The fee for the workshop will include:

1 qty. 2' x 4' Styrofoam (3" thick)

1 roll of mesh tape

10 lbs. Hydraulic Cement

1 Set of disposable putty knives

1 Soldering Iron

Participants will need to provide any paint they would like to use. I usually go to paint stores/Wal-Mart and purchase the mis-tints, these are paints that were special ordered and not purchased. They are typically sold at up to half price. Purchase only water based latex or acrylic.

Participants are welcome to bring found objects that they would like to incorporate into their project.

Each participant will be given instructions for preparing for the workshop in advance.

The fee will be $75 for a 4 hour session.

Contact me at armando@heredia.ws if you are interested in participating.

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See the full gallery on Posterous

The first Art Against Oppression Falling Whistles Exhibit was a great success. Ramblin' Pan performed a great concert and both Jonathan Schellhardt and Armando Heredia spoke about their art. A video presentation about Falling Whistles gave great insight into the work that they are doing to bring peace to the Congo.

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I am excited about a new series, "Stark" that I am developing. This series will focus on high contrast bold images and sculpture. Here is the first in the series.

See the full gallery on Posterous

There will be a total of twelve pieces in this series.

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The Blum House, part of the Mississippi Valley Library District, and former home of the Blum family, owners of the Blum Cowbell Factory from 1876-1956 was built circa 1900. This home was donated to the Collinsville Library and has been used primarily as a rental facility for individuals and community functions.

We are proposing that there is much more possibility for this historic venue to be a significant part of the revitalization of Uptown Collinsville by transforming it into an art co-op and fine art gallery. There are multiple artists, crafters and artisans that reside in and around the Collinsville area. The Blum House has the potential to offer low-rent studio space (upstairs) as well as one of the best venues for a fine art gallery (downstairs).

This can be done with minimal changes to the venue while maintaining the Blum House’s integrity and historic significance. This will also generate an influx of traffic on a daily basis into the gallery and Uptown Collinsville; not to mention creating a community location for artistic expression.

The Blum House Co-Op could offer studio space to between eight and ten artists, artisans and crafters. The rents could start at $50 per month with a six month rotation, depending on the number of artists interested in the studio space.

The fine art gallery could become an anchor in the St. Louis Metro art community. The resident artists (studio renters) would have a place to exhibit their work, plus we can offer exhibit space, art shows and art events to regional artists.

The Blum House can also be the home of a regional art group that could host shows and exhibits and partner with existing community organizations to offer classes and workshops to the public as well as art camps for Collinsville area youth. This could be a fantastic way to promote art in this community and to the entire region.

What are your thoughts about this concept? As an artist in the region does this sound appealing. Please post your comments.

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Don't forget about the Rescue Project. We need your support to make this important Art Against Oppression project a reality. Visit our IndieGoGo.com page for more information.

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I am in the process of securing distribution for this brand.
Please contact Armando@Heredia.ws for more information about this and future art series.
A portion from each item sold will be donated to various non-profit entities that are focused on raising awareness and making an impact on social injustices globally.

See the full gallery on Posterous

The Freedom Series is my artistic response to governmental regimes that use violence and oppression against their own men, women and children.

Visit the AAO Brand Page for more information.

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It wasn't the six hours, it was the last thirty minutes.

Maybe I could point to the strong chemical odor in the particular area of the basement I was in. It did give me a headache, but it wouldn't be completely true. It was the mental picture I had when I lay down on the cot I borrowed for the event.

In my mind this wasn't a pass/fail concept. I wasn't trying to prove that I could stay for 72 hours. There wasn't any guilt in my mind over walking out. I think I got to that place, sooner than I had anticipated, where the separation spoke louder than logic or reason. That's where I was trying to get, to the place I would have to call "alone". I wanted to feel it, but I wasn't prepared for how strong it came on. It wasn't a trickle it was a wave.

I have traveled extensively, most of the time by myself. I have stayed in hotels and in people's homes. There's always a twinge in my chest when I get to the hotel room that first night. I usually don't sleep well, but I have not felt that alone since I was a little boy. I was around four or five, living in Monahans, TX.

I was laying on my back under my grandmother's curio cabinet. The unfinished wood, stamped with tha manufacturer's name was close above me. I was crying, not just tears, but the type of crying that is called wailing. I felt utterly and completely alone.

My cousins had cornered me in their yard, down the street from where I lived with my grandparents, two of their daughters and my three siblings. At this point in my life I had no recollection of the death of my mother. It was completely blocked out, thank God. They, because they could, because they were older and stronger, told me that my grandmother wasn't my "mom", that my mom was dead and that I was nothing but an orphan.

I suppose they were jealous that we lived with our grandparents, and that my grandmother let me call her "Mom".  I don't know why they did it, but it put me in that place called "alone". I think it was my aunt Mary who got on her hands and knees in front of the cabinet and tried to coax me out. I kept crying and saying "I want my mom."

She said, "Mom will be right back, she went to the store."

