Volunteers are notified of upcoming events by email.

Red Door Community 05/25/23

How do you pronounce axolotl??! Just ask a Red Door Community kid. And now thanks to our Event Director, Dennis Calero- and our trusty volunteers Elana Amity, Pedro Delgado, and Elizabeth Winter, you can also now ask them how to design jellyfish, sea turtles, and fishies of all kinds!

We were so happy to join together with this group that ensures no one faces cancer alone this week. Thanks to all for being there.

Covenant House of California 05/23/23

We were thrilled to be back in person with the talented young artists at the Covenant House of California! Together we worked through the elements of original character design using paper, pencils, and clay.

Enormous thanks to our beloved volunteers, Christian Lignan,  Jeremy Arambulo, Ivan Camilli, and a big welcome to our newest volunteer, Benoît Le Pennec! 

Bellevue Hospital 05/05/23

Check out the Lucky Owl Totems, crafted by the kids at Bellevue Hospital! Our Event Director, Micheline Hess, designed this activity where we gave each child a paper owl figurine and all the paint, glitter, and googley eyes they’d need to make their owls unique. The children also got to design a little tote bag so they could carry their lucky owls wherever they go.

Thanks so much to Tifara Leon and the staff at Bellevue Hospital for keeping our connection strong with these wonderful kids. And sending our eternal gratitude to Blick Art Materials who helped us provide these fun art supplies.

St. Mary’s Hospital 02/18/23

Extraordinary day drawing with the wonderful children at St. Mary’s Hospital! The kids leapt right into depictions of birds, trains, astronauts, and octopus aliens abducting cats and Machine Gun Kelly!? 😂

Huge thanks to the coordinating prowess of our fearless Event Director, Tim Savage, and to our volunteers, Ray Alma, Pedro Delgado, Dayna Gonzalez, Joyce Pedretti, Adrian Sinnott, and Elizabeth Winter for making drawings enough for 40 kids today!

Love Bugs at Bellevue Hospital 02/14/2023

Check out the magnificent “love bugs” the kids at Bellevue Hospital made! For Valentine’s Day this year, our Event Director, Micheline Hess created a step by step video, guiding the kids in how to create these lovable characters using our art supply kits. They made happy rainbows, angry birds, and all around adorable friends that they can keep, trade, or give away.

Now you can try it too! Gather a few fun tools like foam balls, heart shapes, paint sticks, and googly eyes – we got ours from Blick Art Materials- and follow this video: https://vimeo.com/798716079

We’d love to see what you come up with! Tag us @inkwellkids on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

#Craft #Childrensnonprofit #ArtHeals Children of Bellevue

Valentine’s Day Cards for the kids at Bellevue Hospital 2/2023

We delivered stacks of handmade Valentine’s Day cards from our animators, illustrators, and cartoonists to the doorstep of each child being served by Bellevue Hospital’s pediatric in-patient psychiatry team. Every child also received their very own art kit so they could make their own cards to exchange with one another or give to their loved ones.

Thanks to Elana Amity, Jane Archer, Matthew Bennett, Joan Chiverton, Pedro Delgado, Dayna Gonzalez, Stefano Imbert, Joyce Pedretti, Ellie Rahim, and Elizabeth Winter for your thoughtful homemade messages! ❤️

Valentine’s “Love Bugs” and Card Drive for Children at Bellevue Hospital 02/2023

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we shipped off “love bug” kits to the kids at Bellevue Hospital! Our Event Director, Micheline Hess, also created a step-by-step guide for how to use all these fun supplies to create a unique character. Can’t wait to see what they come up with using foam balls, tempera paint sticks, googly eyes, heart shapes and more. 💖

Our volunteers also crafted handmade cards so each child being treated at the in-patient psychiatric ward could receive their own message and drawing of love and support.

Holiday Cards for Children at Bellevue Hospital 12/2022

Every year we send hand-made cards to children undergoing in-patient psychiatric care at Bellevue Hospital over the holidays. These children are working hard to overcome challenges and we are so proud of them. Their imaginations and spirits are indomitable.

