6. Peruvian Market

5. On the Inca Trail

4. The Alpaca Adventure

3. Lamma y Chica

2. Niña

1. Chico Pequeño

Thoughts from Gandhi

One of my favorite quotes and the inspiration behind this trip:

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others" - M. Gandhi.

This is a charcoal sketch I completed in the summer of 2009 for my high school Campus Ministry Office. Photocopies of the original will be sent to contributors who donate over $50.

The Auction

During the week of Saturday, October 2nd through the following Saturday, October 9th, I will hold an informal, online auction of the finished paintings posted on this blog. Paintings #1-5 are all 8x10, painting #6 is a 7x24. All are framed in black paint and finished with a polyurethane cover. Here's how the auction works: If you would like to make a donation, simply comment on the painting(s) that you are interested in buying with your name and amount you would like to donate. Please note that if you place your bid but do not end up as the final bidder, please do not feel obliged to donate that amount. Any amount of donation is appreciated!! The auction will officially end at 9:00 PM (Central Time) on Saturday, October 9th. After this, I will post the winners of the auction. From there, once I receive your donation (please send checks to my address - listed below), I will ship out the paintings to each winner.

If you are not participating in the auction, please feel free to donate online through my Global Volunteers Fundraising Page or writing a check to Global Volunteers and sending it to the address listed below.

Fundraising Page:

http://donations.globalvolunteers.org/gvs/participants/participantpage.asp?fundid=323&uid=339&role=5&type=walker&walkername=Kelsey%20Torchia

Please send checks to:

Kelsey Torchia

College of St. Benedict, P.O. Box 1710

37 South College Ave

St. Joseph, MN 56374

***Note: Global Volunteers has 501(c) status, therefore all donations are tax deductible.

Many thanks for your time, donations and support! Please feel free to contact me anytime if you have questions!

katorchia@csbsju.edu

cell: 507-254-1775

Finished!

The final paintings.

On the Inca Trail

Painting 5 in progress.

The Alpaca Adventure

Mikey on the Inca Trail with Peruvian children

Peru #3

In Production

The latest painting still in production.

Getting Started

Since my last post, I am well underway with trip planning and painting!! Special thanks to my sister Katy who helped me find the needed art supplies at a GREAT price :) I have started the first few paintings and will continue to keep the blog updated with pictures and progress - this is the first painting that is almost complete!!

The Idea

This January 2011, I will be following in my older brother Mike's footsteps and embarking on a 2 week service trip to Lima, Peru through a program called Global Volunteers (globalvolunteers.org) based in St. Paul, MN. While I am there, I will work at an orphanage with Peruvian children. To raise money for my trip, I am going do a series of paintings with a Peru theme - some of these will be done using the pictures taken while Mike was there last year and other paintings I am using pictures taken from the Internet. These paintings will be auctioned off at the end of the summer with all donations helping to fund my trip. Check out my brother Mike's blog (greattransversalofminnesota.blogspot.com) for details about his Great Transversal of Minnesota fundraiser for Peruvian orphans and the inspiration behind this project.