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Serving homeless adults and families and those threatened with homelessness |
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Community Art Project: "Visions of Home" Select local
artists were each provided with the case history of a client of Connections for
the Homeless, including the client's response to the questions, "My vision of
home is..." and "My experience with homelessness is..." Each artist
created a work of art in their chosen media based on the client's story and
their own "vision of home."
Janice’s experience with homelessness has been one filled with anxiety, shock, and frustration. After leaving Chicago due to difficulties accessing city shelters and what she perceived as a general lack of empathy for homeless individuals, Janice came to Evanston and quickly began working with EntryPoint, a street outreach program at Connections for the Homeless. Janice describes her experience with homelessness as “feeling like you are in a movie and that you are not like anyone else. You are not a real person. [It’s] stressful not having four walls and the feeling of security that comes from being in your own place.” She says she experienced intense shock and feelings of being overexposed when she realized she had nowhere to go. Adds Janice, “[The] public watches homeless people but does nothing about it. Other lives are so important yet what is misunderstood is that the homeless person’s life is very important or just as important.” “[The] public watches homeless people but does nothing about it.” Janice’s vision of home is one filled with a sense of security and peace. She envisions a place where she can feel at ease and where there is “room for enjoyment, rest, and relaxation.” To Janice, home means a place with “room for creativity and other expansion that could come from having a safe foundation.” She feels that in Evanston she may be on the path to such a place. Says Janice, “Folks in Evanston are very friendly and engage me often in positive ways. People encourage me by socializing with me. The socializing is what keeps me going.”
Jim Coney retired from 33 years of federal government service in 1992 and created a new career for himself in the photographic arts. Some of his recent projects include producing and directing projects for cable access television and freelance photography and videography. Jim also specializes in photo restoration. As the Chairman of the Skokie Human Relations Commission, the “Visions of Home” project has allowed Jim to combine his interests in community issues and photography. For more information on working with Jim Coney please write to: ckcvideo@aol.com. Bruno’s experience with homelessness has been one marked by long struggles with substance abuse and mental illness. Before first coming to Hilda’s Place in 2001, Bruno found it nearly impossible to cope with the reality of his situation. As an illegal immigrant, he lived in constant fear of being deported as well as being exploited for cheap labor. He also struggled with a loneliness that grew from being homesick and separated from his family. In order to escape this reality, Bruno turned to drugs, alcohol, and daydreaming. After his initial stay at Hilda’s Place, Bruno’s situation improved a great deal. He stopped abusing drugs and alcohol, began taking medication to help control his mental illness, and found work as a roofer in Evanston. However, his progress toward greater stability slowed to a stop as he began to ease off his medication while once again starting to drink. Before long Bruno once again found himself sleeping in the park. Fortunately, Bruno returned to Hilda’s Place in 2003 and, after a successful stay, moved into the Permanent Supportive Housing program in 2005 where he continues his quest for greater stability and self-sufficiency. “Everybody needs to find a place to be safe.” Bruno’s vision of home is one filled with freedom and family. In his vision, Bruno has “the freedom to clean house and cook whenever he wants” as well as the ability to come and go as he pleases. To Bruno, home means being surrounded by friends and visitors in a house he shares with “a pretty woman and a couple kids.” Home also means having a sense of safety and security. Says Bruno, “Everybody needs to find a place to be safe.”
