ABOUT THE ARTIST
WILD WOLF FINE ARTS STUDIO
"THE WILD WOLF DISCOVERED- IF YOU ALWAYS DO WHAT YOU HAVE ALWAYS DONE"
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INTRODUCTION 
reuben kenyattaartist-in-residenceHOW PEOPLE REACT TO ARTWORK I DO IS IMPORTANT. IT IS FULFILLING TO KNOW YOU ARE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING "GOOD" IN LIFE that other people may appreciate. HOWEVER, IT's an even better FEELING TO KNOW YOU HAVE given way to the POSSIBILITY of doing SOMETHING "great" ONE DAY TO IMPROVE LIFE. biographyReuben Kenyatta a U.S. Marine Corp veteran of the Vietnam era and the Artist-in-residence at WILD WOLF FINE ART STUDIO WHO HOLDS A BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE (BA) FROM SPRING ARBOR UNIVERSITY in MICHIGAN. Although his presence in the art world has recently brought some sense of comfort from a traumatic past, he like many other veterans walking in the haunting shadows of Military history were left blindsided for years fighting a silent enemy within- long after their service of duty to their country had ended. unknown by them at the time, those veterans were walking alone in the haunting shadows of a traumatic experience fighting daily a silent enemy from within.
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This was an un provoked enemy that was later named and defined as symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This is a type of anxiety disorder that occurs after you have gone through an extreme emotional trauma that involves the threat of injury or death. These symptoms often don't surface for months or years after the occurring event and without treatment will get worse overtime, disrupting your daily life to function.
It is from those scarred memories of Mr. Kenyatta’s battles that now give sway and motivation for him to bring to surface that suppressed silent enemy by utilizing the creative joy of art making in collaboration with professional assistance from the veteran administration. Although being exposed to the arts as early as a toddler dazzled by colors playing inside the art studio of his mother’s employer in the deep south, it was while serving a sentence in a Michigan Prison and the good fortune of meeting professor Janie Paul (prison creative art project - university of michigan) that Mr. Kenyatta began viewing his approach to art in a more meaningful and expressive way. In essence, she encouraged him to render more of how he felt about an art subject as opposed to his thoughts about the subject. Thereby, over time suppressed emotions, memories, and concerns were gradually brought to surface that became a process that made his stress manageable and to the discovery that the creative process of art making was healing and restorative to his unsettled spirit. *********
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MOST NOTABLE WORK
- textbook Cover Design- “Social Organization of Work” by Randy Hodson (Author), Teresa A. Sullivan (Author) 2012
- ART EXHIBIT- Ledge Craft Lane ART GALLERY Artist of the month; Grand Ledge MI 48837 - NOVEMBER 2015
- SPEAKER- The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA)- Arts & Health Symposium- Tuesday. September 26, 2017
- featured article- the Huffington Post: How A Prison Arts Program Transform Homeless Veteran; november 11, 2014
ART EXHIBITS
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National Veterans Creative Arts Competition & Festival
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"Homeless No More"
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"HOMELESS NO MORE"
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2016
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exhibit |
art exhibit
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FEBRUARY 19, 2018 |
SOCIAL ENGAGMENTS
Mamie King-Chambers: Civil Rights activisT Mamie King-Chalmers grew up in Jim Crow South. In 1963, when Mamie was 22, she and her family met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and joined the “Children’s Crusade” by becoming foot soldiers for the Civil Rights Movement* |
Birmingham, ALABAMA 1963Mamie was not only attacked by water hoses, but chased by dogs, beaten, and jailed under even worst conditions. The photo above of her being hosed with two unidentified young men is the famous iconic photo taken by Charles Moore and gained national attention when featured in Time Magazine*. |
martin luther kings day
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pope john paul iI
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RASING THE COLORS
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PAUL AND REUBEN
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MARCH 20, 2015
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speaker
"I have a name"
STAGE PERFORMANCE/W ART EXHIBIT
Nov. 16 and 17. 2019
DART AUDITORIUM
LANSING COMMUNITY COLLEGE LCC
The show incorporated music, spoken poetry and interpretive dance, all done by LCC professors, alumni and students.
