Okay, where are the men. I know there are men who enjoy creating Collages. I’m offering Free Collage Workshops supported by a grant from the Oakland City Council and City of Oakland’s Cultural Arts and Marketing Funding Program. There are 2 different locales, Prescott Joseph Center For Community Enhancement, Inc. , located at 920 Peralta St. in West Oakland, 94607 Dates: Fridays, 1:30-3:30 : Oct. 21, 28, Nov. 4, 11, 18 & Dec. 9 (the dates have been adjusted as of 10/9/11 due to unexpected occurences.

…and within the East Oakland Senior Center, which shares space with the Brookdale Library at 9255 Edes Av. off Jones St. in East Oakland, CA 94603 Dates: Thurs, 12:30 2:30 : Oct. 20, 27, Nov. 3, 10 also adjustment to dates as of 10/9/11

…and through Cyberspace. Yes! men are welcome to join the participants, who so far are women.

These workshops are for folks at least 55 years old. The ideas, I’ll provide based on universal themes, is to create Collage Art . Having social interactions with one another is also planned through an exchange & review of each other’s Art. Photographs of the Art, as well as photos of the you while in the midst of your creativity, become apart of an Art exhibit and published book, possibly as soon as next Spring . You will be given the date(s).

The underlying purpose of your involvement. is to enlighten the public to a broader and more positive outlook of Oakland’s cultures.

Ready to Start: Here’s Theme No.1 “Your Emotional First Aid Kit”

You will be asked to write an explanation of what you create to accompany your imagery. This narrative will also be included within the book and exhibit.

To the left is mine…“Water of Life” sums up the imagery you see to the left. The vegetables I love to eat, must have plenty of water. A bit of sun not only warms and converts water, it enhances my mood. Watching plants & flowers grow , reading materials which enrich my understanding, soothing, heart beating paced music and dark chocolate, get me through most anything. I consume Protein in the form of eggs. Oops, I forgot to include black beans, fava beans, any kind of homemade tasty beans. Olive oil thrown in the beans for taste, is the ingredient not evident in the Collage.

The letter n represents the (Neal Family), my caring, loving family . Also the touching female fingers refers to nurturing friends and the well-known God touching Adam’s finger, portion of a Michelangelo’s painting on the Sistine Chapel Ceiling . My interpretation is that the right hand knows what the left is doing. As a painter there is reference with tubes of Gouache paint. Here are the remaining topics for this series; 2. Cultural Influences on You 3. Show one of your Cultural Traditions equivalent to a custom in another culture worth preserving. 4. What does community mean to You. 5. Enjoy Life Now, it has an expiration date.

Please connect with me periodically with your jpegs of what you created with accompanying explanation.