So it is for Jorge Padilla and his wife Patricia. It is true that they came to Canada as Temporary Foreign Workers. Jorge got a job as a laborer, and Patricia as janitorial staff. Accepting these humble positions was a drastic change from their experiences back home where they were respected members of the community as owners of a veterinarian hospital working with all animals: including exotics.
Never in their wildest dreams did they think that coming to Canada they would be stripped of everything, struggling through the process of immigration and licensure. (It takes an Internationally Educated Vet up to 5 years to complete the examination process and their third exam costs $6000` not including flight and accommodations.) Against the odds, they became Canadian Citizens.
Hardship then struck Jorge. As a result of the work he was doing, he got a hernia. After one year of unemployment, he is still awaiting surgery.
Yet despite all of this Jorge was so willing to donate some of his art for Ocean's event. We were blown away when he arrived at out house the week before the event with what seemed to be his entire portfolio. Among them were Patricia's favorite: the African series. There were also pictures of famous Mexican stars, a Greek Godess, a lovely Indian woman and post WWII women with children. My favorite is the pastel and pencil boat on the shore.
In honour of the event Jorge created several brightly coloured pictures of Mexico.
Both Patricia and Jorge had to work, that evening, so they arrived late to the event. Jorge was saddened by this. He really wanted to talk to people to know what they liked and why they liked them. If you bought his art, please comment.
A portion of the sales of this art will go to the artist, and a portion is for the trip to Mexico.
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