Thank you to our professional artists who encourage and support these kids with their beautiful words and images; to Tifara and the other wonderful staff at Bellevue Hospital Pediatric Psychiatry Ward; and to Blick Arts Materials for donating the supplies that we share with each card, making for a meaningful gift that will allow the children to keep on creating anytime.

Claymation with New Alternatives for Children! 11/09/2022

Bellevue Hospital Journaling 8/31/22

On a long summer’s day the children of Bellevue Hospital unwrapped their very own journals and began to fill them with images and words of strength and adventure.

We’re so grateful to be able to work with these beautiful kids year after year, continually learning from their resilience and grace through challenging times.

Glue Art Part 2 w/ Red Door Community 8/18/22

Drawing with glue part 2! This time we took to the stars with the Red Door Community kids in honor of the awesome new images coming from NASA’s Webb Telescope.

We rocketed up to the sky with Shaun the Sheep, Dragon Ball characters, and space puppies.

Thanks to Adrian Sinnott, Oded Naaman, and Elizabeth Winter for volunteering and huge gratitude to Dennis Calero for putting this whole evening of fun together.

Want to try yourself? Just make a sketch, cover the lines with glue, sprinkle some coarse salt, and drip paint or food dye over the crystals. Let sit for 10 minutes then hang on your wall!

Glue Art Part 1 w/ Red Door Community 8/17/22

Part one of glue drawing fun! Dennis Calero led our wonderful group of kids from Red Door Community in making flowers, and trees, and Despicable Me’s.

It’s really cool how the glue and salt interact with paint. Have a look and give it a try yourself! Just draw a sketch, cover it in glue, sprinkle salt, and drip watercolor paint or food dye over it.

Thanks so much to Elana Amity, Joseph Scott, and Elizabeth Winter for volunteering.

T-Shirt Stenciling at Bellevue Hospital 7/12/22

The kids at Bellevue Hospital took our tees, fabric markers, and stencils and went to town on designing their own custom looks!

With the help of our Event Director, Micheline Hess, and her step-by-step guide, the kids came up with all sorts of beautiful creations. We were also able to provide a personal sketch book to each child so they can continue journaling their ideas for projects to come.

We are grateful to Blick Arts, who provided many of the materials used for this event! And to Tifara Leon, Belleveue Hospital Children’s Psychology Ward Coordinator for working together with us for over 17 years to provide stimulating, encouraging activities for the hospital’s in-patient population.

Coloring time at Bellevue Hospital 5/17/22

The children of Bellevue Hospital have been filling their Ink Well coloring books with vibrant adventures!

Thanks to Fia, Peter, and Randall de Séve for helping to provide these hours of creative fun. And thanks to Blick Art Materials for the marvelous markers!

“My Brand” at Covenant House of Los Angeles 05/05/22

Such a meaningful time connecting with the young adults at the Covenant House tonight! We all searched for three words that spoke about who we are, what feels true, and then applied that to our favorite form of artistic expression. Together we branded dance, music, video game, beauty and fashion lines!

Thanks to our pro artist volunteers, Matthew Bennet, Christian Lignan, Joseph Scott, and Elizabeth Winter. And enormous gratitude to Blick for donating the beautiful journals and marker sets that made exploring these personalized designs possible.

Funky Birds at Bellevue Hospital 4/1/22

We came up with an activity idea that’s downright FLAPALICIOUS! Funky Birds was a drawing activity designed by our new Event Director, Micheline Hess, that’s perfect for this time of year. It encouraged the imaginations of the kids at Bellevue Hospital, to take flight as they drew and accessorized their pick of the many birds that live in NYC and return each Spring. 

Bluejays got boots, Robbins got ready, and Pigeons got primped on rich black paper books we sent along with oil pastel crayons that can double as paint. The kids really made these vibrant colors, pop!

Enormous gratitude to Tifara León, who coordinated this event with us and guided the kids along at Bellevue!

Ink Well Coloring Book Delivery! 3/30/22

Our hearts are full of gratitude to Fia de Séve and her father, Peter, who hand crafted these beautiful coloring books, full of empowering adventures for the Ink Well kids!

