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The teachers of the Lake Chapala Society are grateful for the support of the Ajijic community, for the participation of the last 2024 Art Camp on its XI Anniversary, it was a great success. This camp was started 11 years ago, to provide more alternatives to children, and takes place every year during the summer. One of the intentions in the near future is to provide an introduction to different artistic alternatives, through workshops with defined schedules.
As many may know, this program began decades ago since 1954 by the late founder Neill James, and is currently still in force, thanks to local and Expat painters who have collaborated out of good will.
It should be added that one of the experiences I have had in this program for 30 years voluntarily with children is that all children in general are instinctively creative (some need some encouragement from the instructor). Their ideas, emotions, feelings are reflected through their free strokes on paper, this artistic discipline of expressing themselves is vital to them, they lose the fear of expression, they gain self-confidence etc “because in the creative world of childhood there are no mistakes” everything is valid in creativity, especially between the ages of 4 to 8 years. If the child reaches adolescence with that creative drive it is time to teach them the second phase; theme, composition, color, volume etc. giving them follow-up at a professional level through scholarships to the most outstanding, as the founder did at the beginning.
They will be the future artists of this legacy, under this form of teaching I was instructed as well as my contemporary colleagues, this program continues to bear fruit.
The Lake Chapala Society AC will have its presidential elections on August 20, for the first time it will have a Mexican candidate as president, C Yolanda Martinez Llamas. I have spoken with the candidate and with Steve Balfour current executive director of LCS and they are fully willing to support and follow up on this artistic legacy of our community. As a volunteer of this Society I join in favor of the candidate Yolanda Martinez Llamas, including the current executive director Steve Balfour for his great enthusiasm in supporting the artistic community of Ajijic and the recent 2024 Artistic Camp.
PS Ajijic is a big town, I consider it important to know what is happening in our community. Sincerely: Jesús Victoriano López Vega, volunteer of the SLC children’s program.