About the artist: Julie Cowan Julie grew up in northern Illinois and currently lives in Evanston with her family. She is a trained artist and designer who works in colored pencil, watercolor pencils, collage, and printing. The majority of her works are urban landscapes. Tonya’s experience with homelessness began after suffering for years as a victim of domestic violence. After two years of being physically abused by her boyfriend, Tonya gathered all of her courage and decided to leave their apartment with her three young children. She had always been too scared to leave before because her boyfriend had always threatened to kill her if she even considered moving out. The night she finally decided it was time to go she tried in vain to find space in all the local domestic violence shelters for her and her kids but found they were all full. With nowhere else to turn, Tonya was forced to move into her cousin’s tiny Evanston apartment. Her cousin also had three children of her own and was already caring for her elderly mother in the home. With the addition of Tonya and her kids, nine people now called the cramped, two-bedroom apartment “home.” Tonya quickly found a job as a waitress at a local restaurant but was unable to earn enough money to leave her cousin’s crowded apartment. After more than a year living in these conditions, Tonya and her family finally came to Connections. Says Tonya, “My experience of homelessness is fear. A sense of fear is always with you because you don’t know where to go and who to trust. My ex-boyfriend was always around, finding me, harassing me, and there was really no safe place to go for that. Most people get to go crawl in their beds when they are scared of the world, but there was no place for me to do that and no bed to crawl into.” “A sense of fear is always with you…” Tonya’s vision of home is one filled with security and personal space for her and her children. Says Tonya, “To me home is a nice warm bed. A place to lay my head. Rooms for everyone so we can all have space. Private, safe space. I’d love a fireplace where my kids can sit around and know that they are safe there. Just me and my kids - no one coming in and out, no one trying to stay there and crowd us. Just the four of us.”
About the artist: Dana DeAno Dana received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2002 and spent several years teaching art in the Chicago area. She has won multiple awards for her paintings and has shown her work in Chicago consistently since 1998. Melanie’s experience with homelessness began when she became pregnant in high school. Since the 8th grade, she had already been going place to place. Her mother’s boyfriend was abusive so she hated staying there. Sometimes she would stay with her dad, but he was never around and would often disappear for weeks at a time. Her grandparents let her stay with them, but they had little money. Once she had her baby, her mom kicked her out of the house for good. She would then stay at friend’s places or at the houses of extended family members, but each week it changed. “My experience of homelessness started young,” says Melanie. “As a 16 year old, I was always worrying about where to sleep each night. I slept for a month on my cousin’s basement floor with my newborn. I hated it. It was always cold, and me and my baby were always sick.” After moving from place to place for about 2 years, Melanie and her daughter finally found Connections. Says Melanie, “I can’t remember the last time, before this program, that I had a key to a place where I could go to relax and feel safe. You just can’t know what it’s like to be homeless with a baby until you’ve been there. People judge our decisions, but you just can’t know the lengths you’ll go to for your baby unless you’ve been there. There needs to be more places like this program where people can go where they won’t be judged. “I slept for a month on my cousin’s basement floor with my newborn.” Melanie’s vision of home is “my own house! A place that I worked for for me and my baby! A place that’s warm and painted nice where I can have friends over if I’m lonely. Home is where I can just chill and be myself. I would love a fireplace where I could just sit with my baby and relax. I want to say in Evanston, a place where I know and love. I don’t want to have to move to the city, but I guess I will if I have to. I just want my home to be about me and my baby, not anyone else.”
About the artist: Barbara Greenspan Barbara Greenspan created this quilt from fabrics that she hand-dyed. She utilized the traditional "log cabin" block, and, in the time-honored quilter's custom, each log cabin block has a red center, emblematic of hearth and home. This is particularly meaningful in this work, as this quilt is illustrative of Melanie's search for home, security and peace for her and her baby. The log cabin blocks are in a stair-step configuration with the colors moving from dark to light, reflecting Melanie's hope. Her words are silver in a starry night sky—advising the viewer of Melanie's dreams for her future and that of her baby. Barbara Greenspan has exhibited her quilts locally and regionally including the annual Fine Art of Fiber exhibit at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Barbara Greenspan received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and her law degree from DePaul University College of Law. She is the Chief of the Illinois Attorney General's Child Welfare Litigation Bureau. Kay’s experience with homelessness was one spent moving back and forth between the houses of friends and extended family members. With no place of her own, Kay and her son had little to no control over their surroundings, and when the situation became too much, Kay turned to Connections. Says Kay, “I was staying at my boyfriend’s parent’s house, but it got to be too overcrowded. There were his parents, my boyfriend, me, and my son [in a 2 bedroom house]. Sometimes other cousins would be staying there and my stuff would end up missing. That was hard. I was stuck there at my boyfriend’s house with him and his family. Before that I was living with my aunt, but we got into a huge fight and she said I couldn’t come back. I just needed to be on my own instead of just relying on his [boyfriend’s] parents all the time for everything. They helped out a lot, but I just need to be on my own and figure things out for myself and my son.” “[My aunt and I] got into a huge fight and [she] said I couldn’t come back.” Kay’s vision of home is very straightforward and direct. In three simple words, Kay envisions a place for her and her son that is “stable, nice, and cozy.” Thankfully, Kay feels that her participation in Connections’ Transitional Housing program has helped her onto the path toward that “stable, nice, and cozy” home. Says Kay, “I am so happy to have my own place for me and my son. I don’t have to answer to nobody, and I can keep things the way I want them to be. It’s quiet having your own place, and I think it’s better for my son.”
