mousewords

The evening comes to a close, and with it the 10-day auction event of Art for 1000 Wells. I’ve been so moved by the people who have participated!  Each of the artists and artisans had their own personal challenges, yet all came together to help raise funds for a worthy need.  The auction event, as it is, has “ended”—but many things go on.

~~~For instance, Art for 1000 Wells will press onward.  Several of the artists have expressed their intent to continue to donate a percentage from some of their art profits to Blood:Water Mission’s 1000 Wells project.  In this season of frantic holiday shopping, that is a true show of the Christmas spirit!  Even now, if you search TWBW (Thousand Wells Blood Water) on eBay.com, you will find an array of lovely artwork available for purchase.  You can still give the gift of original art to the ones you care about this Christmas, knowing that your gift will be giving twice. (And you’ll also find mousewords up there, as well!)

 ~~~What else will go on?  The work of Blood:Water Mission.  They will strive toward their goal of providing one thousand clean water projects to one thousand African communities.  And I know they will continue toward their ultimate goal: the defeat of AIDS in Africa.  Lofty purpose, but one step at a time can make a difference.  One dollar will provide one year of clean water for one African.  Clean water can mean the difference between life and death for anyone—and can enable health, education, and adulthood for a child.

~~~And another thing that will continue is the crisis in Africa.  The AIDS crisis is pandemic—that’s a buzzword, meaning it’s an epidemic of vast proportions.  Every positive contribution matters.  Put very simply, we can help improve a life somewhere in the world.  It doesn’t need to be a major undertaking.  Each person can help in simple, basic ways—like donating pocket change to Blood:Water Mission; doing gift shopping through Art for 1000 Wells; writing a blog about this cause; passing links on to friends and neighbors.  Basic actions, but they make a difference.  Buy a gift, make some noise—every little bit helps.

 ~~~And one more thing shall continue pressing on: me.  :)  In my third decade, muddied past my knees with some pretty obnoxious challenges I’ve needed to slog through.  Wondering at times if I’ve slogged through all this to get anywhere.  Carrying a chest full of unanswered desires and unfulfilled dreams…

 …as yet.

 But I know how to slog.  And I’m gonna keep on keeping on.  Watch this space…

…some very interesting things are about to happen.

 And thank you for keeping me company along the way. ;) 

Tags: Art, Blood:Water Mission, Inspiration, Journal, Musings, News, Personal by mousewords
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Moments left!

After many weeks of preparation and ten days of stunning art and wonderful crafts on display, Art for 1000 Wells is ending shortly! Many great artists and artisans from all corners of the globe (well, a few of them, at least) have come together to participate, all with the common goal of raising funds to benefit Blood:Water Mission’s 1000 Wells Project. BWM’s quest to provide a thousand clean water projects to a thousand African communities—while working to fight the spread of the AIDS virus at the same time—is a noble humanitarian outreach, and is accomplishing great things.

With Art for 1000 Wells, artists, collectors, and holiday shoppers can help save lives in Africa!

And there’s still time left! Yes, Christmas Eve shoppers, I’m talking specifically to you. Trust me, I’ve done that run. Not many stores are open on Christmas Eve. Plus, wouldn’t you rather be sitting in front of the tree…with a nice hot cup of cider in your hand and someone you love under your arm…inwardly excited as you think about the gorgeous piece of original artwork that is sitting under the tree, wrapped in festive paper, awaiting the stunned and joyous response of its recipient…and feeling a warm glow of satisfaction knowing that you shopped wisely, and helped make someone else’s life better in the process…

Think about that. But…um…think quickly.

Ending TONIGHT! CLICK HERE!

Tags: Art, Blood:Water Mission, Family, Humor, Internet, Journal, News by mousewords
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Today is World AIDS Day.

Sounds overwhelming. The brain has a tendency to want to glaze over that…shun the thoughts it brings to mind. Sickness, suffering, death. It’s easy to pause for a moment, read the articles on the subject, look at the red web pages and red ribbons, feel sorrowful…then turn away.

33.2 million people live with HIV/AIDS worldwide. 22.5 million of them are in Africa. HIV/AIDS is currently the leading cause of death in Africa. We read that and think, “That’s really a shame.” But not knowing what we can do about it—other than feel bad and maybe say a prayer for the situation—we turn away, and move on with our lives. After a couple days, we won’t see it in the papers anymore, and it will be life as usual.

For us.

Yet in many areas of the world, mothers are living in fear that they will pass the AIDS virus on to their children. The resources that may protect them are often not readily available. And in places where AIDS is a real and present threat, something as simple as clean water can protect a child’s life…or save one.

So what does that mean for us on this side of the globe? Maybe we feel moved to do something—how can we help? One way is to keep doing what we normally do—but in a way that will make a difference.

For instance, Holiday Shopping. Have you finished your list yet? Who has?? As you do your gift shopping over the next few days, I encourage you to go to eBay.com and enter the keyword term TWBW in the search bar. TWBW stands for “Thousand Wells Blood Water,” and is the acronym of Art for 1000 Wells, an international group of artists and artisans who have come together to offer their original creations for sale on eBay—all with the purpose of raising funds for Blood:Water Mission’s 1000 Wells Project. The 1000 Wells project is building one thousand clean water solutions in one thousand African communities—they are saving lives, and actively fighting against the spread of the AIDS virus. I invite you to check out Blood:Water Mission’s website to learn more about this organization. If you would rather make a donation directly to the cause, you can do so on the website.

