ICYMI: We're off to NWWRF!

NWWRF is finally here, and it starts tomorrow! If you missed it, here's us hitting the road with the bus and the animals! We are super stoked, and have been looking forward to this weekend for quite some time. If you like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram, you're not going to miss anything!

Work in Progress: Part 1

It's been a few weeks since the fun, multiple day journey from northern Idaho to home with our new-to-us vintage bus. If you missed the blog about that delightful trip, be sure to check out our blog archive! Also in that blog, there are pictures of the interior. As much as we love the outside of the bus, the inside reminds us a little too much of permanent waves, plastic covered couches, and bell bottoms (and not in a good way).

We've been working on basically gutting the bus to remodel the interior. We've been removing parts of the inside, because we think a find like this bus deserves a second life. So far, we have removed the carpet, taken out the mattresses (Chappie doesn't get dibs any more), and the couch is out. We did find a little bit of rot behind the couch. While that is a bummer, we're still extremely pleased with the bus and its potential. Considering the other vintage vehicles we were looking at and the condition they were in, we still think we made the right choice.

Carpet's out!

Chappie thought he had dibs on the beds, but now he's going to have to sleep on the floor!

This is where the couch was

And hopefully, it won't be too much of an issue :/

Since we are going to be taking this on the road and need to be able to transport our art, we need to be able to tow a trailer. We've taken off the bumper so we can add a trailer hitch. The bumper was also a bit crooked, but now it's looking better. So that we can be ready for the Reggae Festival next month, we are going to go with a receiver hitch. It's not quite as exciting as taking out the guts of the bus, but one of the nice things about older vehicles is that they are a bit more owner friendly than new vehicles.

Digging around in the rear...of the bus

Bumper's off so we can re-mount it, hopefully straight this time

New receiver :D

Be sure to keep checking back as we make progress. We are looking forward to having a bus that's inhabitable and ready to be on the road. We're also pretty stoked about the process. We're hoping to have enough of it done so we can use it for the festival, but it won't be completely done by then. You can come see us at the Northwest World Reggae Festival (NWWRF) July 27-29 in Oregon! Check out their website for more info www.nwwrf.com

Introducing: Shaun Galbraith

We've added another artist to the caravan! Shaun was raised, educated, and currently resides in Idaho. In his spare time, he also sings, plays guitar, and writes songs. He also has interest in the culinary arts.

Shaun's pieces are his original pen drawings. There are no prints. He has worked on developing his unique style over fifteen years. When describing his process, he continues to add and enhance his pieces until he is satisfied. Even if it starts to go off the rails a little, he perseveres, continuing rather than throwing it out to start over.

Shaun and "Tree of Tribe"

His pieces are available in our store, at www.artroamers.com. While you're there, be sure to check out the art pieces available from our other artists!

Want more information about representation? Contact us on Facebook or Instagram @artroamers or comment on this blog!

We'll be doing monthly artist highlights, so stay tuned for a more in-depth piece about Shaun in the coming months. In June, we'll be highlighting Kylee, our resident glass artist.

We Bought a Bus

For the last couple of months or so, we have been toying with the idea of getting a vehicle for our trips. We weren't 100% sure if we wanted to find a vintage cab-over or a motor home to make road accommodations easier. After spending time browsing Craigslist, we would call to find out the vehicle had been sold. Or we would drive to look at it, to find that the condition of the vehicle didn't match the price. We finally found a possible prospect in northern Idaho.

Susan and Jeff drove up to Hayden, which is just north of Coeur d'Alene last Tuesday. They were there to look at a 1962 GMC Private Coach. The seller hadn't used it in quite some time, it had been sitting in storage for ten years, and it would still run (bonus!). Before hitting the road, there were some items that needed to be taken care of right away. As you can imagine, having a bus sit for ten years, the tires weren't really road worthy any more. On Wednesday, we hit up Les Schwab, and they had three tires in stock. We waited another day for them to get the other three in. There were some electrical components that were a little less reliable than we would have liked, but some fuses and wiring would get that squared away. Chappie wriggled his way out of the back window of the truck, so we had the pleasure of chasing him down. The bus was also full of dead hornets. Those got vacuumed up before hitting the road too. That would have been way less fun if they had still been alive.