About the artist: Joan Hakimi Joan is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Skokie. Stained glass art has long been an important hobby for her. Joan particularly enjoys designing and creating jewelry and other types of stained glass boxes and Judaica, including candlesticks and menorahs. Each of her pieces is unique and handcrafted. You can reach Joan at jhakimi@sbcglobal.net to view her work or discuss custom designs. Ola’s experience with homelessness was one marked by intense feelings of despair, alienation, and uncertainty. “I didn’t have any place to go,” says Ola. “I was depressed, and I felt like there was no hope. I had no job and no place to live. It was rock bottom.” Throughout her experience, Ola was overwhelmed by feelings of emptiness and crippling depression. Her experience left her with greatly diminished self esteem and without any sense of belonging. “I was depressed, and I felt like there was no hope.” Ola’s vision of home is one filled with peace, security, and possibly companionship. Ola dreams of a place where she “can lay and gather [her] thoughts.” She hopes to one day have her own apartment but doesn’t rule out sharing it with the right person someday. “For now I will be on my own,” says Ola, “but I would love to find somebody in the future.” In working toward her vision of home, Ola says that she needed some help and a push to get back on her feet. She says, “Most people who are homeless are trying to get back to the mainstream and haven’t decided to drop out.”
About the artist: Bernice Klosterman Bernice primarily paints commissioned house portraits for local realtors. The house portrayed in her “Visions of Home” piece is actually an apartment building set on hill. She says the hill represents the struggle a homeless individual endures in order to find their own place to live. Bernice taught high school art for many years throughout northern Illinois. Past projects include several sacred art exhibits throughout northern Illinois. Theresa’s experience with homelessness began shortly after her husband passed away in November of 2002. Though she had spent years employed as a waitress, a variety of physical ailments had left Theresa unable to work, and with her husband’s passing, she lost her primary source of financial and emotional support. Unable to keep her home, Theresa began staying with different family members and friends, but they rapidly became unable to support her as they themselves struggled to make ends meet. Finally, through the help of a close friend and the Internet, Theresa was able to find Hilda’s Place. Throughout her experience of being homelessness, Theresa was frightened by the uncertainty of her situation and the jarring loss of security and independence she had enjoyed with her husband. She was overwhelmed trying to adjust to long hours spent with nowhere to go and felt increasingly “helpless, scared.” Says Theresa, “[I] did not know what to expect until it happened. My freedom was taken away.” “Helpless, scared, [I] did not know what to expect until it happened.” Theresa’s vision of home is one filled with a sense of freedom and choice. In her vision “the only person I have to answer to is myself,” says Theresa. “I can come and go as I please, and I’m able to cook and decide what I get to eat.” Theresa also incorporates Evanston into her vision of home as she considers it to be a safe, secure place where she can explore her interests and share time with friends. Says Theresa, “I’m grateful and thankful to be a part of the Evanston community.”
