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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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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ONE WEEK TO GO!! 
Whew, good thing I got the logo done. ;)

Tags: Art, Blood:Water Mission, Journal, News by mousewords
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May I ask a favor of bloggers? Today someone linked to my blogged Press Release about the upcoming Art for 1000 Wells/eBay Giving Works auction that will benefit Blood:Water Mission. That’s awesome publicity! If anyone feels like linking to it for me, I’d appreciate it totally! (Plus it would count towards a post for NaBloPoMo.)

http://mousewords.wordpress.com/2007/11/15/press-release-woohoo/

Tank yew.
:)

Tags: Art, Articles, Blood:Water Mission, Inspiration, Internet, News, Writing 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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