original play developed by Judy Allen, ABOVE
Directed by Paige Tufford faculty at LCC
original play developed by Judy Allen, ABOVE
Directed by Paige Tufford faculty at LCC
VETERAN TRIBUTE HONORING
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Reuben- ONE OF THE guest speakers at Volunteers Of American
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Veteran Tribute Honoring
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VETERAN TRIBUTE HONORING |
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Was blessed with the opportunity to be invited and be apart of the team
from Birmingham Bloomfield art center to speak at the detroit institute of arts
under community programs.
SPECIAL ACKNOLEDGEMENT AND APPRECIATION TO monte nagler
from Birmingham Bloomfield art center to speak at the detroit institute of arts
under community programs.
SPECIAL ACKNOLEDGEMENT AND APPRECIATION TO monte nagler
october 2015
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LEGISLATIVE DAY 2017
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COMMUNITY SERVICE COLLABORATIONS
2016
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Doors for Humanity 2015
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LEGISLATIVE DAY 2015
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MIICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
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My first experience with the criminal justice system came shortly after my 20th birthday. and release from military service SUFFERING UNKNOWNINGLY AT THE HANDS OF POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (ptsd). As a first offender, I was arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to 4 to 20 years for robbery, WHICH WAS AN ASSAuT FOR ALL INTENDED PURPOSES. THE INCIDENT HAPPENED AFTER a store owner who pulled a shotgun on me for inquiry the location their beer cooler which wAS FAR FROM ANY CASH REGISTER. no money was taken, noR, WAS A weapon carried by me. iT WAS GOOD fortunate the conviction was overturned BY AN appeal COURT, but only after serving three years of the sentence in jackson state prison.
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JACKSON PRISON, michigan 1973BEING TRAPPED IN THE JAWS OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM, witnessing the wheels of justice ENGULF MY FUTURE and a slew of self-help programs come and go, it finally became clear AFTER REPEATED FAILURE, that any improvements for me, would have to come from me.
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AUGUST 1990
HONORED WITH RECIEVING FLAG THAT WAS FLOWN OVER THE uNITED STATES CAPITOL AT THE REQUEST OF THE HONORABLE GUY VANDER JAGT, MEMBER OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE. |
Selected as grand prize winner in the 1988 "how not to get aids contest" AS JUDGED BY A COMMITTE OF PERSONS FROM THE MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND sponsored by the Michigan department ocorrections. KENNETH L. FAIVER, MPH ASSOCIATED DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION.
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june 28, 1988 ACKNOWLEDGMENT letter FROM GLEN OAKS COMMUNITY COLLEGE CENTREVILLE, MICHIGAN FOR EFFORT RENDERED as a clerk in THE ESTABLSHMENT AND OPERations of their first college program with a prison setting.
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the letter that altered my life from a PATH OF self-destruction written bySENATOR PHIL ARTHURHULTZ |
BLESSED TO RECIEVE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FROM THE MICHIGAN SENAte majority floor leader as i struggled to make a positive impact on my community while unknowningly suffering the aftermath of ptsd- post traumatic stress disorder upon my release from the military. |
united states marine corp
1970
Camp Schwab, Okinawa
2nd Battalion, 9th REGIMENET (2/9), 3RD Marines DIVISION
1970 1st duty station overseas |
HELL IN HELMET |
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1971 CAMP SCHWAB, OKINAWA |
1971 CAMP SCHWAB, OKINAWA |
1970 USMC helicopter air station
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1970 USMC infiltration course
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to do BETTER WE MUST KNOW BETTER
wild wolf fine arts studio is A veteran owned studio by a self taught artist in the medium of acrylics using the creative process of art making as a means of support for stress management.
Copyright (c) 2020 Reuben Kenyatta All rights reserved
Copyright (c) 2020 Reuben Kenyatta All rights reserved