About the artist: Gerry Macsai After one career in teaching and another in educational publishing, Gerry began quilting and found pleasure in the color, texture and pattern choices. Traditional quilts soon gave way to a more free and adventurous approach, and she soon found herself in the category of Art Quilter. Her work ranges from the whimsical to memorial. Fabric allows her to create art and add the dimension of the tactile to the visual. Using the medium of fabric adds the challenge of creating with a partially limited palette, whether the fabric is commercial or hand-dyed (which she does too!) She always finds the result of the composition and the fabric endlessly exciting, challenging and rewarding. You can reach Gerry at the Evanston Arts Council Offices. Jeff’s experience with homelessness has been marked by struggles with unemployment as well as emotional and physical problems. After being laid off from his longtime job, Jeff was left feeling isolated, alienated, and full of despair. He felt as if he had nowhere to turn and was overwhelmed by sadness and initial feelings of anger. Despite the intensity of these negative thoughts and feelings, however, Jeff always held tightly to an element of hope. He remained determined not to give up and to put his “life back into some semblance of order.” “[Home is] a place to land at the end of the day and to begin the next.” Jeff’s vision of home is one filled with a sense of hope, security, and community. To Jeff, home means “a space of my own where I can be my own person.” It means “warmth – even if it’s only you.” Jeff envisions “a place where friends would be welcome” and “a place to start from – a place to land at the end of the day and to begin the next.”
About the artist: Jill Norton Jill studied photography at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio near her hometown of Cincinnati. After moving to Chicago, she went to Columbia College and interned with fashion photographer, John Beckett. Through Beckett she learned the important skill of making subjects feel natural and free in front of the camera. Recent exhibitions have centered on unique, natural portraits of children, pets, couples and families. Jill is based in Evanston and is an active member of the community. For more information about Jill’s work please visit www.jillnorton.com.
During his experience, Henry often wondered if his struggles with homelessness and unemployment where a test from a higher power. While homeless, says Henry, “I’ve met many people, and I’ve thought that the Creator may have put me out here to be more social. It has been difficult, but Hilda’s Place has helped me out a lot.” “I envision the Earth as my home.” Henry’s vision of home is one filled with music and travel. “My dream would be to travel the country and play music in every city in America,” he says. “I envision the Earth as my home because I’d like to travel the world and go lots of places. Like a rolling stone, wherever I lay my head is home.”
About the artist: Jeff Strong Jeff Strong has been a practicing artist for three decades but has only recently begun to exhibit his work. In the last year, his paintings have been displayed in Chicago at the Madron Gallery and the Long Hall Gallery of the Greenleaf Art Center. He had a major exhibition of paintings and sculptures last year at Gallery 901 in Evanston. Though he has no formal schooling in painting, his unique process and perspective builds on his training in ceramic sculpture and photography. He begins by constructing expressive sculptures of foil, sometimes incorporating cast objects. These may then become the “canvas” for his expressive acrylic paintings. Alternatively, they are covered with a colorful veneer of polymer clay, photographed, and the resulting images used to develop paintings. The results are always bold works which pulse and vibrate with emotional energy. For further information about his work and upcoming exhibitions, visit www.strong-ideas.com.
With no place to go, Amy's concern for her daughter and where they would safely pass each night was overwhelming. She could do little more than spend each day paralyzed with worry over her situation. Even when she could summon the mental and physical strength needed to begin to overcome her dilemma, the weight of her homelessness pulled her back down into despair. Says Amy, "I tried to enroll in community college once but how could I do that if I didn't have a place?" Finally, Amy and her daughter found their way to Connections for the Homeless. "My mom's wasn't an option because her boyfriend hates me." Amy's vision of home is very straightforward an direct. Simply put, Amy envisions a place where she and her daughter can be "warm and safe." Thankfully, Amy feels that her participation in Connections' Family Housing program has helped her on to the path to that "warm and safe" haome. Says Amy, "I've gotten more stable by being in the program. Now I'm in school and working. My daughter is grown and potty-trained. I'm on my own now, and I think I've done pretty good."
