I taught 2 classes over the summer. One was at the Kroc Corps Community Center in Salem and the other was young men who had all been incarcerated and were residing at the Catarino Cavazos Center, under the care of the Catholic Community Services. I learned from both classes. Very different things. The photographs of Alex and Ashlynn were taken with a Canon G9 and available light.
Teaching the young men from the Cavazos Center was the first project done under Creative Matters, a program I developed a few months earlier to empower at risk youth through collaborative arts. When I came up with the idea, the thought of teaching kids in the juvenile justice system was beyond remote. A bit like being thrown into the deep end of the pool by the swimming coach. Probably not the best way to learn, but the experience will most assuredly last a lifetime. None of the guys had ever taken an art class before. A few showed natural ability. Some would just not engage. And then there were those rare moments when the wall was broken, and they would let their guard down. Their portraits were taken with a soft-box and a Canon G9 in the Metropolitan Building in Salem, location for this past summer's Project Space, in conjunction with the Salem Art Association.
Alex
Alex
Ashlynn
Miguel
Marcos
Oscar
Eduardo
Bryan
