Spring in Jordan 2015

In May Jean and Laurie returned to Zaatari Refugee Camp near the Syrian border in Jordan. While Laurie taught crochet, played with the children and handed out education kits Jean taught art workshops to young men. One of the workshops focussed on comics. Here are the amazing results.

Sadly we ran out of time before many of these pieces were finished. We will return in the fall and continue this project so that these talented artists can tell more of their stories for their friends and families from Syria and for all of us around the world. 

Graphic Novels at Zaatari Camp

In August 2014 Jean taught several graphic novel/cartooning workshops in Zaatari Camp near the Syrian border in Jordan. She worked with a young men's English language group. And a young women's cosmetology class. As a first experiment teaching this age group and this subject the workshops were excitingly successful.

Participants were encouraged to write and draw small moments from their daily lives in the refugee camp - but sometimes deeper messages were also written.

 "My life in the past was filled with sadness, death and tears. But I moved on, and now all I want is to live in the future and take care of my children."

"I hope to return to our country soon. I wish I could have a child.

Life is unbearable without plants and trees." 

 "I feel sad because I know that a lot of kids and young people die daily in my country and I cannot do anything"

"I am in jail. I do not know why. 

They torment the prisoners horribly.

I feel so lonely. I wish I could see my family.

I miss my family in Syria. 

I am out of prison. 

I am back home. I can meet my family now."

Translation for these drawings was generously donated by the wonderful people at Translation4All in Bellevue, Washington. 

Jean will return to Zaatari Camp in April and continue these workshops. It is hoped that with more instruction and time to explore story lines the resulting comics will give a voice to those in the camp who feel they don't have one. It will be a way to express grief - and a way to imagine a happier future.

As always, Studio Syria distributes as many art and educational supplies as possible during these workshops. Participants go home with enough supplies to continue their artworks and to share with friends and family. There can never be too many pencils in the homes of refugees! Studio Syria will continue to distribute pencils, pens, paper and books in 2015. Thank you for your support. 

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from Studio Syria. We send best wishes for a brighter future to all refugees living far from home. Thank you to all who donated to our programs. Here is a quick recap of what we achieved in 2014.

Jean and Laurie taught graphic novel workshops in Zaatari Camp near the Syrian border in Jordan. Young adults received training and art supplies to take home after the workshops. We partnered with IRD for this program and want to send a big thank you to Julie Whittaker.  Earlier in the year we taught children in Zaatari with the help of Save the Children Jordan.

Studio Syria worked with many generous knitters and crocheters from all over the world to donate hand made hats and clothing to refugee families. We partnered with our neighbours in Seattle, the Salaam Cultural Musuem, who shipped hundreds of hats for us and distributed at their amazing free medical clinics in Jordan. Thank you crafters for sending us such tangible love to pass along to those who need it most. See pictures of all the hats on our Facebook album here https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.739508169399253.1073741834.665325273484210&type=3



Laurie Balbo man handled thousands of balls of yarn (donated in Seattle) and held workshops in partnership with Collateral Repair in Amman sending proceeds from sales back to refugee families. Thanks to Karen Fardel and Tracy Bonaccorso (with her trusty van) for wrangling the yarn on the Seattle end.

We spent a day teaching art with the Salaam Cultural Museum and their medical team in the Jordanian town of Salt.

When Jean posted on Facebook that she was teaching kids in freezing weather who had cold feet, Studio Syria supporter Christine Tappert in Duvall, Washington, stepped in to raise money for socks which Jean was able to purchase and distribute in Amman - all with a turn around of a couple of weeks. One of the joys of being a small and lean organization!

We distributed hundreds of education kits to Syrian refugee children living in Zaatari Camp and in farm fields and urban lots. Thank you to the artists who contributed to our activity booklet - Anna Witte, Dave Badders, Chris Rollins, and Kutaieba Alsamman who translated it into Arabic. And thank you to the Pollination Project who granted us money to print more of these popular booklets. 

We spent a day with the ebullient folks at  Dar al Yasmin teaching kids how to make their own books.

And Jean spent a wonderful day teaching in a vacant lot in the border town of Zaatari Village, partnering with Samantha Robison and AptArt.

From Studio Syria to our wonderful supporters we send a huge thank you and 'shukran'. And from the many people we had the joy of working with this year, whether in Zaatari Camp, a dusty farm field or in an empty city parking lot - thank you for your resilience, your patience and the creativity you shared with us this year. We send heartfelt wishes for a speedy end to the violence in Syria and a return home in 2015. 

Please help us to continue our work in the New Year by donating at www.studiosyria.org.

Thank you from our hearts!

Teaching Graphic Novels in Zaatari Camp, September 2014

Studio Syria has returned to Zaatari Syrian Refugee Camp in Jordan. We partnered with IRD who provided transportation and access to their amazing big tent. Jean and Laurie taught a couple of workshops to young adults about how to write and draw comics and graphic novels. 

Laurie Balbo, with Studio Syria, is a child magnet. Here she shares her camera with some children at Zaatari Camp.

Jean had the pleasure of teaching a young man's English class how to write comics and graphic novels. We all had a wonderful time with much laughter and English spoken. Everyone was given art supply packs to take home including good quality paper, ink, brushes, pencils, erasers, rulers, pencil sharpeners and blank booklets.



Jean used this book as an example of a graphic novel as well as many others via a slide show.

In an attempt to soften the rocky ground IRD has laid sand and artificial grass inside the giant tent.

A group of young women were joined by some young men from an art club. The focus was intense and at times the tent was almost silent - except for the sound of the power generator and the wind tugging at the tent walls. 

"I dream to be a war man to protect my country". When we asked him who he wanted to fight against he said "ISIL".

This woman is a medic. She drew her hospital coat in the lower right corner with her head removed from it - showing that she can no longer wear it.

This mother drew a bird sending a letter home to her son, fighting in Syria. 

The Studio Syria education and activity booklet was as popular as ever with the younger crowd. 

Thank you to all who donated to Studio Syria this year and made this mission possible. We continue to raise money and plan further art workshops and education supply distributions in the spring. Please donate at www.studiosyria.org. 

Hats for Refugees

Jean is in Seattle until July but Studio Syria still touches the lives of Syrians living away from their homes. We just received pictures of children wearing handmade hats donated to Studio Syria and distributed in March by Seattle's Salaam Cultural Center. If you want to see the whole album of donated hats and the families who received them please check out the album on Studio Syria's Facebook page. Thank you to everyone who has donated. The hats keep coming and we'll keep sending them to people in need. You are warming heads and hearts.