The Stonefire Expierence

During my first day at Stonefire in Titusville, I pondered around the studio to get a better feel of what was going on. As I walked around, I took in all of the vast details and perspectives of the studio. The first thing I experienced was the distinctive English accent of my new boss, Maxine, yelling instructions to me and some of my new co-workers, who seemed to not be able to understand a word she was saying. As I started volunteering, I as forced to move some very heavy and sharp objects that resulted in me cutting my hand very deeply. After only a quick break, the aroma of fresh baked goodies got me back up and walking around. I would later find myself outside the cafe, asking for a treat that would turn out to be a sweet and savory reward for my hard work earlier. After a long days work and a very soar back, I would find myself on the way home to a warm bath to help alleviate the pain.

Volunteering and Slavery

Volunteering at Stonefire in Titusville, and being forced to do hard, manual labor with no pay or benefits reminded me of slavery. When pondering on the idea of slavery, I thought about being forced to do hard work for long hours in inhospitable conditions. As I navigated throughout unstable piles of debris ready to collapse upon me and avoided every sharp corner and rusty metal object ready to stab me, I thought Stonefire must not really be too concerned about the safety of their volunteers. Even upon asking for safety procedures to protect me from the dangers of the job, I was informed nothing was available. As I continued doing more and more work, I was finally 
ready to just be done, ready to call it a day and go home, but I couldn't. I was still obligated to keep working so I could finish my required hours, even though my body was telling me enough is enough. It is after my experience at Stonefire that I realized that volunteering and slavery have much in common.

Making Room for the Dark Room

After being told repeated times how more space was needed for more art exhibits, Maxine finally instructed me to clear out the mountains of debris and random collected items in the back room of Stonefire Art Studio, located in the former Firestone Tires location. She told me that the new dark room was going to be added, and that everything had to be cleared to make room. So I began clearing out piece after piece of the most random items imaginable: everything from a toilet seat to a computer monitor. In the process of clearing the room, I was met with the daunting task of moving an extremely large, rusty piece of metal and in doing so cut my hand severely, and possibly contracted tetanus. Even though it was strenuous and time consuming work, the newly cleared space would look great after the dark room was installed. When opened to the public, the new exhibit would attract many new art enthusiasts and supporters to Stonefire.

Volunteering

One of the strongest ways of developing and building confidence is through volunteering. Volunteering allows a person to work on a community project and actually see the progress and effects their work is having in real time. The effects of volunteering are a constant reminder of the hard work and long hours put in, and they serve to help build confidence in a person’s their abilities. Volunteering on a community art project also allows a person to build confidence in working together with others and achieving a common goal. Confidence begins being built the second a person arrives on-sight and starts working. Every task accomplished, even as minor as they may be, allows a person to build up their confidence and become a more succesful person in every activity they participate in.

A Day at Stonefire

As I was wondering around the local community art project in Titusville, Stonefire Art Studio , I was surprised when Maxine said that we would be tasked with painting the outer walls of the former Firestone. Once I heard the task at hand, my high spirits were dropped because of how mundane the task at hand seemed. It first began with pouring a couple of gallons of flat paint into smaller containers for individual use when Kayla spilled a dollop of paint on me. Little did we know that that minor drop of paint would ignite a war. I immediately retaliated by “accidentally” dripping some of the paint on my mop brush onto Kayla. Thinking the engagement was over I dropped my guard and was surprised to see her approaching me, hands covered in paint. This continued on for the rest of the day and shortly after, the walls and ourselves were fully painted. I never thought this boring assignment would turn into the most fun I’ve ever had volunteering.