Before we took it

Yumm-o

 On Thursday, we were on the road. We had to make a stop in Kellogg, at another Les Schwab, to have the tires tightened. For something like this, we definitely didn't want to take a chance having something go terribly wrong. Just down the highway, we stopped in Wallace when the electrical started to act up again. Without the gauges working, we would have been taking a bit risk of blowing the engine. After checking more fuses and wiring, we called it a night.

At the Les Schwab in Kellogg with the new tires :)

Friday morning, we got up and hit the road again. Friday was much less eventful. We made a stop in Missoula to have the radiator blown out, and then were on our way again. We made our pit stops throughout the day without having any more real issues. The weather in Pocatello was terrible with thunderstorms, wind, pouring rain, and flash flood warnings, but we got through it. We were able to make it all the way home, which made for a very long day (about 13 hours). As you can imagine, when we pulled into the driveway, we were so relieved to be home. The icing on the cake was realizing the power at home was out.

At the Idaho-Montana border on I-90

 Here are some pictures of what the bus looks like now. We have found that it appears to be a custom build (as many motor homes this age would have been). The outside is in pretty decent shape, but the inside, while it isn't horrible, is very dated. There has been a little bit of leaking where the seals have given up. It has an air conditioner and a solar panel, but they may not be the most efficient models available any more. We are looking forward to making the inside more comfortable for us when we go on the road.

Velvet, for your comfort

Chappie calls dibs on this room

Harley will just sleep on the couch then

Basically the

Same amenities as

home...wait...I'll need new glasses to watch this TV

AC!

Pretty good chunk of lichen we got here

Solar panel

There's an awning too!

Some Minor Updates :)

If you follow us on Facebook you already know that the elephant, rhino, and giraffe sculptures have been sold. They will be at their new home soon, and the buyer is private, so we can't share much more than that. We are grateful for all of feedback we got from Art & Soul and from the Customer Appreciation day at First Federal in Rupert. It has been an absolute joy to share Samuel's artwork with you all.

Looking for the big cats? You can see them at Potter's Tea House right now! Potter's is at 917 North Main Street in Meridian, Idaho, and their hours are Monday-Friday 7 AM-8 PM, Saturday 9 AM-8 PM, and Sunday 10 AM-5 PM.

We do have an order coming from Samuel for small pieces. We are extremely excited about what he is sending us, and we'll have pictures to update you soon. We expect to be able to update you in a few more days.

Do you know what you are doing July 27-29 this summer? We know where we'll be! The Northwest World Reggae Festival just outside of Sandy, Oregon! We're a proud sponsor and vendor at this family friendly event. It is a three-day event with weekend and day passes available. There is also on-site camping if you want to join us. Check out their website to see the line-up, tickets, and more information for the event www.nwwrf.com. 

One more thing: we are on Instagram! Follow us on there for more pictures and to see what we're up to! @artroamers If you see our art, take a picture and tag us or use our hashtag, #artroamers

Let's Talk About Samuel

As a disclaimer, I feel that it is very important to share with our readers that I have only recently joined the Art Roamers team. I have not yet Samuel face to face, and I have not yet been to Nairobi or the slums. I've tried to look up information on the Kibera slums, and while there are articles, I don't think that I would be able to do much besides giving statistics. I'm hoping that I will be able to go to Kenya soon, however, and will have an update at that time. I want to start off with that so that our readers will be aware that my perception is limited, but I hope to be able to describe how we met Samuel and who he is. I also want to warn you so that when an update comes, it may be very different from this post, and that there are some things that are being left out, but hopefully not too much. I gave questions to Jeff to ask Samuel to learn more about him, and interviewed Jeff to be able to give you a look at who Samuel is.

Kibera Slum

We'll start with how Art Roamers came to meet Samuel. When Jeff and Susan were driving around the Kibera slums last year, they were actually looking for one of their contacts that was, and still is, working in one of the schools. Trying to navigate the slum is very challenging. There are a few roads, but they are not like roads in America. They are narrow, they probably aren't going to be paved, and there is little traffic control. There are no addresses. The slum is divided into villages to help you navigate. Then, some of the roads have names to help you along, but, again, no addresses. When looking for the school, they were asking locals for help to find it, and ended up getting close after they were in the right village and what roads were near it.

