Artist's Weekend 10/04/2009
 
I just returned from an "Artist's Weekend" in beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida.  I was invited to join a friend and another artist at my friend's condo overlooking a bay in Florida.  So, you don't know me that well yet, but, believe it or not, I can get realllllly comfortable with the status quo, and sometimes, the explorer's perspective is a bit of a reach.  Still, I admire this friend and, from our electronic communication and the jubilant smile of this "soon-to-be-friend," I decided to make the trip!

The weekend was glorious-- yes, the Florida sun was bright and intense, the beach and bay were clean and inviting, and the camaraderie and conversation couldn't be beat!  As we discussed logistics for our "art extravaganza," we decided that we needed a theme linking our work and our journeys.  It wasn't long that we discovered that our "initiations" into our craft was inspired by a parent.  My father has been gone for close to 20 years, yet his spirit and his passion for photography live on in me.  And, for my new friend, it was a gift to her mother that resulted in my friend's discovery. 

It reminds me of Joseph Campbell's work (The Hero's Journey), where the hero is met by a series of guides and sages to help him/her along their journey and deal with their trials and tribulations.  We each had a guide to bring us closer to our dreams.

We also discovered, as with so much in life, that what was motivating us, was not the money, but more the inspiration and spiritual difference it might make to those who view our art.  Today's world is filled with fear, anxiety, and what Ben Zander would call: "downward spiral thinking."  Art can help illuminate what is possible.........  what we can create, to bring positive energy and hope to all.......    

That's a gift well worth my time, energy and passion!  Stay tuned for our artist debut!!

Comments welcome!
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"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation."  

 Robert F. Kennedy

I found this quote in a book I'm reading called: "The Blue Sweater:  Bridging the Gap between  Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World."  (Jacqueline Novogratz, Rodale books: 2009).  Jacqueline Novogratz is founder and CEO of Acumen Fund, a nonprofit venture capital firm for the poor that invests in sustainable enterprises, bringing healthcare, safe water, alternative energy, and housing to low-income people in the developing world.  The title from the book is a result of the "coincidence" of the author finding a blue sweater that she donated to Goodwill twenty-five years earlier,  on the back of a little boy in Rwanda.  Coincidence??  Or evidence of the "small," connected world in which we live?  As with Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva.org, these brave and generous women are cultivating sustainability (the microfinance loans offered through Kiva have a 98% repayment rate), in underserved populations and geographic areas.

What both of these organizations have in common is the knowledge that sustainability does not happen with "handouts" and gifts.  Sustainability and empowerment happens with responsibility, accountability, honest work, and fair trade.  "Gifts" do nothing to foster self-esteem and the self worth that comes from accomplishment.  In our connected world, a $25 loan can dramatically improve someone's life! (see banner on "guiding principles" page)

What are your thoughts about fostering connection and self-sufficiency??
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