To honor fallen soldier Army Spc. Eric Burri, his sacrifice for our country, and his concern for the Iraqi children, his family with the West Michigan community collected 5,000 shoes for the Iraqi children in 2005. This past year Eric’s story and Pamela’s Hometown Hero artwork have inspired other concerned citizens from children as young…
The Gage Academy of Art challenged me to change. For seven hours every day in this Seattle art school, I studied classical portrait drawing followed by private tutoring in figure drawing each evening. Then one day there, a stranger gave me a gift of words. After I ran into an elderly Chinese gentleman in the…
It has been an exciting year—kicking off with an exhibition of The Scarlet Cord during the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl in Phoenix Arizona. Film makers from Colorado Springs flew into Phoenix to capture The Scarlet Cord exhibit and the responses of survivors and visitors. For ArtPrize Seven, my work called Hometown Hero invited…
ArtPrize Seven’s Hometown Hero celebrates our local heroes from the Grand Rapids Police Department, the Grand Rapids Fire Department, and the Kentwood Police Department. Thank you for your service! Hometown Hero also celebrates the leadership and support from the Blue Star Mothers: South Kent MI-191 and Ottawa-North Kent Blue Star Mothers MI-194, and Johnny Brann…
Thank you to the Residential College of Arts and Humanities for hosting Courage Ablaze!
Courage Ablaze is a museum quality traveling exhibit that has been experienced by over 70,000 people. The work serves as a megaphone—speaking with tender boldness. Courage Ablaze pillars, icons of strength, invite movement and involvement. As viewers encircle the 7-foot pillars, they engage with the image on the front and the story printed on the…
The sound of lots of young voices: “My hero is…” A man wrote the name of the woman that hid his mother during the Holocaust. Hometown Hero visitor: “This is what life is about. Honoring our heroes.” A military man crawled up to the painting on his belly to write the name of his fallen…