About the artist: Peggy Tarr Peggy received her BA in Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She lectures on the arts in Evanston and exhibits throughout Illinois. Most of her paintings are figurative. During her childhood, she was surrounded by people who cared for her and about humans, the Earth, their religion, life and her. Most of these people were Black. She experienced their strengths and determination, their encouragement and guidance, their generosity and love, their anger and sorrow, and their appreciation of art. She always hopes that her art captures their influence. Tom’s experience with homelessness was one filled with feelings of hopelessness, shame, isolation, and incredible frustration. An Evanston resident of 15 years, Tom was happily employed doing roofing and carpentry work before seriously injuring his back while on the job. While struggling to recover from his injury, he began drinking and slowly becoming increasingly dependent on his prescription pain medication. As the weeks turned into months and his back injury continued to linger, Tom decided to look for work elsewhere and landed a job washing dishes at a local restaurant. By that time, however, his addiction to pain medication was full blown, and after missing his shift on several consecutive occasions, he was fired. With no job, Tom’s already low spirits plunged even further down. His alcohol and drug abuse continued and even expanded first to marijuana and finally to heroin. Spending what little money he had on drugs left him unable to pay the rent, and before long Tom was evicted from his apartment and found himself living in his car. Every night he would drive around looking for a safe place to park, sleep, and get high in order to combat his overwhelming despondency over his situation. After several months, Tom finally found his way to Hilda’s Place. Says Tom, “For so much of the time I was homeless, I never considered myself to be homeless. I guess I was just trying to deny it to myself or something, but I had always considered homeless people to be lazy, dirty, and strung out. True I took drugs, but I always thought that I could stop anytime. All I needed was one good break, and I’d be back at work. It always felt like I was this close to being back in an apartment, but then months would pass. I was depressed. I didn’t know what to do but I just thought it had to get better. I mean nobody even knew I was homeless. I drove around town, kept looking clean, didn’t tell anyone what was going on. Sometimes it was real lonely to have no one to share your burden with, but I didn’t want people to know. I could barely admit it to myself.” “Sometimes it was real lonely to have no one to share your burden with…” Tom’s vision of home is one filled with feelings of community, stability, and appreciation. Says Tom, “I want a house with a huge front porch where I can sit outside, barbeque, read the paper, and visit with neighbors. I want a place where all my neighbors will come visit, and I can wave when they pass by. I spent so long hiding from people, being ashamed. Now I want to spend time with people and hold my head up. I want to look around and not take anything for granted. It could all be gone in a snap.” Tom’s idea of home also involves staying in Evanston. “The people of Evanston have helped me a lot. They’ve shown me a lot of compassion. I would love to stay here for a long time.”
About the artist: Joe Taylor Originally from Indianapolis, Joe received his degree in Graphic Design and Painting from Indiana University. He moved to Chicago, spent 5 years in graphic design and lettering, and then he broke into freelance illustration. He is currently represented by Mendola Artists Ltd in New York. He has studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and at the Evanston Art Center. He has also worked in neon, hot glass, ceramics and done his share of carpentry, cabinetry and leaded glass work while repairing and rebuilding his 1881 Evanston house. All of these endeavors work with light, color, shape and form with the hope of ultimately conveying feeling or message while realizing the integrity of the medium at hand. www.joetaylorart.comLori’s experience with homelessness has been incredibly difficult. As a single mother of three children, she had a job and a small apartment but was barely making ends meet. Then her children got sick. With an alcoholic mother and the father of her children in jail, Lori had no one in her life to help care for her sick children while she went to work. When she called in for several consecutive days so she could nurse them back to health, her employer told her she had missed too much work and asked her to leave. With no other source of income, Lori was left unable to pay her rent. Two months later she and her children were evicted. With nowhere to turn, Lori eventually found her way to Connections. Says Lori, “My experience of homelessness is something I hope to never go through again. Being evicted was so embarrassing. More than anything I felt constantly guilty about my kids. And then to lose a job because of your kids is the worst. Telling them they had to leave their home, their bedrooms, everything, because Mommy couldn’t pay anymore just broke my heart. We slept at different places each night for months. My kids hated it and so did I. I just want the same place for us to lay our heads down each night. Worrying where you are going to sleep the next night takes over your whole life.” “Being evicted was so embarrassing. More than anything I felt constantly guilty about my kids.” Lori’s vision of home is one filled with space and stability for her family. My vision is “a house,” says Lori. “I want a HOUSE one day, not just some apartment where we all squish in. I’m so thankful for having a place to stay, don’t get me wrong, but my dream is a house. I’ve never lived in a house my whole life and to do that with my kids would be a dream come true. But as long as it’s the same place, not a place filled with unpacked boxes because we’re scared we’re going to have to leave again, then I’ll be happy. A stable place, the same place to go each night, that’s what I want.”
