The Melheimian Sabbatiblog

Art Retreat

He Qi Mountain Break

We took a 48 hour break from the mural "Creation" to escape to the mountains and outline the rest of the Bible Song Sunday School art that He Qi will paint this year. Here are the sketches, for your enjoyment. The paintings will be done this summer in Nanjing.

Creation Day 4: by He Qi

Here's the details that Friday brought to Creation.

Creation Day 3: By He Qi

Creation Day 2: By He Qi

Here's where He Qi is at the end of Day 2. Come again.

Creation Day 1:By He Qi

Hey Friends and art lovers.

Here's what's happening in my basement this week. It's the "Creation" mural - the first of 120 pieces of original He Qi art for Bible Song Sunday School. If you have art loving friends, or anyone who knows He Qi's work, please pass this on to them. You can follow the progress every day this week on my blog and at www.faithink.com.  Spread the word. This is fun.  - RAM

Creation Underway

Guess what's being drawn and painted in our basement this week.

Hint: It's 14 feet long, three feet wide, and will serve as the kick-off art for Bible Song Sunday School.

The 45 Cameras Project - Closing

The Journey within a Journey

All along the way we will pick up friends and philosophers, musicians and media folks, politicians, poets, peacemakers and parents who have lost children to violence. The discussions will go deeper and deeper as the miles fly by and we cross the vast expanse of the USA.

History, peacemaking, psychology, philosophy, violence management, active listening and the power of film – these will be our constant companions as we pick up our guests and cameras along the way. Their wisdom, and that of the street philosophers we chance to meet as we travel from Hollywood to New York will serve as a source of endless discussion and material for the 90 documentaries our young film  producers will gather, cull and create.
And along the way as they are shooting, a professional documentary will be shot of the shooters by our resident film maker and traveling companion, Mr. Micah Schaffer, producer of HBO’s “Death of Two Sons.”

 

In the end, we will produce:

1. Pulitzer Class Documentary (by Micah Schaffer) about the process

2. 90 film shorts (15 a week all summer) to be streamed over the internet and seen by the world

3. An international buzz that will help build bridges, understanding, dialogue, and funding for an endowment to produce this event annually

4. 45 new film producers – every year - with friends on the “other side” of the walls who will infiltrate and impact the future of media, politics and society in Palestine, Israel, the USA and across the globe

Final Thoughts

In George Orwell’s “Animal Farm,” the first thing the Pigs did when the animals took over the farm was to kidnap the puppies. They raised them together, then turned them loose as young strong dogs to reinforce the revolution. If there is to be a revolution for peace in the Mide it's time to kidnap the puppies.

    45 cameras.

    45 teenagers.

    45 days.

    Crossing America  in a bus on the road toward peace, film and understanding.

Maybe it’s time we kidnap the puppies.

And put them in a bus.

(Note to Blog Readers: This is in the germination stage. I would enjoy and appreciate your input, connections, counsel, and advice on the whole concept, as well as the processes your would recommend and the cautions you wish to convey.)

The 45 Cameras Project - Week 6

Week 6: New York American Immersion Experience & Wrap Up Event  

Ellis Island, HBO Editing Suites tour, NBC News, New York University Film School, Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art and a Broadway play fill our first three days.
Visits to Jewish, Muslim, and Christian centers, interview with the homeless on the subways, a stop at the 9/11 memorial, and a dinner/discussion of Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing” will round out our experience. After three days of touring and rough shooting, two days of editing at NYU, and one day off for good behavior, we attend a send-off banquet and an evening boat ride to the Statue of Liberty to say “goodbye” to the USA and your summer film experience.

At the banquet, the group votes on the top three producers (Israeli, Palestinian, American)to be awarded a scholarship and a summer internship for the following summer to join the 45 Cameras staff and start planning the next group’s American experience.

Saturday Stream Show 6 - 15 shorts

The 45 Cameras Project - Week 5

Week 5: Washington, DC, Immersion Experience  

Visits to the White House, UN, National Press Club, Embassies (for interviews with Ambassadors from Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, USA), the Center for Mideast Peace, the Givat Haviva Jewish-Arab Center for Peace programs, tours of Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Congress, Viet Nam Memorial, and the Smithsonian. Three days of rough shooting, two days of editing, one day off for good behavior, then it’s “hit the road” for the New York City with at stop in Philadelphia for a tour of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Triads are mixed up and each new group produces a short video suitable for streaming before they load the bus. Videos are watched and critiqued along the way.

Saturday Stream Show 5 - 15 shorts