Small Art, Big Heart #'s 5-8
Featuring 4 Permaculture Activists from Kenya, Uganda & Malawi & USA!
These are the stories of RainMakers & ChangeMakers and the people who have inspired them. I started this project to uplift the stories of those whose herculean efforts to change the world with limited resources so often go unnoticed and untold. RainMakers & ChangeMakers is my way of giving back, using my limited skills as an artist and storyteller, to bring their work to a larger audience.
Starting June 1st, I began my “Small Art Big Art” art and storytelling series. I launched it then to coincide with the Index-Card-A-Day Instagram Art Challenge and the 1,000 Words of Summer challenge by
.These are Days 5 - 8!
Meet Jonas, Ted, Elijah/Akon & Jenipher
To date, I have crafted eight posts highlighting the same number of ChangeMakers and the people who have influenced them or changed their lives (perhaps my favorite part of this project).
Each post (see thumbnail links provided below) includes an ink and colored pencil sketch by me, pictures provided by the ChangeMaker, a “Where in the World” map, and a personal biography that I wrote with their input and approval. Each post lives independently on my Substack but are collected on one page called the RainMakers & ChangeMakers Directory tab at the top of this Substack Site.
What is materializing before my eyes is a visual map of a large network of interrelated humans whose reach and impact goes much further than I ever imagined!
Click on Each Post for Full Story
Reflections
As I wrote in my introductory post called “Small Art - Big Heart”, “art is the most basic form of human expression. It has the power to communicate, connect, heal, create community, and change our lives and the lives of others. Art tells stories - the story of the artist and their subject. Art is a way to communicate what we value, fear, love, and hope for. Art, even the simplest art with singular symbols or icons, can convey big ideas. Art is for everyone: young, old and in between, encouraging inter-generational relationships and understanding.”
With these last four sketches and short biographies, I came away these reflections:
Highlighting the work of women is going to be more challenging; there are just more men who are actively promoting their work in the networks I’m part of. Jenipher was the first woman out of eight that I had ready to highlight. I have more on my list but realizing that their numbers are fewer despite the fact that I know there are so many of them out there whose stories are not reaching the surface.
Drawing and writing takes much longer than I expected. The writing is the hardest part because of my desire to due justice to the story and make sure that the individual I’m highlighting has not only given me sufficient input but also has read the story and given me approval to post it.
By virtue of this being a writing project and a drawing project by me (an English speaker), only those people who are literate in English, have access to a mobile phone and sufficient data are able to participate. That is a limitation implicit in this project that I wanted to make explicit here. I hope to rely on the good graces of some of the people I am highlighting to help me connect with other individuals who don’t have the resources nor the literacy to tell their story directly to me.
Now that I have sketched and written about eight individuals, the people they impact, and the person who influenced them, I am more aware of how much care and effort needs to go into telling a story and drawing their portrait.
Thank you to Jonas, Ted, Elijah, Akon, and Jenipher for trusting me to share your stories. And, thank you all for taking some time to get to know these ChangeMakers!