About the artist: Barbara Trupp Barbara Trupp has enjoyed a successful career as a contemporary artist exhibiting internationally and is included in “Who’s Who In American Art.” She owned Art & Design in Evanston for many years and worked on many residential and commercial design projects. These projects have included murals, mosaics, public sculpture and renovations leading naturally to a career in real estate and her recent employment at Rubloff Residential Properties. She exhibits internationally, and her work is included in many museum and private collections. Barbara Trupp studied at the Banff Centre School of Fine Arts, the University of Michigan, and the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops. She has been an instructor at the Evanston Art Center and Northwestern University and has conducted many regional workshops. Jane’s experience with homelessness began when an abusive relationship left her with nowhere to turn. One night after suffering a violent beating by her boyfriend, Jane fled with her three children to the supposed safety of a friend’s house. Plans were made for Jane and her children to stay with this friend until they were able to get back on their feet, but on the very night they were to move in, the “friend” stole all of Jane’s belongings. With their possessions gone and very little money, Jane and her children had no where to go and no way to bounce back. Jane and her three children were homeless. Says Jane, “My experience with homelessness is a nightmare. You have no idea what it’s like to not know where you are going to have your kids sleep that night. You can’t even focus on yourself – just your kids. They are tired, they are hungry, and they want a bed. The best you can give them though is a measly snack and someone’s floor to lie on. It’s horrible.” “[Your kids] are tired, they are hungry, and they want a bed.” Jane’s vision of home is one filled with security and comfort for her children. Says Jane, “My vision of home is a stable place to go to everyday. [A place] where I can focus on work not on where I am sleeping that night.” Jane dreams of a place “where my kids and I go to feel safe, happy, and rested. And if it has four bedrooms, that’s even better!”
About the artist: Liz Tuckwell Liz says, “I was given the beautiful task of recreating the sentiments of ‘Jane’ into artwork. As a painter, I chose to incorporate my medium into a format which could not only serve visually but as a metaphor for its inspiration. We most often associate windows as being part of a home or a structure. To see a window hanging with no foundation to call its own appears incomplete. It is in essence: homeless. Yet, despite the unorthodox nature of its appearance, what remains at the heart of the piece is the painting—a lending of bright and beautiful colors and a glimmer of gold—just as I believe Jane’s heart, soul and future to be.” Brianna's experience with homelessness has been incredibly difficult for her and her two children. With no money and no decent place to stay, Brianna and her children bounced around between shelters and the floors of friend's houses until it finally became too much. Says Brianna, "My kids were tired of not having a place to call home. It's a sad thing. No one should have to go through it, especially if you have kids. No matter how old they are, the still feel it. My two-year-old son Carl knew what was going on. He understood it. The way her cried... A baby is not supposed to cry like that. Last November, we sat on someone's porch. It was cold. My shelter time was running out. My four-year-old daughter Cuziya was crying and saying she was cold. I was crying, and so Carl cried too. He knew. We did that a couple times... It's hard." “No one should have to go through it, especially if you have kids.” Brianna's vision of home is one very similar to what she's found at Connections for the Homeless. To Brianna, home is "what I have now in the transitional housing program. It's comfortable. It's a beautiful place to be." In addition to a clean, secure apartment for her and her children, Brianna's vision of home involves a tight-knit community that unites to combat homelessness while working to improve the world as a whole. Says Brianna, "If everybody pulled together more, the world would be a better place. There would be less homelessness."
