Art Exhibition
Saturday July 26, 2019
Urban Construction Craft Academy
2780 NW 87th Street
Miami, Fl 33147
Mr. William “Bill” Dozier, founder of the Urban Construction Craft Academy, invited me to set up for an art exhibit which would be held on the last week of Summer Construction Camp at the graduation ceremony. I walked the perimeter to determine how much pieces could be held in the allotted space and decided to bring seven (7) pieces. The week before graduation Mr. Dozier asked me to participate in mentoring session and a classroom presentation with the students about my journey of working in the construction field and how I became a sculptor. I had brought “Meditation Man” and “Self Portrait” as well as several stories about my other pieces.
During the presentation, I spoke about my experience in the construction field and then asked the students “which one of you would like to volunteer to read a story about one of my pieces?” Several students volunteered to read, asked questions and I proceeded to explain the meaning and emotion behind each story. I told them that I would be having an Art Exhibit on the same of the graduation ceremony on the premises. They were excited of the possibility of viewing all my sculptures.
After the graduation ceremony was held, Mr. Dozier announced that there was Art Exhibit next door so some parents, guardians and students went over to take a look. The students were pleasantly surprise to see so many of the pieces that they had read about and discussed during the classroom presentation the week before. They ran to get their parents who were not there to bring them over to the Art Exhibit.
Everyone was amazed to discover that I was a skilled carpenter and had built the bases to display my sculptures without sight. There was another emotional reaction, where a relative of a nephew who had graduated started crying over “Praying Man” and so I went over to her and she told me that she could relate to the piece and story. A friend, who had volunteered to provide assistance at the exhibit, went over to comfort and quietly spoke with her. They talked about how “Praying Man” is a powerful piece with a strong message. This was another wonderful event which concluded on a positive note. Truly thankful to Mr. Dozier for giving me the opportunity to host an Art Exhibit at Urban Construction Craft Academy.