Fia raised the money to print these books herself and now she and her mom, Randall, are delivering them in person, along with sets of crayons, to our partners at New Alternatives for Children, Bellevue Hospital, and St. Mary’s Hospital.

Fia is also offering additional free, downloadable coloring pages via Instagram: https://lnkd.in/dzmpyUjU

Resources like these have been so invaluable to the children we serve throughout these past couple years of restricted in-person activities. We are so heartened to see young people like Fia catch the spark of supporting others in their community, especially through the healing power of art.

Thank you to this talented family of artists for sharing your gift with the Ink Well kids!

Red Door Community – 1-Point Perspective 03/10/22

Aaand round 2 of 1-point prospective drawing with the Red Door Community kids. This time Dennis Calero welcomed artists, Elana Amity, Stefano Imbert, and Elizabeth Winter to the scene and together they watched in amazement as after a quick lesson, the kids were creating twirling roses, spinning one-toothed robots, drifting hot air balloons, beaming rainbows, and a super galactic daisy windmill gear thingy!

Red Door Community – 1-Point Perspective 03/09/22

One-point perspective drawing with Red Door Community kids! Dennis Calero taught how to turn most any object 3D using simple techniques and the kids took off with it, making pyramids, spheres, and all kinds of original characters.

Thanks to Pedro Delgado, Timothy Savage, and Elizabeth Winter for volunteering! And thanks to this wonderful center, supporting families experiencing cancer.

Covenant House of California – Claymation 101 03/03/22

We got to join the Covenant House of California youth for some sweet Claymation 101 this week!

Right off the bat these bright young things picked up on how to keep it simple and pick a few traits to make your characters unique. We talked about letting your imagination form the clay as you go and explored techniques like how to make parts stick using cross hatching, how to blend colors, and accentuate features to convey a mood.

Then we secured our phone cameras to take three steady snaps as the figures moved across the screen and next thing you know, you’ve got your first claymation short!

In just an hour, this talented crew kicked out original characters like a robot panda, a bouncing blue frog, twirling ghostly octopus, a proud Viking Santa, a determined inch worm and more. They went with their instincts and used pencils to create puppets and a Broadway-bound singer even gave our tiger a triumphant theme song!

The possibilities are infinite when we form supportive communities like this and give each other creative space. We talked with each youth about what they like most about the arts and they were hungry to try animation, film, ceramics, theater, graphic design, and vocal arts. We shared how working as a Production Assistant is how many of us got our start in animation and also how there are creative aspects to every field nowadays and that everything from libraries to corporate offices and schools need people with creative abilities. We know they will go far and hope to have helped spark some ideas of how to begin.

Thanks to our artists, Matthew Bennett (Blue Sky, Raven, Nickelodeon, Insomniac Games…) and Elizabeth Winter (Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Paramount, MTV…) for volunteering.

Mardi Gras Mask Making with New Alternatives for Children 02/16/2022

The bright minds of New Alternatives for Children helped us design original Mardi Gras masks tonight. The kids marched out a marvelous parade of carnival creations like Pig and Panda masks, a Sonic the Hedgehog reveler, Rainbow Sparkles Everywhere designs and more using feathers, beads, glitter and all sorts of other fun materials that we shipped to them in advance.

Thanks to our volunteers, Stefano Imbert, Tim Savage, Elizabeth Winter, and Zane Yarbrough for your guidance, and to our Event Director, Lisa LaBracio for coordinating and leading this awesome night!!

Handmade Cards with the Red Door Community 12/15/21

We are honored to participate in Red Door Community programming to support children facing a parent’s cancer diagnosis, treatment, or loss. At this event we were heartened by how much the kids helped one another learn to draw holiday characters like reindeer, Santa, menorahs, and more. It’s these “found families” that can truly carry us through anything.

Thanks to our volunteer artists Elana Amity, Tim Savage, and Elizabeth Winter for leading the night’s activities!