About the artist: Kris Van Stockum A Chicago-area local, Kris has been an artist all her life. She works primarily in painting and has a passion for color. Kris uses that love of color to bring visual delight to her viewers. Creating art provides Kris with a profound sense of joy and connectedness, and she strives to share these feelings visually so that her viewers can find a place of connectedness as well. Kris Van Stockum received a B.S. in Interior Design from Miami University, Ohio. Previous commissions include a hand-painted tile installation at Paris Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, a special exhibition of hand-painted table linens in collaboration with Ed Paaschke at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, a successful line of hand-painted table linens sold throughout the country, and numerous private commissions for murals. Ricky’s experience with homelessness began after he suffered a broken ankle while on the job. Following his doctor’s advice, Ricky took time off from work to allow his ankle to heal properly, but while he was recovering, his employer decided to let him go. Ricky suddenly found himself unemployed with no source of income and no way to pay his rent. He soon lost his home and was left “feeling less than human, hopeless, and wandering if [he] could trust anybody.” Ricky describes his experience with homelessness as “humbling and lonely.” He says, “Your identity is taken away. [You’re] alienated in an underground world and the rest of the word looks down at you. The entire world is against you. Things like using the bathroom, brushing your teeth, washing your face, changing your clothes, and getting food become very difficult. All of these things are stripped from you, and a big, dark shadow envelopes you.” “Your identity is taken away… The entire world is against you.” Ricky’s vision of home is one filled freedom, choice, and a sense of community. He envisions “opening the door and seeing the sun coming through the blinds” as a dog and cat run to greet him and he sits to open the mail in a room filled with wall-to-wall carpeting. To Ricky home means having his own couch, TV, dresser, and bed but not having to make the bed if he doesn’t want to make it. In the home he envisions, Ricky once again feels productive and a part of society. “I have everyday responsibilities again like doing laundry and dishes,” he says, “and my self esteem goes through the roof.”
About the artist: Katrina Wardrip Katrina Samuelson Wardrip was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1975 and grew up in Racine, Wisconsin. She attended Dartmouth College where she earned a BA in studio art. She returned to the Midwest, and, in 2000, she earned an MFA in painting from Indiana University. She has had a number of solo and group exhibitions throughout the Midwest as well as in New Hampshire and Scotland. Katrina now lives and paints in Evanston, Illinois. Serenity’s experience with homelessness began when a series of health crises left her with nowhere to turn. Shortly after suffering a painful broken hip in an accident, Serenity was beset by a string of serious illnesses that prevented her from working and left her feeling increasingly despondent. “Ever since I was injured, I’ve developed a number of ailments – osteoporosis, diabetes, a heart condition, fibromyalgia – and have been unable to work,” says Serenity. “I’ve also been battling depression.” To compound matters, Serenity found herself without a support system as she struggled to regain her health. With her family scattered throughout Arizona and the east coast, she had no one to fall back on during her time of crisis and was instead overcome with feelings of isolation and loneliness. “It has been so difficult not to be connected to my family,” says Serenity. “It seems like they live in a different world sometimes.” “It has been so difficult not to be connected to my family.” Serenity’s vision of home is one filled with life and learning. “I have dreamed about a home for as long as I can remember,” says Serenity. To her, home means “music, books, sitting in a lighted kitchen, working with my plants in the yard. Home means a quiet, open space with a ‘full-of-life’ feeling.” In Serenity’s vision of home she is also reconnected with her family. To her, home means a place where “family comes over to visit.” Finally, Serenity’s vision of home goes hand in hand with her desire to grow and help others. “I just want to study and learn to make a difference somewhere,” says Serenity. “Maybe by working with children someday.”
About the artist: Jerri Zbiral Jerri Zbiral received her MFA degree in photography in 1974 from the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York. Since that time, she directed the Inner-City Photo Workshop and co-founded the Public Art Workshop Photography Center, both on Chicago’s west side. She worked as Artist-in-Residence for an Illinois Arts Council/HEW program and later became Director of the Community Arts Center of the Uptown Center Hull House, where she worked as arts administrator, teacher, and director of a special photography program for the hearing impaired. She was the subject of numerous articles and television programs for this work, including ones in the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Popular Photography magazine, and the Time-Life Photography Annual. She has written about and given many presentations on humanistic and alternative approaches to photography, the use of photography in the classroom, and teaching photography to hearing impaired children at institutions and conferences around the country.
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