Operation Find-Camera-Cord = Successful! :)

So...catch up.

Monday.  Class in the morning, then headed to CCJ for the afternoon.

While we were there, we learned about their graffiti project, and also produced our own picture of what we would graffiti.  Here's mine:

There's actually another one on the back that I like better from a symbolic (and even artistic) point of view, but I like the way this one looks.  Also, it feels more graffiti-ish to me...  (Dan, I wish you were here to show me how you do stuff, cuz yours always looks sweet!)  We were supposed to draw something that represents what we have to contribute to Brazil/Recife/CCJ.  Honestly, I could not think of a single way to portray the way I feel.  I love it here.  I love coming to serve and share my knowledge and experience with them, but really the thing I most want to bring is hope.  Hope for them and hope for a better future; something they will be excited to work toward.  But I had no clue how to express that in a picture...so I just represented the interaction of BYU and CCJ; theoretically the combination of BYU and CCJ will result in the hope and ambition for these young people that I am also hoping for.

Tuesday, we went back and actually got to paint!  Crazy, huh?  I am in Brazil learning how to actually spray paint and graffiti.  Can I just interject right here and say you should all be jealous and that this is the coolest program EVER?  Seriously, I love it.

Anyway, we were put in groups and given a piece of wall to essentially repeat our first project (represent what we bring to Recife/hope to achieve in this internship), but in groups.  Again, it was surprisingly hard to come up with something, and also harder than I expected to actually paint it.  Here's me and Natalia working on it, then our whole group by the finished project.

Ignore the fact that the guy at the back looks like he's bowing...I should have tipped his head up more.  In my defense, the girl I was tracing for the rough outline had her head down that far...I was just tracing and then detailing.  I take no responsibility for the fact that he doesn't actually look like he just handed off the baton haha.
Hard to see details in this picture, but the guy standing up is holding a baton, symbolic of the knowledge (represented by a lightbulb in his head) and love of the world (earth where his heart is), ready to run and pass it forward.

I think the past few days have really changed how I view graffiti.  

To some people it's just that:  Graffiti.  Defacing public property.  Juvenile delinquency.

But now I realize that it can be so much more.  Just like in our picture (which we put so much thought and effort into), someone else looking might not see what we intended to create.  It is art.  And it is open to interpretation.

I still would agree that there are lines (aka places where graffiti still should not be done), but I think that if it's done tastefully, graffiti can be a great form/expression of art.

Also, I think graffiti artists deserve way more credit.  It's a lot harder than I expected it to be!  You have to hold the can at the right distance.  And the right angle.  AND it's really hard to move slow enough to have control, but fast enough to not lose control (dripping, wider lines, etc).

Anyway, it's super cool.  Jealous yet? :)