A Card for Every Kid Campaign December, 2021

Being stuck in the hospital over the holidays can feel extra isolating. So every year our artists create handmade, original cards and send them to the children being treated at Bellevue Hospital.

We coordinate with the hospital staff to pair each card with a special art supply gift, ensuring that each child receives something created for them, and something they can use to create for others.

New Alternatives for Children: Homemade cards & gifts 12/01/2021

Give the NAC kids some paper, markers, and tape and you will get boundless wonderful creations back! At this event we created holiday cards and decorations that the kids could give as gifts to their loved ones like: stand-up elfs, a “wolf-mer-croc,” talking presents, big-eyed trees, Sonic Santas, and much more!

Thanks to Lisa LaBracio, who is the Ink Well’s Event Director for all activities at New Alternatives, for guiding this lovely night. And to Matthew Bennett, Tim Savage and Elizabeth Winter for volunteering!

New Alternatives for Children: Totes Halloween!

Ideas were falling like leaves from the New Alternatives kids! Together we designed canvas trick or treat totes and original leaf characters. The kids thought up the best haunted house robot storm stories ever and blew us away with their designs.

We at the Ink Well Foundation are always working to keep our footprint light to leave a healthier environment for generations to come. Thanks to Blick Art Materials we gave each child their own renewable art supply kit!

Huge hugs to our Event Director, Lisa LaBracio for guiding us with such warmth and support and to our volunteers Matthew Bennett, Oded Naaman, Timothy Savage, Joseph Scott, Elizabeth Winter, and Zane Yarbrough for sharing your time, wisdom, and encouragement.

“How to Draw Emotions” activity with the Red Door Community Kids! 8/26/2021

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This week we brought animators and comic book illustrators to show the Red Door Community kids how to draw any emotion in just a few lines!

We kicked it off with a challenge from the kids: “show happy in seven lines or less!” Zane Yarbrough took to his sketch pad and showed arcs under the eyes, naturally content eyebrows, a great big smile, and with the sixth and seventh stroke, some darling dimples. Some siblings took it to the next level by drawing curious aliens vying with goofy ghost busters while hungry tigers hunted in the bushes below! Oded Naaman showed how when tigers are hungry, they get furrowed brows and Jenny Fine showed that when girls get sleepy after so much running around, both eyelids can close with drowsiness. Elizabeth Winter wanted to see what flowers look like when they’re worried so all the kids had a go at drawing dizzy daisies, riveted roses, and trembling tulips. We got one last big challenge from a boy who said, “so how would you make a robot look happy?!” and Joseph Scott, with his background on Futurama, brought out an old metal friend who loves to joke around!

Thanks so much to the Red Door Community for having us by. The Red Door Community is open to children who have been diagnosed with cancer, have a parent or loved one who is living with cancer, or are grieving the death of a loved one to cancer.

Handmade Coloring Books by Peter & Fia de Séve for Children at Bellevue Hospital 7/25/2021

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So touched by these photos, sent to us by Bellevue Hospital. These children are receiving in-patient care for psychiatric challenges and are often isolated from family and friends for long periods of time. While we await pandemic restrictions to lift and our in-person events to resume, we’ve been sending the kids creative projects through the mail.

Here they are filling handmade coloring books that world-renowned character designer and illustrator, Peter de Séve, and his daughter, Fia, made especially for them. The characters and scenes depict courage, strength, and friendship and were sent with a personalized letter, letting the kids know they are in our thoughts every day and we can’t wait to see them again!

Thank you, Peter and Fia, for this very special gift and to Tifara and Laurina at Children of Bellevue support staff. We you guys!#childpsychology#fostercare#PeterdeSeve#pediatrics

Art Supplies for St. Mary’s Kids 7/16/2021

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A big part of what the Ink Well does is make sure the kids we work with at hospitals and foster care centers each have their own art kits so they can keep creating on their own after our events. Here’s our trusty Event Director, Timothy Savage, handing off the latest goods to St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children today!