Art for 1000 Wells ends on the night of December 4th. There’s still time to give original art as a meaningful gift this holiday season. You can know that your gift will really be giving twice.

And you can also be encouraged in the thought that you didn’t turn away.

Tags: Art, Articles, Blood:Water Mission, Internet, Journal, Musings, News by mousewords
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Hmmmm……2 am and I’m writing business letters. Yup, you can tell I own my own business.

But can you tell I’m an artist??  Not from looking at my eBay auctions, that’s for sure!  I usually like to keep a supply of fresh, brand-new art live online—which is hard for me to do sometimes, when I’m dealing with a challenging bout of carbon monoxide side effects.  Multitasking abilities are severely compromised.

Some of that has an effect on what I’m doing now, and explains why I’m up at 2am doing business.  When I can work, I try to get everything done at once.  But another major reason is that I’m crazy-busy organizing the upcoming Art for 1000 Wells auction on eBay.  Awesomely exciting, and my heart is swelling with gratitude and admiration for the many wonderful artists and artisans who have come on board for this event!

But I haven’t had too much time for art the past couple days.  Last night, though, I had a window of opportunity when my computer clutched during my attempt to update MySpace in honor of the auction.  PC was down—so while it “thought” about itself for a minute, I grabbed my pastels.  I have to remind myself that I’m also participating in this auction event, so I need to paint something! The result of my sketchng time is not complete yet—but I have some work-in-progress pictures to share. Clicking the pictures will lead to a larger image.

Boy WIP (Work in Progress)

Original Pastel on Vellum Bristol paper, for the Art for 1000 Wells (TWBW) eBay auction Nov. 24-Dec. 4, 2007, by Christine Taylor (mousewords)

Step 1: While listening to Jars of Clay perform “Light Gives Heat,” I start with a loose sketch in blue pastel.

Step 2: While I don’t work from one particular photo, I study the faces of children for reference in bone and facial structure. Using the “rules” of anatomy, I make up my own person from there. Kind of like parenthood…sort of. :)

Noticing that the skin tone I want has warm undertones, I define my sketch using yellow pastel.

Step 3: The fun part! Adding features. I love soft drawing mediums such as pastel, because it’s similar to doing sculpture–you “sculpt” a face with your fingers. (You know, Athena sculpted a child from clay, and the child magically came to life and grew up to be Wonder Woman. Hey, this IS like parenthood!)

Notice the bit of red in the upper right–I’m beginning to explore colors to find the right skin tones.

Step 4: Skin tones aren’t brown and white and red. They’re really made up of colors like green and purple. Colors that would make you go to the doctor if you saw them in the mirror.

I begin layering color over my undertones. The shadows are purple, so I begin using that to “flesh out” this little guy’s features, so to speak. I save the eyes till nearly the last, to preserve the whiteness of the paper.

At this point, I’m looking at it and thinking that I love the light, sketchy touch to it. I’d really rather not use the heavier application that I intended at first. That means, however, that I’ll need a delicate touch to build up the skin color.

Step 5: Time to turn the lights on! At this point, my little one looks ike a zombie, so I take a brown pastel and dash a soul into his eyes. When I’m drawing eyes, I just look right into the subject’s face and meet his gaze, then intuitively let my hand draw what I would see if I were really eye-to-eye with him. I literally feel my heart pouring out onto the paper when I draw the expression in a person’s eyes. I feel that a spirit has so much to say.

Then I take my purple and let my fingers shape the contours of this child’s head and face. The purple blends with yellow, making different colors on its own; while the blue shows through on his chin, making me think of the reflection of light from the surface of water. I like that look, and plan to preserve it.

He’s not done yet–needs cleaning up in the balance of his features, and needs more of a touch in his hair and skin tones. But that’s for next time.

3am…time for some bed.

Tags: Art, Blood:Water Mission, Carbon Monoxide Awareness, Journal, Musings, News, Personal by mousewords
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I can write a press release, just like all the other cool people. Wanna read it?

—-

Art for 1000 Wells Invites Shoppers to Buy Holiday Gifts Online, and Save Lives in Africa

Independent artists and artisans invite holiday shoppers to buy once, and give twice this holiday season with their upcoming eBay Giving Works charity art auction, Art for 1000 Wells, which will benefit Blood:Water Mission’s humanitarian work in Africa.

San Luis Obispo, CA — November 15, 2007

With the arrival of the holiday season, people’s hearts flow into their actions. You know the feeling–holiday decorations go up, and colored light bulbs turn on someplace inside us. We fight crowds as we tramp through malls and stores, and ride the waves as we surf online shopping centers, all in the quest of buying presents for those we care about. And when we find that one perfect gift–the one we know they’ll love–we feel a rush of excitement that just might compare to winning the Super Bowl.

