Artists With A Heart For Mexico’s Orphans

Marcia Lavender visited the Lake Chapala area for five years before moving from Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 2007 with her husband and becoming a full time resident in Ajijic, Mexico.

Lavender considers herself an art “student” even though she has sold many acrylic and water color paintings in the states.  One of her desires in Ajijic was to learn more about painting in water color under Marci Boone, a world renown water color artist. “Water color is a discipline, which I enjoy, and I learned so much in just one hour with Marci Boone”, said Lavender.

“My work has changed here because of the influence of color coming from the Mexican culture,” said Lavender, “It’s easy for your attitude toward color to explode in your art here in Mexico.”  Marcia enjoys being around other local artists and the ability to continue to sell her work.   She belongs to the local Ajijic Society of the Arts (ASA), which organizes art fairs frequently in the area.

Lavender has also organized local teenagers to paint murals for a large orphanage in Chapala, Mexico.   “This gives the kids something constructive to do using their artistic abilities,” said Lavender, “This project makes the teenagers feel important while adding beauty and color to the orphanage”.

Whoever receives a gift from Lavender will also receive a beautiful unique hand painted greeting card.  You can find her work in various art galleries in Ajijic as well as local restaurants and Bed & Breakfast hotels.

– Elain Cholas, correspondent for Traveling4Health and co-owner of http://romaninmexico.com/