I, through tears and sobs, said, "I don't want my grandma, I want my mom."

The look on her face was full of compassion, but it couldn't close the door that had been opened.

At 11:45 or so, when I lay down, I felt that place again. 

I can not fathom a child feeling that plus abject terror from tormentors. The knowledge that I could walk out at any moment was a sliver of hope that these people don't have. The understanding that though I am alone I am not abandoned, is something they can't hold onto.

My prayer for you is that you will always be free.

Please consider supporting the Rescue Project. It will be one way we can use art to raise awareness for this important issue. http://www.indiegogo.com/rescue-series

Thank You.

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Well, it's been almost six (6) hours. Not 72, not 36 or even 24, just 6. I am feeling a tightness in my chest and I don't know how to say this, but I am done. The feeling of separation washed over me the moment I laid down on my cot. I was expecting it maybe on Saturday night, not within the first watch.

I don't have the make up for this type of project. I will write more about this feeling as I can unpack it. I simply can not fathom the feelings it would cause for those who are in this type of situation with no escape. I would go crazy.

I am, regrettably, signing off. Heading home.

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In my last post I said I would rather never sell another piece of art. Hopefully as things progress and I can develop a system of support or, like in medieval times I can procure a Patron of the Arts, I will be able to do just that. However, the present reality is that making art is about selling art.

I refuse to just "sell art," though, the art will make a statement and help support a worthy cause. Here's how you as an individual or as a group can help me make art and also make some money for yourself and/or organization.

Investor needed:

I am looking for an investor(s) to help provide funding to do a limited edition “Price of Freedom” print series. There will be 100 numbered hand-printed and signed pieces. 

Prints are 24” x 48”

Latex and Acrylic on Heavy Acid Free Paper

Each print will sell for $25. From each piece this is how the funds will be distributed:

$5.00 Donated to IJM

$15.00 to Investor

$5.00 to Artist

$500 Investment

Please Contact Armando Heredia

618.971.0935

Armando@heredia.ws

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As a commercial or even fine artist my challenge is to make art to sell to pay the rent and buy food for my children.

As an art activist I need to make art to speak for the oppressed and raise awareness about social issues.

I am not a hobbyist; this is not something I do as a past time or even for relaxation, some of these pieces burn in my heart and mind often causing me to feel ill until they are out, on paper or Styrofoam or some other medium.

I understand the Old Testament prophet that said “It’s like a fire shut up in my bones.” I don’t feel sacrilegious comparing art to preaching or evangelism. These are the messages that God gives me. My job is to express them to the world, sometimes for the world.

I would rather give away every piece of work I create or give away every dollar made to support people and entities that are impacting the world. This is my mission. Does that make me a missionary?

How can I do that without becoming a beggar on the street? I wish someone could help me figure out how to bridge this incredible gap.

I have thought of creating a campaign and just asking for money to be an artist, but who would I ask? These aren’t rhetorical questions, either. I am really feeling this calling to make an impact, not just make art. What do I do? Text, email or call me if you have a suggestion or can point me in the right direction. armando@heredia.ws | 618.971.0935

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I posted this on twitter at the end of my art class yesterday, "Emotionally exhausted from my art class. Drawing from memory is not the same thing as drawing memories."

Oh, these memories, how they affect me still. This particular sketch is a memory that shaped my self worth (or lack there of) for most of my life. Looking back I know that my extended family would have and did do everything they could to help my little fractured family. On this day my siblings and I were being separated into the homes of the brothers and sisters of my father who was being incarcerated.

I remember sitting on a trunk full of my things, interpreting their arguments as a sign that they didn't want to take me, the youngest, due to my inability to add value to any particular household. I was a complete liability and not only worthless, but a burden.

As you and I reach out to the hurting people around us, as we endeavor to rescue people from abuse, injustice and neglect, let's be mindful of the emotional wounds that these people carry. Some are externally visible, gashes that bleed profusely and scream for attention. Others are not so visible, internal wounds that cripple and destroy from within.

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I am very excited to partner with the Red Thread Movement through the Rescue Series to raise awareness and funds to help stop human trafficking and provide hope and life skills to rescued girls. The 72 Hour Abduction will raise awareness of my art project and the important work that the Red Thread Movement is doing.

The Red Thread Movement's mission is to generate awareness of the global human rights crime of sexual slavery, particularly of women and young girls; raise financial support for efforts to end sex trafficking in Nepal and educate girls in Nepal to actively prevent sex trafficking on the front lines. Visit their website: http://www.redthreadmovement.org

The completed Rescue Project will be three concrete cells that will house representations of incarcerated people. These pieces will be "cast shadow" works where the ultimate idea of the work will be represented by the shadow the piece casts. Visit our IndieGoGo.com campaign page for more information.

My hope is to create a tour with the pieces in the late spring and summer of next year. Since the pieces will be representations of actual cells I thought it would be very impacting to have an artist, activist or other person (like a pastor, youth leader or teacher) local to the area we go to participate in a “24 Hour Abduction” where they would actually stay in the art for a 24 period. We would allow them to have a set of sharpies and they could write or draw on the cell walls. I can imagine the heart of the movement speaking through those walls.

