futbol stadium where it will be visible and respected by communtiy members.
This trip will give Mo an opportunity to give back to his home community and be a shinging example of the rewards that come when you put effort into the pursuit of your dreams and goals. What a great role model for these children to look up to for many years to come.
This trip will not come without some expenses. While our plan is to spend come nights living with community members and some of Mo's family in order to submerse ourselves in the culture there, we will have a few travel, lodging, food and material expenses. Our goal is to raise $3,000 which would mostly cover the cost for our team of 3 to travel (this includes extra baggage for art supplies and other donated goods for the school), eat and explore while there.
I hope you will find this cause worth while to support and I look forward to sharing the results of our travels with everyone in May!
Organizer
Pamela Snyder E
Organizer
Altoona, PA