We WILL Rise

Today is one month since nearly 300 high school girls were kidnapped in Nigeria.   Our auction for #bringbackourgirls starts at 7AM.  I hope you'll visit it and see all the wonderful work donated by wonderful artist-humanitarians.  Best thing is - nearly every artist has offered FREE SHIPPING around the world.

There are several sentences that have stayed with me throughout my life, courtesy of my parents.  Here are a few of them:

"You must not mistreat or oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt." Exodus 22:21: "

"A man may die; nations may rise and fall; but an idea lives on forever."  John F. Kennedy

"To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men."  Abraham Lincoln

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."  Martin Luther King Jr.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."  Mahatma Gandhi

When nearly 300 girls were kidnapped from their High School in Nigeria, I had to DO SOMETHING. And so I put out an online call for artists to make art and participate in an online auction to raise money for Girl Rising - an organization devoted to global education for girls.   Over 60 artists have heeded the call and our auction starts at 7AM TODAY.  Please visit it.  Check out all the amazing work.  Consider bidding or making a donation.

I don't know what will happen to these girls, or whether the campaign for #bringbackourgirls will work.  But I do know that the idea that girls have the right to pursue education without fear WILL prevail.

The "word up" at One Little Word this month is "WILL."  This is my piece for it, and my third piece uploaded to our auction for #bringbackourgirls.  WE WILL RISE. In addition to paint and ephemera, I used my Hamsa, Borders and Hands stencils from #StencilGirlProducts to create this piece.  

Here are the other two pieces I uploaded. Bidding for "We Will Rise" starts at $60; bidding for "Choose Grace" starts at $5, and bidding for "All I Have" starts at $35 - so there's a price point for everyone!  I hope you will visit the auction as there is amazing work there.  Every bit makes a difference.

Here are the names and URLs of some of the amazing artists participating.
Jessica Sporn   http://jessicasporn.blogspot.com
Linda Kittmer  http://lindakittmer.blogspot.ca
Ronda Palazzari  http://rondapalazzari.typepad.com
Marjie Kemper   http://www.marjiekemper.com
Judy Shea   http://thekeytomyart.wordpress.com
Glenda Hoagland   http://pilgrimsthoughts.blogspot.com
Astrid Maclean  http://astridsartisticefforts.blogspot.com
Lisa Pace   http://lisapace.com
Jackie Neal   http://creatingwithoutcrayons-jackiepneal.com
Claudine Criner   http://claudinesartcorner.blogspot.com
France Papillon   http://www.france-papillon.com
Kristin Van Valkenburgh  http://TwinkleTwinkleLikeAStar.blogspot.com
Marcia Beckett  http://marciabeckett.blogspot.com
Ruth Levy   http://lerusho.wordpress.com/
Sally Lynn MacDonald   http://www.SallyLynnMacDonald.com
Renee Zarate   http://renee-boltonhouse.blogspot.com
Natasha May   http://natashamay.blogspot.com/
Carmen Whitehead   http://www.serendipitystudiobycw.blogspot.com/
Seth Apter   http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com/
Marybeth Shaw   http://mbshaw.blogspot.com/
Amy Ingardia-Walker  http://creativelyquirkyathome.blogspot.com/
Kelly Warren  http://happyshackdesigns.blogspot.com
Julie Bernier http://juliebernierphotography.zenfolio.com/
Adrienne Hoban  http://www.allure-decor.com/
Krista van Tol   http://craftylittlepigtails.blogspot.com
Cheryl Grigsby http://cherylspaperartz.blogspot.com
Jill Meyer www.jillmeyer.com
Lisa Flaherty http://mypeaceofpaper.blogspot.com
Kerry C. Mitchell http://kerrycmitchell.com
Lizabeth Harrington http://www.craicarts.blogspot.com; www.facebook.com/craicarts.com
Barbara Lanza www.barbaralanza.com
Jamie Dougherty www.jamiedoughertydesigns.com
Doreen Kassel www.doreenkassel.com ; www.http://doreengay-kassel.blogspot.com/
Nancy Baumiller http://crowabout.blogspot.com
Valerie Roussel https://www.facebook.com/CreativeLaureline
Susan K. Weckesser http://mysweetearth.blogspot.ca/
Kay Wallace http://kaywallaceartjournaling.blogspot.com

What WILL you do?  Let us know what this word means to you at One Little Word.  Linking also to Paint Party Every Day and Art Journal Every Day.

