In 2017, I was invited to collaborate with talented mural artist and community activist, Xaivier Ringer, to create a design based on the discussion, research, and artwork that 14 & 15 year old Mariposa’s did in a class with Mariposa staff, called My Community. Together, we created a 156 foot by 8 foot, painted and mosaiced mural for the razor wire topped, concrete wall surrounding the new school!  The freshman and sophomore girls took leadership roles in guiding younger students in making tiles, and painting the design on the school walls. Siembra tu Futuro was a theme they chose. Plant the seeds of your future. And that is exactly what they are doing!

In 2015, The Mariposa Foundation, that works to end generational poverty, by investing in the lives of girls, invited me down to Cabarete, Dominican Republic, to make mosaic portraits with the girls they engage and serve at the Mariposa Center. I worked with a local potter and the girls made tiles from raw clay. One portrait is of Mama Tingo, a Dominican woman, an activist farmer, who led a movement for the rights of repressed people. The other is Harriet Tubman, conductor on the Underground Railroad, who risked her life for the freedom of others.

In the Dominican public school system, cultural arts are not part of the curriculum. The Mariposa Foundation believes that the arts are a critical component of a holistic education for all children. Exposure to the arts and creative outlets are associated with gains in verbal skill, motivation, concentration, confidence and teamwork. At the Mariposa Center, they create an academic environment rich in culture and arts for the girls who attend, enabling them to develop their imagination and critical thinking skills, adding to overall academic achievement and success. Please consider making a donation to the Mariposa Foundation, DR, and help end generational poverty by investing in the lives of girls.