My World as it Is
My World as it Could Be
The first image focuses on the brokenness of the school to prison pipeline as an area for transformation. This issue coupled with the fact that if you become commit truancy in the state of Washington, this is a punishable crime with upwards to 6 months- 1 year spent a juvenile facility. I drew students on the other side of the road because they cannot get to the school due to barriers like having to walk their younger siblings to school, expensive bus tickets and dangerous roads which all play against the children in their fight to beat the school to prison system. Additionally, I often hear community members and students calling the school a prison or a jail as well. It was incredibly difficult drawing this as an actual image, at times I wanted to stop because I didn’t want this to be Rainier Beach’s identity but I knew I had to accurately depict it. I additionally focused on the allure of basketball as a ticket to a “better lifestyle” or getting out of the hood. I often see students of color as aspiring to be famous ball players and of course the common phrase of “ball is life” really is a mindset here. However, I drew the court as empty with many basketballs as a metaphor for the apathy I often witness in this community, maybe people gave up because they weren’t good enough or because they couldn’t make it to practices or for a multitude of other problems.
The community as transformed shows the school with wide open doors and students and faculty welcoming others into their midst. It also shows a park behind the school that is busy with people coming back and forth, children playing basketball and soccer, flying kites, reading books, chasing butterflies and even doing Yoga. I implemented rainbow streets like some other areas of Seattle have done to show the open and affirming atmosphere of this place. This image shows the problems as solved or transformed by illustrating a school where students of color are celebrated and a community around where whoever they want to be is a possibility and is encouraged.
While working on these images I was challenged by the emotional connection ( and barrier) of illustrating this school as a jail but also empowered to see what could be. I additionally was reminded of the work the students and faculty have done in recent years to see this school become a hope haven for students who have been “othered” by society. I think these images accurately portrayed this ideal : “The goal of transformation is to bring people into a right relationship with God, each other, and their environment. It is to seek the peace, justice, well-being and redemption in the spiritual, social, economic, emotional, physical, and political lives of people, communities, and societies .” ( Corbitt&Nix-Early, p. 67)
Corbitt, J.N. & Nix-Early, V. (2003). Taking it to the Streets: Using the Arts to Transform Your Community. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books.
The community as transformed shows the school with wide open doors and students and faculty welcoming others into their midst. It also shows a park behind the school that is busy with people coming back and forth, children playing basketball and soccer, flying kites, reading books, chasing butterflies and even doing Yoga. I implemented rainbow streets like some other areas of Seattle have done to show the open and affirming atmosphere of this place. This image shows the problems as solved or transformed by illustrating a school where students of color are celebrated and a community around where whoever they want to be is a possibility and is encouraged.
While working on these images I was challenged by the emotional connection ( and barrier) of illustrating this school as a jail but also empowered to see what could be. I additionally was reminded of the work the students and faculty have done in recent years to see this school become a hope haven for students who have been “othered” by society. I think these images accurately portrayed this ideal : “The goal of transformation is to bring people into a right relationship with God, each other, and their environment. It is to seek the peace, justice, well-being and redemption in the spiritual, social, economic, emotional, physical, and political lives of people, communities, and societies .” ( Corbitt&Nix-Early, p. 67)
Corbitt, J.N. & Nix-Early, V. (2003). Taking it to the Streets: Using the Arts to Transform Your Community. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books.