Art for Water on the Palouse

by Will Broussard

Looking East, North Moscow

The Art for Water team has made it to Moscow, Idaho! On Friday, February 3rd we met an 8:35 am flight out of Boston’s Logan airport and successfully made connecting flights in Chicago and Seattle. The sun had already set when we landed in Spokane, secured our rental car, and pushed south into the jetlagged night for 2 more hours. When we arrived in Moscow, we were delighted to be stationary.

Bob Mahler, Rotary Club President

We are here for 3 weeks as guests of the University of Idaho, where we have been invited to spread the word about Art for Water and gather materials for another installation of Stream of Conscience at the Prichard Art Gallery in downtown Moscow. We will be visiting public and charter schools within the greater Moscow area, along with rotary clubs, university classrooms, and other community organizations interested in our work. As of Wednesday, 200 students and adults have contributed to Stream of Conscience with thoughts, memories, song lyrics, and poems all inspired by the concern for the global water crisis. We will continue to reach out to new groups within the community as the weeks progress.

 

Moscow Charter School students

Our temporary home away from home is the art studio/guest house of James Reid, classical guitarist and professor of music at the University of Idaho, and his wife, Jeanne Leffingwell, creator of the Million Bead Project. It is a cozy residence located in northeast Moscow, just a minute’s walk from open farm country and the rolling hills that characterize the Palouse Prairie region. Less than a week into our stay we are smitten with the small town atmosphere of Moscow; its friendly people and beautiful landscape. Stay tuned for updates from Idaho as the river of words steadily grows into Stream of Conscience.