Friends of the Homeless provides shelter and meals to people in need. They work to find permanent housing for shelter guests and operate 100 units of low-income housing.
The artwork will be auctioned off to benefit the organization. June 13th, 2016 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke, MA Please register to attend.
Home is a place of comfort, home is somewhere that you should feel safe and at ease. This is a place to get away from all outside distractions and controversy. Here is where bonds, lifelong relationships are tested but at the same time developed. What conjures up the feeling of home for me is somewhere that I know I’m welcomed and I can be myself. There shouldn’t be a worry about your home. Therefore some people may not necessarily call their physical home their “home”. I see it as somewhere where you can be at peace. Emotionally there isn’t any stress on your mind, physically you are relieved. The sense of security comes from within and branches out, when you can trust the people within your “home” you know you can be at peace. I can connect with someone who is homeless in a sense that just because you’re in a house doesn’t mean you’re happy, neither does it mean just because you’re homeless means you are miserable. I can connect to the ones who are grateful for the little things they have and are motivated enough to eventually get a house of their own. I soon plan to move out of my mother’s house, but for the moment I am grateful for all that I am provided.
With the image I took it cuts to the point, and that is what I wanted to display. When I think of home, it’s very straightforward. To be at ease without any distractions and in a sense still allow it to be something you can take pride in. So with what I had as my focal point, I had a strip that said “Africa” on bottom and I thought that had some meaning to it. With being African American, this connects through my ancestors and can all be tied in together as “Home”. Another thing that I found interesting is with looking at the animals on the strip, there is a Lion. My zodiac sign is a Leo, which is represented by a lion. So that also was a part of my motivation to use this as my representation of home.
To me, home is a place where I can be at peace and comfortably spend my time alone. Feelings are typically those of memories of how I would utilize my time alone. Physically and emotionally, home manifests itself as a place where I have clarity. Home reminds me of when I was younger, when my mother worked on a ranch, and I would be able to go exploring and be present in my own world of imagination. I'm not sure if I have any feelings of what home "feels" like, except warmth. I feel that having the knowledge and reassurance that all of my basic needs are met demonstrate a sense of security. I feel that I can connect to someone who is homeless, due to living in poverty at one point, and sleeping in my mother's car when she did not have a home for my sister and I.
Inspiration came from this piece due to one of my main feelings of home being coordinated with drawing. In the 8th grade I was a victim of severe bullying, so after I would finish my homework, I would pull out some drawing paper, and draw what came to mind. These doodles take care and patience to make, and also are a source of therapy for me, calming my anxiety and enabling me to focus on one thing wholesomely. Creating these drawings have allowed me to find a place within myself to call home, where I can be at peace.
Note from Professor Nordell:
I submitted a photograph to the Impressions of Home Exhibition because I believe in the power of Art to inform, inspire, educate and connect. Sometimes spoken or written words cannot fully convey a feeling in the way a painting, drawing or photograph can. I assigned all my photography and art students to create imagery representing their "Impressions of Home". It was heartwarming to see the varied interpretations, as many centered on the importance of family and friends that create a feeling of home, rather than physical structures.
I photographed tools to convey the hard work it takes to keep my family safe, warm and dry. While I literally use these tools to maintain and repair our home, I also felt that tools symbolize work in general, such as making money to pay the mortgage. Thinking about what represents home to me, I developed gratitude for what I have and empathy for those seeking a physical place to call home. I tried to find connections. While obviously on different levels, I may share a sense of insecurity with individuals that are currently homeless. In my case, what if I cannot pay my mortgage for some reason? I hope that as humans we may also share the joy of connecting with family members, whatever the environment happens to be.
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| Photo and text by Shannoya Scott |
Home to me means anywhere that brings a person peace and joy. For me, the feeling of home comes up when I am surrounded by nature. The woods, the beach, anything that is not man-made makes me truly happy. Just the thought of being one with nature frees my mind and makes me feel at home. Emotionally home to me is pure happiness, there are many words that can describe the feeling of home however I choose to use happiness because happiness is everyone’s life long goal to be completely happy and I strongly believe that once a person finds their home they will be completely happy and that home can be anywhere. Home can look like anything you want it to look like, but for me home is somewhere outside in nature.
I connected with one homeless person back home in Jamaica; on my way to school in the mornings I would see her at the bus stop in the same clothes, and her sign asking for money, or food. I would go and see her when it was lunch time, I was in six grade and I did not have a lot of money however my parents taught me to be as selfless as I can be and I would share my lunch with her and sometimes I would bring the snacks that my school had offer to her. I was pretty nervous at first because I was young and afraid to get so close to someone I did not know. However, after listening to her story it made me appreciate her and it made me wanted to keep helping her.