An enormous thanks to Blick Art Materials who make this kind of support possible. #community#nonprofit#fostercareadoption

Gilda’s Club 06/16/21

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If you need a brilliant storyline, just ask the Gilda’s Club kids! All we had to do was ask them what they saw in their mind’s eye and we wound up with space chariots, metal birds with jet packs, and slime people!Thanks to Elana Amity, Dennis Calero, Oded Naaman, Timothy Savage, Elizabeth Winter for volunteering and to Franz Palomares for directing this event. It is a very special thing to create together when we or our loved ones are going through cancer. We deeply thank these children for letting us be a part of their healing circle at Gilda’s Club.

Bellevue Hospital T-Shirt Design 5/23/21

With the help of Bellevue Hospital staff, we asked children receiving in-patient psychiatric care to visualize what makes them feel peaceful strength: is it playing sports, laughing with friends, exploring nature? Then the kids kept those images close to their hearts by drawing them on their very own t-shirts!

They did a marvelous job, creating moons with clouds drifting by, butterflies visiting flowers in a garden, figures doing martial arts, and even an adorable potato character.

A huge thanks to Blick Art Materials for their support in providing fabric markers and t-shirts, and to our Event Director, Dennis Calero, for coordinating. We are so grateful for all the energy and support that continues to make these important bonding events possible.

Handmade Coloring Books from Peter and Fia de Séve! 05/22/21

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We were thrilled to receive these handmade coloring books from IWF Board Member, Peter de Séve, and his daughter, Fia.

We jumped on the vid chat to thank them and Fia explained that she and her dad worked together to design characters and scenes of courage and strength in the hopes that our kids may feel that power in themselves as they face their challenges and that they may know we are supporting and encouraging them every step of the way.

Indeed we are, Fia, and we’ll be sending these on very soon.

New Alternatives Mentoring Part III, 5/07/21

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Luther Burgess of New Alternatives for Children finished up his original brand design with Ink Well volunteer and Broadway show poster master, Stefano Imbert.

We’ve been working with Luther for a month to create a unique brand all his own, incorporating imagery like his signature mustache and glasses, and symbols that speak to him like a crown, NYC skyline, playing cards and an all-around art deco style.Luther says he wants everyone to “Show Your Colors” with the world, sharing how important it is to express yourself as you are, to love and be proud of everything that makes you YOU.

We’re grateful to Luther for letting us be a part of this creative journey and for being such a supportive voice for others striving to express themselves.Thanks to Ink Well Event Director, Lisa LaBracio, and NAC’s Linda Peck who organized these opportunities to work together. And also huge thanks to our other volunteer artists in the earlier mentor sessions, Joan Chiverton, Matthew Bennett, and Elizabeth Winter.

New Alternatives for Children is a center for children with disabilities and chronic illness with a focus on foster and adoptive families.

New Alternatives Mentoring Part II, 4/23/21

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Luther is taking his logo to the next level, filling his Basquiat-style crowns with symbolism and very clever designs like forming letters out of clusters of numbers and making faces appear in the negative space between initials. Our featured Ink Well artist, Joan Chiverton, helped him pull elements of his own signature style into his work, like his green glasses and mustache. And another Ink Weller, Elizabeth Winter, helped him explore the Art Deco influence she recognized in his decisive lines and strong, radial rays.

Thank you very much to Linda Peck for hosting again. This is a fascinating creative journey and we’re honored to be a part of it!

New Alternatives for Children: a center for children with disabilities and chronic illness with a focus on foster and adoptive families.

Gilda’s Club, Cartoon Flowers, 4/21/21

Cartoon characters bloomed as we celebrated Earth Day and the arrival of spring with the Gilda’s Club kids! We anthropomorphised sunflowers, roses, and dahlias then composited them into a final scene. The kids helped us come up with a story about how all the flowers were chit chatting as a gardener walked quietly up in amazement. She never knew her garden had so much personality!

Thanks to our volunteers, Elana Amity, Dennis Calero, Pedro Delgado, and Elizabeth Winter and to the Gilda’s Club staff for helping to organize such a bountiful fun time. And a huge bow to the fantastic imaginations and great energy brought by all the kids!

