Home Fellowship

We've been a part of a home fellowship this past year that meets weekly to discuss the Bible. Here are some of us at Chuck & Janis' the week before Christmas.

Christmas in India

This Christmas we'll be without any family here in India - a little sad. But we've "imported" a bit of the Christmas festivities - to the interest and delight of those around us. People here are quite curious about Christmas.

One of the girls from Janis' neighborhood class, learning English through Art, helped her start decorating the tree. So, later, when Janis had finished she invited the girl to come back and see the "finished product."

This has led to a continuing stream of neighborhood kids coming to see the tree - our own "Christmas Tree Lane"! One of the mothers called it, "First Class!" and often, when the kids see it, they "ooh" and "aw."


We'll be having some of our neighbors over for snacks on Christmas day. One shared with us earlier this Fall about a special Bengali holiday, so we thought we would share with them about this "holy-day" that is special to us.

May you, too, have a "Merry Christmas!"

Creative Conscience '09

Creative Conscience Workshops are annual events organized around a theme - this year's was "Hope."

Participants this year ranged from a Japanese artist, a British artist, two American artists (Janis & Chuck!), and artists from around India (Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Orissa, Nagaland, and Delhi). Backgrounds were incredibly diverse, some practicing professional artists, some self-taught, amateur artists, this year's artists were from varying faith backgrounds (Hindu, Muslim, and Christian).

Here's the "upper room" group who worked side-by-side in the 2nd floor studio.


Here are a few of the artists at work:
























Following are some of the works in progress. You can see, not all were paintings. This year's Exhibition is scheduled for March 19-29, 2010.














These are Chuck's.
















And, this is Janis'...

Exhibit: 2nd Session of Blue Umbrella Art Academy

There were 12 adults and 5 children attending this session. Some of the strongest works came from many of the student's first exposure to conte crayon. Other mediums used: pencil, ink, oil pastels and charcoal.

Guests of Honor at a Photography Exhibit

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We were asked to serve as guests of honor at a recent opening of a photography exhibit at a professional Art School in Delhi. The four students, pictured kneeling at the left, were given 4 days to visit Rishikesh, Agra, Jaipur, and Delhi and each were required to take at least 250 photos in each site. They were given different assignments: religious matters, doors and windows, beggars, and heritage sites.

Quite an exhibit!

Card Making Workshop - Miranda House

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We were invited to conduct this workshop by our landlord, who is also a professor of physics at Miranda House, a science-focused, girls-only, campus of Delhi University, one of many campuses scattered across the city of Delhi.

We were told to expect about 25 students - during one quiet moment, I quickly counted over 50 students currently seated and working furiously on this project. Many more came and went during the three hours were were there.

Overall, it seemed to be very positively received. The leadership asked us to come back for a Science & Art Seminar they are hosting in January.

More Wall Murals

These are being done on our personal living space rather than for others as with the Diversion House murals or for the public with the stairway mural outside our flat.

Here's a "before" photo showing a little of the typical brick-core, concrete stucco finished, white-washed exterior walls.










After washing the wall and painting it with an exterior white paint, Chuck painted this fish

The idea is to have guests paint sections of this wall with something of their choice...








The previous mural is on a wall of our upper balcony. This one is on the smaller balcony, just outside our living room.

Janis designed it be a simpler flower motif, resembling tiles.

Creative Friday - Sculpture

Part of the Creative Fridays activities was sculpting using "M-seal," an epoxy-like compound used here in India for sealing plumbing joints. It comes in two putty sticks, when mixed together the compound begins to harden at about 15 minutes, then completely hardens in about 60 minutes. This poses some interesting issues to deal with in molding and sculpting. Below are some of the results.

A few of the sculptures on display in the Gallery window using cylindrical tubes as pedestals.


After hardening, the compound can be painted. This is Janis' Canadian goose, whimsically fashioned as a toothpick holder...









Here are Chuck's bird's nest (sorry for the lack of focus!) and miniature garden & pond...









Vikhor has been trying to depict scenes from his native land and culture of Nagaland. Hence this very realistic sculpture....