I connected with one homeless person back home in Jamaica; on my way to school in the mornings I would see her at the bus stop in the same clothes, and her sign asking for money, or food. I would go and see her when it was lunch time, I was in six grade and I did not have a lot of money however my parents taught me to be as selfless as I can be and I would share my lunch with her and sometimes I would bring the snacks that my school had offer to her. I was pretty nervous at first because I was young and afraid to get so close to someone I did not know. However, after listening to her story it made me appreciate her and it made me wanted to keep helping her.
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| Painting and text by Wahjerjay Blango |
What is home? Home is not just a roof and four walls put together. Music, Paintings, Books, Cars,Tv, etc. can be home. Home is when you’re having a bad day and you feel like nothing is going your way but you know there is somewhere you can go and feel at ease. Home doesn’t always have to be about where you live. To me, home is somewhere you can go and cover up the pain. Home is someone special that makes you forget about how terrible this world really is and also Home is Happiness: When you’re lost and someone comes along and make it feel like Home. My art work is basically me expressing what home means to me. The blue color represents sadness, depression, and the constant state of loneliness. Whereas, the red color represents love, acceptance and passion. I mix those two colors because because, in life we struggle with being lonely and being loved. I splatter the yellow drops because when I'm “HOME”, I forget about all those feelings and I feel a touch of happiness.
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| Photo and text by Devonte' Dillion |
Home is a place of comfort, home is somewhere that you should feel safe and at ease. This is a place to get away from all outside distractions and controversy. Here is where bonds, lifelong relationships are tested but at the same time developed. What conjures up the feeling of home for me is somewhere that I know I’m welcomed and I can be myself. There shouldn’t be a worry about your home. Therefore some people may not necessarily call their physical home their “home”. I see it as somewhere where you can be at peace. Emotionally there isn’t any stress on your mind, physically you are relieved. The sense of security comes from within and branches out, when you can trust the people within your “home” you know you can be at peace. I can connect with someone who is homeless in a sense that just because you’re in a house doesn’t mean you’re happy, neither does it mean just because you’re homeless means you are miserable. I can connect to the ones who are grateful for the little things they have and are motivated enough to eventually get a house of their own. I soon plan to move out of my mother’s house, but for the moment I am grateful for all that I am provided.
With the image I took it cuts to the point, and that is what I wanted to display. When I think of home, it’s very straightforward. To be at ease without any distractions and in a sense still allow it to be something you can take pride in. So with what I had as my focal point, I had a strip that said “Africa” on bottom and I thought that had some meaning to it. With being African American, this connects through my ancestors and can all be tied in together as “Home”. Another thing that I found interesting is with looking at the animals on the strip, there is a Lion. My zodiac sign is a Leo, which is represented by a lion. So that also was a part of my motivation to use this as my representation of home.
 |
| Drawing and text by Chanelle Brodeur |
To me, home is a place where I can be at peace and comfortably spend my time alone. Feelings are typically those of memories of how I would utilize my time alone. Physically and emotionally, home manifests itself as a place where I have clarity. Home reminds me of when I was younger, when my mother worked on a ranch, and I would be able to go exploring and be present in my own world of imagination. I'm not sure if I have any feelings of what home "feels" like, except warmth. I feel that having the knowledge and reassurance that all of my basic needs are met demonstrate a sense of security. I feel that I can connect to someone who is homeless, due to living in poverty at one point, and sleeping in my mother's car when she did not have a home for my sister and I.
Inspiration came from this piece due to one of my main feelings of home being coordinated with drawing. In the 8th grade I was a victim of severe bullying, so after I would finish my homework, I would pull out some drawing paper, and draw what came to mind. These doodles take care and patience to make, and also are a source of therapy for me, calming my anxiety and enabling me to focus on one thing wholesomely. Creating these drawings have allowed me to find a place within myself to call home, where I can be at peace.
 |
| Photo by Trahmier Burrell |
Note from Professor Nordell:
I submitted a photograph to the Impressions of Home Exhibition because I believe in the power of Art to inform, inspire, educate and connect. Sometimes spoken or written words cannot fully convey a feeling in the way a painting, drawing or photograph can. I assigned all my photography and art students to create imagery representing their "Impressions of Home". It was heartwarming to see the varied interpretations, as many centered on the importance of family and friends that create a feeling of home, rather than physical structures.
 |
| Photo and text by Professor John Nordell |
I photographed tools to convey the hard work it takes to keep my family safe, warm and dry. While I literally use these tools to maintain and repair our home, I also felt that tools symbolize work in general, such as making money to pay the mortgage. Thinking about what represents home to me, I developed gratitude for what I have and empathy for those seeking a physical place to call home. I tried to find connections. While obviously on different levels, I may share a sense of insecurity with individuals that are currently homeless. In my case, what if I cannot pay my mortgage for some reason? I hope that as humans we may also share the joy of connecting with family members, whatever the environment happens to be.
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