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As many of you know I am using my art to raise awareness about social injustice. I am raising funds to do my largest work as of yet, the Rescue Series, it brings awareness to the millions of people who are forced into slavery.

“Rescue” is a series developed to raise awareness for modern day abolitionists and movements and to call attention to this modern-day tragedy.

Psalm 23 says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…”  or like Switchfoot sings, “The Shadow Proves the Sunshine”. You can’t have shadows without light. This series focuses on the darkness and tragedy of slavery and oppression and the light of hope for freedom that people who refuse to be silent can bring. Light also exposes acts that are only done in darkness, and while “Rabbit” and “Fly Away” focus on longing for escape, “The Monster” is about the terror that the victims must feel.

The project goal is $3500. This covers the cost of materials, time and equipment to complete the project. My idea to raise awareness is through a 72 hour abduction. Here's the basic concept: I will be "abducted" and spend 72 hours in a basement room below a local restaurant. During that time I will fast, think, pray and speak about the reality of slavery. This makes the scenario very real, because a lot of people are actually held in places that are in close proximity to business and public life.

I will go in on Thursday, November 10 at 6:00 pm and come out on Sunday, November 13 at 6:00 pm. At 12:00 pm on Sunday I will speak to Tapestry, the church I co-pastor in Granite City, IL via Ustream, but it will be available to all.

The ustream channel is http://www.ustream.tv/channel/artagainstoppression

The IndieGogo.com campaign page is: http://igg.me/p/45782?a=271835&i=shlk

Please consider joining the campaign and/or praying with me through the 72 Hour Abduction weekend.

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Here are a few more of the shots from the photo shoot by Kyle Weber.

Join Art Against Oppression to raise awareness and funding of the International Justice Mission, a group focused on bringing social justice to people oppressed globally. Visit their website: http://ijm.org. There are two ways for you to be involved.

1. You can purchase a Freedom Series shirt directly from this site for $20.00 ($22.00 for XXL and above). $4.00 per shirt will be donated to IJM to help further their mission. Visit the AAO store.

2. You can join as a fundraising partner. The selling individual or group will receive $3.00 per shirt and IJM will receive $4.00 per shirt. 24 shirt minimum. Contact Armando at armando(at)heredia.ws for more information.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Much thanks to Kyle for donating the photo shoot and to models Jon and Jordan. Visit http://artagainstoppression for more information. Also see our indiegogo campaign to raise funds for our Rescue Series Project.

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The Rescue Series is based on the idea of bringing to light the very real problem of slavery and oppression happening globally. Switchfoot sings, “The Shadow Proves the Sunshine”. You can’t have shadows without light. This series focuses on the darkness and tragedy of slavery and the light of hope for freedom that people who refuse to be silent can bring.

My previous series, Freedom, was a 2-D print series, while Rescue will be a 3-D sculpture series that utilizes light to cast shadow. The first small scale sculpture of “Fly Away” is being developed.

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I recently represented the gallery I curate (galleryonthemain.com) at the Our Common Ground Artwalk in Greenville, IL. Greenville is a "college town" and in most of my friend's and colleague's minds these college students represent a generation of apathy and laziness; partying and self-indulgent kids who have no drive. Here's why I don't think this is completely true:

As many of you know, I am in the process of developing and showing my "Freedom" series. It is a series of protest pieces that have a social justice inspiration. In this kind of social justice meets my unique blend of Christianity, I am in a type of  artistic/spiritual renaissance of my own.

At the show I was intrigued by the way different people responded to the work being displayed, but I was especially struck by the response of the many college students who stopped to view the "Freedom" work. They were interested in the images, but they were excited by the message and meaning behind the work.

It seemed to me that as we spoke there was an intensity that boiled right under the surface and there were several that were passionate about the idea of engaging the social issues and righting the injustices. I met several musicians from local bands, like Ryan Besse of  North To Alaska, who are involved with social movements like The Red Thread Movement.

A young lady named Carrie spoke to me about her passion for art and social justice. She has started a local Greenville College Chapter of LiNK, a non-profit organization that is focused on the humanitarian crisis in North Korea. She has BIG plans and is focusing her efforts on making an impact,

That evening I spoke with a friend about these students and of course we ended up talking about the hippie activism of the 60's. He made a great observation. Fifty years ago a generation of passionate young people and students began to rise up and challenge the status quo, from the church to the government and everything in between.  The church and concerned citizens did a great job of shutting them down. Maybe they couldn't see the potential for great change that these students had, or maybe they could and were afraid. Of course there were negatives, drugs and sexuality, but there were so many potentials that got lost in the indiscriminate generalized attacks.

They are back. They aren't bead wearing, bearded hippies, but they are still radical and passionate. The greatest difference is that now they are empowered through social media and that, hopefully, the church isn't afraid of them.

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