Gilda’s Club is open to children who have been diagnosed with cancer, have a parent or loved one who is living with cancer, or are grieving the death of a loved one to cancer.

New Alternatives Mentoring Part I, 4/16/21

What a privilege to meet our latest friend from New Alternatives for Children. This very promising artist asked us to help him create a logo that incorporated his style and the things he cares about most. We followed his already very advanced lead and taught him a few tips about his favorite new medium, a digital drawing tablet.

Thank you very much to Linda Peck for hosting, our Event Director, Lisa LaBracio for leading the lessons and volunteers, Matthew Bennett and Elizabeth Winter for all the great tips from the visual effects and animation trades!

New Alternatives for Children: a center for children with disabilities and chronic illness with a focus on foster and adoptive families.

Homemade Valentine’s Day Cards with the kids at Childhelp! 2/13/21

Love and gratitude beamed from the Childhelp kids’ homemade Valentine’s Day cards! The kids created the most ingenious characters and messages like a hotdog who said, “I relish our time together,” a lollipop who said, “I think you’re sweet,” and they helped us come up with our own scenes like an octopus who was “stuck” on a pufferfish, a ladybug who didn’t want to “bug” anyone but asked if you’d be their Valentine, and on and on.

The kids showed encouragement for one another as we all learned new skills together. We’re proud of them and hope they feel pride in their beautiful work. Every day is a chance to grow and heal together as a community and we thank the Childhelp staff for helping us put this special night together, and our volunteers for sharing their animation, character design, and multimedia techniques! Ink Well volunteers: Jenny Fine, Tim Savage, Peter de Séve, and Elizabeth Winter.

Quick Sketch Tips with the Gilda’s Club Kids 01/07/21

Such a joy to join with the Gilda’s Club kids for a night of drawing fun! We taught about negative space, action lines, facial expressions and making characters out of finger outlines. The kids picked right up on it, making farmer girls, coy butterflies, and studious explorers. Then they helped us build our own scenes like aviators zipping around the sky and juggling clowns being tickled by lions!

Thanks to IWF Event Director, Franz Palomares, for hosting, Elizabeth Winter for volunteering, and all the Gilda’s Club staff and kids for joining in the fun!

Gilda’s Club: a network of clubhouses supporting people whose lives have been affected by cancer.

Party Animal Mask Making with New Alternatives for Children 12/29/20

We were so happy to join the wonderful NAC crew to mix and match giraffes and crocodiles, monkeys, and toucans at our New Year’s eve mask-making party! Now the kids are really ready to roarrrr in 2021.

Thank you to IWF Event Director, Lisa LaBracio, and NAC Support Specialist, Shelsey Valdez, for organizing and to Founder/volunteer, Elizabeth Winter, for sharing her zebra and Monsieur Jellyfish mask-making skills! New Alternatives provides support for children in foster and adoptive care, many with special medical needs.

Homemade Holiday Gifts for the Children of Bellevue Hospital 12/08/20

The children of Bellevue Hospital are being treated for severe psychiatric issues and so often must remain in the hospital, away from home for extended periods of time, even over the holidays. To make sure they know how much we’re thinking of them now and always, we’re sending each child a design-your-own holiday stocking, filled with art supplies, including fabric markers they can use to decorate their stockings. We also called upon all our incredible artist volunteers to make special hand-made cards for each child, filled with messages of love and support. Special thanks to Maria Scrivan for donating a box of her “Forget Me Nat” and “Nat Enough” book series and to Victoria Kann who also donated from her “Pinkalicious” series to give to the kids as stocking stuffers. And to our art supply sponsors Blick Arts for these fabulous design-your-own stockings and fabric markers!

Ink Wellers who hand made cards for the kids:
Matthew Bennett, Howard Beckerman, Dennis Calero, Tom Cardone, Joan Chiverton, Pedro Delgado, Bil Donovan, Micheline Hess, Victoria Kann, Lisa LaBracio, Marty Macaluso, Abby Merril, Oded Naaman, Tim Savage, Maria Scrivan, Elizabeth Winter