One of the paved roads. The large building in the background is government built apartments

This little girl was directing traffic

While driving down one of the narrow roads, Jeff saw something that caught his attention “like a neon sign”. He asked the driver to stop right away! Samuel was outside of his shop working on a metal ostrich sculpture. Seeing someone working on art on this scale in the slum is quite unusual. Samuel spoke to Jeff about his art, and then joined them in the car to find the school. It still took another day to find it, because the school was tucked away through an alley. You couldn't just drive up to it. We think everything had worked out just fine, because we met Samuel. During the time spent with Samuel, Jeff was able to find out more about him and work out how we could share his art and story.

Picture from the school

Work in progress from Samuel's shop

Samuel was born in Western Province, Busia County, Bumala. Samuel is halfcust, meaning his parents were from different tribes. His father was from the Lukha tribe, and mother was from the Luo tribe. The Lukha tribe is a subgroup of the Nuba, found in the Nuba mountains in Sudan, and the Nyanza province is where the Luo are. Nyanza is in the southwestern corner of Kenya, where Lake Victoria comes in. The Western Province is directly north of Nyanza. In more recent years, more people are leaving the tribal areas and going to the slum and other populated areas, seeking work in order to survive and support their families. In other cases, children may come to live with relatives for education opportunities, or out of necessity.

Samuel came from a large family, 2 boys and 5 girls. One of the girls died, so then there were four. Samuel moved to the Kibera slums when he was five years old after his father died. One of his sisters was living there running a small business, and she took over his care. Samuel did not get to attend school, he worked as a hawker in the slum, selling orange fruit.

After his sister married, his brother in law enrolled him in a welding course. At eighteen, he was able to learn a trade and worked building windows and doors. The windows have metal bars on them. The doors down there aren't like the doors used on American homes. They are heavy, and made of steel. They aren't meant to mark the threshold of where “outside” ends and “inside” begins. The windows and doors that they build and use down there are meant as a means of protection.

Doors built in the slum

After some time, Samuel was approached to do a commissioned piece of art. He was asked to sculpt Jesus on the cross. When Samuel talks about creating the piece, he says that everything went perfectly and what he made was perfect. It was then that he knew that art is what he is meant to do. He has been creating art for ten years, since 2008. When you see his pieces, knowing that they are metal and seeing the scale that he makes them is impressive, alone. But then as you learn more about where they come from, the pieces are made from 55 gallon steel drums. It's not like he can get sheet metal and then start working with it. To be an artist living in the Kibera slum has so many challenges. He works with what he has and what he can get. When describing Samuel and the people living slum in general, Jeff often says, “They just do so much, with so little,” followed by a reflective pause.

Sorting for recyclables

Samuel also has a family that depends on him. Samuel has been married to his wife for seven years. They have three children, ages 6, 4, 2. His family and faith are the most important to him. It is humbling to think about Samuel and his family, living where they do, and that they are happy and Samuel spends his days making art. I hope to get to meet him someday, and I'll get to see the world with a different perspective.

As a final note, we are anticipating a shipment of new sculptures soon! We'll let you know when we'll have them in!

Update: Art and Soul Winners Announced

 Art and Soul is all wrapped up and the winners have been announced. We are very pleased to tell you all that Samuel's sculptures did win, and his sculptures won TWO awards! Art Roamers accepted the first place in the judged 3-dimensional competition and the 4^th place overall awards on Samuel's behalf. Due to timing and travel constraints, Samuel was not able to attend all the way from Africa. The pictures in this entry are from the award ceremony.

The ceremony was held at the Orpheum Theatre on Main Avenue in Twin Falls, on Saturday afternoon. It's always nice when we have an excuse to go down Main since the construction has been completed. The beautiful weather was also a bonus. It was great to have the ceremony to attend as Art and Soul has come to a close. We enjoyed getting to see the artists and the awards being given out.

We want to thank Art and Soul and the Magic Valley Arts Council for putting on this event and giving artists the opportunity to share their work. Also, thank you to the artists, venues, and sponsors. With your support and participation, this event gets better every year. We especially want to thank KMVT for being our venue. We hope you enjoyed having us as much as we enjoyed being there! Finally, thank you to all of the voters. We appreciate everyone that has any involvement in Art and Soul from the volunteers and participants to the viewers and voters.

Congratulations to all of the participants. The full results can be found on the Art and Soul website, found here: http://magicvalleyhasart.com/.

Be sure to comment with any questions and follow us on Facebook!