St. Francis Gallery

12/01/2023

Empowering local communities in Kenya Building bridges across continents   Our purpose is to develop self-sustaining community enrichment projects in Africa by providing needed materials & education so that with these resources the people in these communities will be empowered to generate revenue, ...

11/29/2023

This is how you can help
Giving Tuesday 2023
Empowering a community in Kenya, the story of the Sawa Sawa Foundation.
The Sawa Sawa Foundation, Inc. was the brainchild of Phil Pryjma and Karen Smith. In 2012 they embarked on a mission to develop a self-sustaining community by providing materials and education to the people living in the surrounding areas of the Angiya community. Today they support projects that generate revenue from their clean water initiative and the community garden that is maintained by the students, school staff, and villagers. Volunteers travel to Kenya to provide the needed tools and teaching for agriculture, financial literacy, the health care of the students, educational enrichment, to provide a daily lunch program for the students and maintain the clean water system.
The Foundation has funded the development of 8 acres of planting for generating the lunch program, medical and clinic services, materials for the 650 students who attend the school, and maintenance of the water supply system that generates income for the community.
The Sawa Sawa Foundation is a successful partnership in action.
Your contribution will address the basic needs that poverty creates.

____$ 50 Purchase education materials for 15 students
____$100 Medical cost for 10 students
____$150 Purchase 200kg for beans/maze for planting
____$250 Lunch for 350 students for one week
____$500 Expansion of community garden
____Other
The Sawa Sawa Foundation is a 501c(3)
Go to http://www.sawasawaberkshire.org to donate.
Ways to give - Donor Advised Funds and IRA qualified charitable distributions.

Empowering local communities in Kenya Building bridges across continents   Our purpose is to develop self-sustaining community enrichment projects in Africa by providing needed materials & education so that with these resources the people in these communities will be empowered to generate revenue, ...

04/10/2023

Wordle 660 4/6

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12/04/2022

12/04/2022

At a certain point, you have to get over your own bu****it.
You have to get tired of your addiction to suffering with the same tired story you've been repeating for years.
You have to stop blaming your challenges on others, or your circumstance in life. Your challenges exist to help you grow, not to keep you down. You are only a victim to your own mental limitations.
Once you recognize your challenges, it's good to emotionally process the anger, sadness, and fear. But at a certain point, lingering in self-pity by pointing the finger externally only hurts yourself by neglecting self-responsibility.
People say "trust your feelings" and "go with the flow", but this isn't always good advice. Would you tell an alcoholic to "trust their feelings" when they want to beat their spouse and keep drinking? Of course not. You have to accept that you are addicted to lying to yourself, imagining you can see reality clearly, and trust your own thinking 100%. Depending on how quickly you want to turn your life around, you may need to subject yourself to "spiritual maturity bootcamp". Sometimes self-love is a swift kick in the ass. You may need to post reminders on your walls. You may need to set your alarm to 7am each day, with a schedule of priorities you must achieve. You may need to recruit the help of a friend or life coach. You may need to sell all your belongings and change your life entirely because you have too many distractions surrounding you.
Don't be afraid to set fire to your life. It's better to burn in a blaze of intensity and make a few "mistakes" than slowly simmer your life away in the pitiful embers of apathy and regret.

Author: Humberto Braga
Stunning woman on picture: Unknown

11/29/2022

05/03/2022

Here is some of the artwork we will be showing...Come join us this Saturday 3-6 pm for our 2022 Opening Artists' reception

05/03/2022

ST. FRANCIS GALLERY 2022 SPRING SHOW

We have begun our new season with an exciting array of wonderful art for you to enjoy from both our local talent and artists we have discovered during humanitarian work in Kenya through the Sawa Sawa Foundation. The artwork is on display in a unique setting that is not a “neutral space” just to display art. To quote Alex Fein from Artspiel, when she reviewed Sam Spillman’s work she described it elegantly. “It is something much less tangible than that… It is a constellation of ideas, artists, and objects that come together in a space that is never neutral”. It becomes an exploration of the here and now at this moment in time, a total abstracted form. The space and the art become interconnected by many creative minds, including your own to distill a very real essence. The experience takes you from the inside out and from the outside in to connect you to a larger and embracing sense. This allows you to see and feel the creative energy and realize that “art is not static nor an unchanging object”, that it is shaped by the complexities of our perceptions unfolding and folding into new ideas and ways of seeing the world. We invite you to come and enjoy this refreshing and uplifting experience.

A reception for the artists will be on Saturday, May 7th from 3-6p6 pm. This show will continue into July for your pleasure. The gallery is open from 10-5 every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Please come and support our artists and also the work we do through the Sawa Sawa Foundation. Thank you.