As we give to those we know, our hearts also turn to those we don’t. Our checkbooks come out, and we donate to worthy causes–we feel the warmth of the holiday spirit, knowing that our contribution may improve a person’s life or put a smile on a child’s face someplace in the world.

Each experience is edifying. But imagine this–what if we could give both ways at the same time?

This is the concept that inspired Art for 1000 Wells, an international group of artists and artisans who are bringing their talents together for a 10-day eBay charity auction, which will run from Saturday, November 24th to the evening of Tuesday, December 4th. The goal of the auction: To raise funds to benefit Blood:Water Mission’s 1000 Wells Project.

Founded by the members of the multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning band Jars of Clay, Blood:Water Mission is a non-profit organization which strives to address the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa, through providing clean water solutions in African communities, supporting medical facilities, and promoting community and worldwide involvement. The goal of the 1000 Wells Project is to provide one thousand wells to one thousand African communities.

“We hold fast to the conviction that we are all responsible for being good stewards of our time, our resources and our compassion in a broken world,” quotes the Blood:Water Mission website. “Every person has something to give in return for what has been received.”

The 1000 Wells Project is connecting people from all across the globe, and Art for 1000 Wells is a perfect example of this. Hailing from several countries, the individual artists and artisans each have their own personal challenges in life, yet are still reaching out to help others.

Working with eBay’s auction and fixed price formats, the artists will offer their original work for sale online, and contribute a portion of the profits to Blood:Water Mission. From November 24th to December 4th, holiday shoppers may go to www.eBay.com, and enter the keyword term TWBW (Thousand Wells Blood Water) into the search bar, to find a wide variety of original items for sale at auction. The creations will include such one-of-a-kind items as artwork, fine-art photography, handmade crafts, and more. Each item will be as unique as the artist who created it.

Water is life. A thousand wells will save uncountable lives. Art for 1000 Wells invites shoppers to search “TWBW” on eBay this holiday season, and give the gift of original art. With one purchase, you will really be giving twice.

For more information about the auction or individual artists, please visit the official website at http://artfor1000wells.googlepages.com

Or contact:
Christine Taylor
805-474-8136
artfor1000wells@gmail.com

—–

After reading it—wanna copy and paste it on your websites and link to it from your blogs?? Ya wanna? …Please?
:)

Tags: Art, Articles, Blood:Water Mission, Environment, Internet, News, Quotes, Writing by mousewords
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The holiday season is right around the corner. In many places, it’s already upon us. We’ve begun searching for gifts for the people on our list. If anyone else is like me, they may be experiencing two distinct challenges about the holidays and shopping.

I’ve always wanted to find that one perfect gift for someone…since I’m giving a gift, I want it to be distinctive and unusual. I hope to express something special, a personal touch—but I want to be sure the recipient likes it. It’s hard to tell sometimes what a person may or may not want, specifically. Sweaters, ties, slippers, scarves…those are all safe bets, but too vague, sometimes. Too impersonal.

Another feeling I experience is a great desire to contribute to a worthy cause at this time of year. However, I’m not always able to give as much as I’d like. I want to give to both loved ones and strangers in need…but I wind up having to make an either/or decision.

That thought has been with me the past couple months as I’ve worked to plan an upcoming charity auction event on eBay. It suddenly came to me—what if it didn’t need to be an either/or decision? What if we could do both?

The result: Art for 1000 Wells. For ten days, right smack dab in the heart of the holiday shopping season, artists and artisans from all over the world will be offering their original creations for sale on eBay.com, with the common goal of raising funds to benefit Blood:Water Mission’s 1000 Wells Project. Paintings…drawings…fine-art photography…handmade photo albums…work that ranges from oils on canvas to watercolor on paper…from large wall art to miniature, collectible ACEOs.

The selection will be as unique as the artists and artisans themselves. Hailing from countries all over, these exceptional people are proving that it really is a small world…and there are many big hearts in it.

For these artists, their hearts are turning to Blood:Water Mission. BWM is a wonderful organization founded by the Grammy-award-winning band Jars of Clay. Through their 1000 Wells Project, they’re working to provide clean wells for clean water in a thousand African communities, and at the same time fighting against the spread of the AIDS virus. Blood:Water Mission asks challenging questions—Did you know that millions of Africans lack access to clean water? Did you know that people living with HIV/AIDS are dependent on clean water to survive? Did you know that $1 provides one year of clean water for an African?

Did you know that YOU can help save lives?

So many communities in Africa are suffering right now from poverty, disease, and violence. Yet one action on the part of others can help to make the world a better place. If one dollar can make such a difference, what about one blog post to spread the word…one phone call to a friend who is doing their Christmas shopping…one piece of original artwork, offered for sale for the cause?

Are there any artists reading this post? I welcome you to join in! Our group website has all the information.

Anyone doing their holiday shopping? I invite you to stop by eBay.com from Saturday, November 24th, to Tuesday, December 4th, and use our keyword search term–TWBW (Thousand Wells Blood Water). Perhaps among these outstanding original creations, you’ll find that one perfect gift for someone on your list.

And with one gift purchase, you’ll really be giving twice.

Tags: Art, Inspiration, News by mousewords
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