These photographs are the culmination of twelve hikes in the Marin County Parks during 2015-2016. We photographed in ten parks: Agate Beach, Baltimore Canyon, Cascade Canyon, McInnis, Mc Nears Beach, Santa Margarita, Stafford Lake,  Ring Mountain, Roy's Redwoods, and White House Pool.

In collaboration with Opening the World, we wrote and received a grant from Marin County Parks to fund this cell phone photography project. Two other community groups were invited to participate, Girls Stepping up for Change and Young Moms Marin, these three community groups serve underprivileged youth from culturally diverse family backgrounds who have, or may be currently experiencing adversity in their lives. http://www.openingtheworld.org/

 The youth used photography as a way to experience and view the beauty of our Marin County Parks. They became observers and photographers of nature. Exploring the parks and their diversity was an experience that broadened the groups awareness of Marin and strengthened their relationships with each other.

Photography is a medium that can capture the imagination. Photography provides these young adults a way to document their lives, surroundings, and travels. It teaches them a creative and tangible skill they can use throughout their lifetime.

The first workshop photographs were exhibited at Art Works Downtown in San Rafael in July 2015. The second year workshop photographs were exhibited at The Marin Civic Center from 9-30-16 thru 2-10-17.

The last seven pictures were taken of the show at the Marin Civic Center.

I created and facilitated two summer photography workshops for teenagers living in the Canal neighborhood in San Rafael. The teens were eager to take photographs and explore their environment; they used their cameras with skill and confidence.

DrawBridge provides art programs for homeless and other underserved children, its mission is to create an atmosphere of safety and trust, where youth can explore their creativity using cameras and other art materials. It didn't take long for the group to get to know each other, to work as a team and to offer help when it was requested. For more information about DrawBridge please visit www.drawbridge.org

I was deeply touched by the stories they shared about challenges in their lives, the humor they used in their photo-journals, and by the confidence they developed as they documented the people and things that held meaning for them.

Our DrawBridge teens were invited to exhibit and sell their photography at Sandbox Studio in San Francisco.

It was an enormous honor working with these talented and fun kids, and to see the world through their eyes.     

The photographs, posters, and collages are the work of the Leadership Class at Marin Oaks High School in Novato, California.

Earth Day 2015 gave the students the opportunity to think about the many issues facing our environment and how each person can contribute, and be a part of the solution by taking simple actions every day.

We began our project with a field trip to the education center at Marin Sanitary Service. We were able to see first hand what happens to our recycling and garbage. We learned about Marin’s goal of zero waste by 2025 through the three R’s-- Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling.

The students chose an environmental issue facing our world, and used their cell phone cameras to create a photo statement about their environmental subjects.

The goal of the posters and collages is to educate and inform the community. The students benefited by learning about the many challenges facing the environment, and how they can make a difference. Using their art, creativity, problem solving skills, and technology to communicate their message to the community.

The posters and collages were exhibited at The Marin Society of Artists, in Ross California in May 2015.

Concrete, Glass, Metal, and Sky: Images of San Francisco Architecture

The Marin School - Photography Classes 2&3

The photographs on display are representative of the diversity of architectural styles and landmarks found in the San Francisco Bay Area. Many are well-known and often-photographed icons. However, what is different is the way in which young people have depicted the world around them.

To see the show click the link.

http://www.flysfo.com/museum/exhibitions/childrens-art-marin-school

The philosophy of service learning is to give students a relevant hands-on real world experience while they are learning. This is a reciprocal process where the students receive instruction and apply this knowledge to contribute a service that gives back to the community as part of their educational experience.

Participants in the yearly Photo Philanthropy workshops had the opportunity to create a fine art portfolio and to make a difference in the local community. All proceeds from the sale of the photography benefited DrawBridge, a local non-profit arts program for homeless and underserved children.
Visit www.drawbridge.org

Students learned to use digital cameras and to improve their photography skills. They had the experience of editing and producing hand made fine art cards to sell. Students explored and photographed both the natural and the urban landscape around the Bay Area in pursuit of the perfect shots for our fine art card collection. 

These photographs are from a photography project titled “The Photographer as Activist.” This project gave the students the opportunity to reflect on what they care about, and a voice through the medium of photography.  Students were asked to research and photograph a topic they felt passionately about and create a poster to present to the community to inform, educate and inspire others to take action.

The Photographer as Activist Project is dedicated to the memory of Larry Sultan.  The public art works that Larry, in partnership with his wife, Kelly, have created over the years inspire me by their potential to unite people. These projects have engaged the community’s attention, and have let individuals see and identify themselves as part of a community, and have allowed others in the larger communities to know about people who they may not have had the opportunity to know otherwise.

Public art has the power to deliver a message that can transform and effect change when it is seen in the eyes of even a casual passerby.

For the past two years I have created and taught art projects to a high school special education class.

All of the students use technology, and it was fun to use cell phones to take pictures for this project.

The class is very active and out in the community twice a week, these outings provided opportunities to observe the local environment. The students looked for examples of nature thriving and supporting life, and examples of people not taking care of our environment.

These posters gave the students the opportunity to add their voice in the community and inspire others to take care of our Earth.

The posters were exhibited at the Marin County Fair, July 2017.