I recently drove to Red Deer to visit my sister Carmen and check out her progress on a mural she is painting. She was asked by the city to take part in a mural project that focuses on crime prevention through environmental design.

Her work (which was still incomplete at the time of my visit) was outstanding. Carmen was assigned the gentlemen’s club and next to an AIDS drop-in center in the downtown core. She wanted to keep the mural tasteful and artistic, while being true to the nature of the business so she decided on a Japanese theme with Geishas as a representation of a female entertainer.

Around the corner from where she was working, a man named Virgil was taking a break from his mural. Virgil is a very talented aboriginal artist who also happens to be homeless. Carmen told me she’d been helping him by lending him supplies and giving him paints.

I noticed that my sister seemed a bit overwhelmed that day (I’m sure it didn’t help to have me poking my camera at her and asking her a hundred questions). She mentioned that she was very frustrated with how slow her progress was. As she worked, project coordinators came to chat with her, employees from the drop in center came to check on her progress and talk, and local residents and members of the homeless community came by to admire her work. All the sudden I could see why her progress was so slow. I asked Carmen, “When you were offered this mural project, did you have any understanding of how much community involvement and social interaction there would be?” My sister thought for a second, looked up at me with big, overwhelmed eyes, and said “..No, I didn’t.” As frustrating as it is for her to be “behind schedule,” she certainly doesn’t regret taking the project on. Carmen has always been there for others even at her own expense. She can barely afford her own paints and supplies, yet here she was, lending out her supplies and time to Virgil. While she was feeling pressure to finish her work, she still talked at length with him when he asked for her advice on colors in his mural.

I really enjoyed my morning watching my sister paint, and also watching her do exactly what this project intends. She is helping to bridge a gap in the community. Two artists were working side by side as equals in skill. It is during this time that their socioeconomic differences don’t matter. I could see the sense of pride that the homeless community was taking in the project, not just in the new and beautiful art growing all around them, but in the new friends and contacts they are making with the people now coming into their community. For me, this wasn’t a scary day in a rough part of town. It was a beautiful morning interacting with a very diverse group of people who share a mutual sense of pride in their community.

As always, if you like my blog, please follow me. If you like my photos, you can like my page on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/eterno.dia or follow me on Twitter. Feel free to contact me about bookings. Thanks for stopping by!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.