Arts For Life Blog

The Arts For Life Guide to Art Materials

April 3, 2020 | By Annie Rogers

Paper You’ll want to use paper that is made for whatever art material you are using on it. An inexpensive sketch pad is a great place to start.  Watercolor paper is thick so it will be stable when it gets wet. Typically, it has a “toothy” or rough texture in order to ‘hold’ the paint […]

Swing for the Kids!

February 18, 2020 | By Rachel Zink

Notice: Due to COVID-19 concerns, Swing for the Kids has been rescheduled. Friday, May 1, 2020 Friday, October 9, 2020 at Falls Village Golf Club in Durham Swing for the Kids is a premier charity golf tournament supporting Arts For Life. Now in its fifth year, this event is shaping up to be even bigger and […]

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NOW HIRING! Executive Director

February 14, 2020 | By Snee Howard

Job Description Arts For Life (AFL) seeks an experienced Executive Director (ED) with a demonstrated commitment to organizational excellence to lead the organization and add to its exceptional 19-year history. Arts For Life is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting pediatric patients and families through arts education and engagement. By providing educational arts programs, […]

Creed’s Story

October 29, 2019 | By Rachel Zink

Inspired to make art and music lessons possible for kids and teens like Creed? Donate here today. When Creed was first asked to come to the art table by an Arts For Life teacher, his mom didn’t think anything of it. Art was just not something that Creed was interested in. So, it took her […]

Virginia’s Story

September 27, 2019 | By Rachel Zink

Inspired to make art and music lessons possible for kids and teens like Virginia? Donate here today. Virginia is not afraid to try new things and has the amazing ability to always see the good in life. When she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma the summer before her senior year in high school in 2017, she […]

The Lessons of Love

July 1, 2019 | By Rachel Zink

Any parent knows parenthood is an adventure. One of our Music Teachers, Marty Edwards, shares how the adventure of fatherhood informs his work with Arts For Life. Of course, Marty would say it’s a calling rather than a job. In his own words: “When my four year old son gazes up at me, he sees […]

MEET: Nine-year-old Reese

| By Rachel Zink

Reese just turned nine years old, and he spends at least 21 days in the hospital each time he comes to receive his chemo treatments. By the end of the first week his walls, IV pole, and ceiling are covered in artwork. He has even started selling some of the art to his nurses, doctors, […]

Adventure Starts a Research Scientist on the Path to Arts For Life

| By Rachel Zink

The path that led our new board member, Doris Rouse PhD, began with an amazing adventure. When Doris graduated from Duke University with a degree in Chemistry, she joined the Peace Corps and left everything familiar to teach science in Tugbake, a small, remote village in Liberia. She fell in love with the children and […]

Rise & SHINE! in Asheville

June 18, 2019 | By Rachel Zink

Thursday, October 10 8:30-10:00AM Highland Brewing Company Event Center 12 Old Charlotte Highway, Suite 200 Asheville, North Carolina 28803 Featuring special guest: David Holt! Four-time Grammy Award winner David Holt is a musician, storyteller, historian, television host and entertainer, dedicated to performing and preserving traditional American music and stories. Holt plays ten acoustic instruments and […]