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

 

#bringbackourgirls

The other day I told you about "A Call to Art for #bringbackourgirls."  Well, our group has grown, and continues to grow beyond my expectations.  Hourly, new work is being added to the auction site. Check out our Pinterest Board, our Facebook Group.   It's very exciting to come together and feel like we're doing something.

The donations are so diverse.  Check out this beautiful stitched journal cover by Linda Kittmer:

This stunning necklace by Claudine Criner:

And this vibrant affirmation by Marjie Kemper:

I have two pieces in the auction, a Hamsa tag (bidding starts at $5!) and the Namaste Canvas I created in this video.

Won't you stop by the auction on Thursday, May 15?  Bidding starts at 7AM EST and goes until 3PM on Saturday, May 17.  It's for a great cause and all the money is going to Girl Rising - for the global education of girls.

"There's no force more powerful to transform a society than girls' education. The greatest threat to extremism isn't drones firing missiles, but girls reading books." 

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

 

A Call to Art

Last week, I wrote about the inspiration for this art journal page for #bringbackourgirls.

Thursday, May 15, will be one month since nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped; it is rumored that they have been sold into slavery.  Can you imagine their anguish, and the anguish of their families?  It is unthinkable.

After weeks of this tragedy being virtually invisible, our government is sending some aid and many demonstrations have occurred.  The world is taking notice.  I wanted to do more than pray for these girls.  So, I put out "A CALL TO ART," and a lot of incredible artists are participating.  Here are the details:

So many amazing artists (including Ronda Palazzari, Kristen Powers, Marjie Kemper, Lesley Veneble and Judy Shea, to name a few) are participating in the online auction, which starts on May 15th at 7AM EDT, and ends on May 17 at 3PM EDT.  

Here's the piece that I made for the auction:

It's on an 8x8 canvas created using a vintage map of Africa that was in a 1952 atlas I purchased while in the Czech Republic last month.  It will be up for auction on May 15th.  All proceeds from the auction will go to Girl Rising, in support of global education for girls.

Here's a peek at some of my process.  You can also watch "Canvas for #BringBackOurGirls" on YouTube here.  

I hope you'll consider joining us in "A Call to Art" on May 15th.  You can participate either by simply blogging, posting or tweeting about the importance of education for girls, creating art inspired by the Nigerian girls, donating a piece to the auction, or helping us to publicize the auction.  ALL ART IS GOOD!  NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALL.  DONATE A BOOKMARK, TAG, CANVAS, ALTERED PIECE.  EVERY BIT HELPS!

Email artistsbringback (at) gmail (dot) com for more information and FAQ answers or visit our Facebook group.

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.

Linking to Paint Party Friday, Art Journal Everyday and Art Journal Journey.

 

Bring Back Our Daughters Art journal Page

It's been a week since we returned from our great adventure, and I'm beginning to catch up - though I still have a ton of blogs to visit and emails to return.

Here's the Do-Re-Mi clip from the movie, "The Sound of Music," so you can see where these different locations figured in the musical!

As I was creating this collage, and thinking about how special this time was with my daughters, I was also listening to the news about the more than 200 Nigerian high school girls kidnapped this week, and how their government is doing next to nothing to find them. 

I can only imagine the anguish of their mothers, sisters, aunts, and friends.  Why is the world so quiet about this?  I was always taught to take a stand against injustice.  Being a quiet bystander is antithetical to all I have been brought up to believe.  But what to do....

I had one of the circle journals open on my work-table (alas - it is the last one I get to work on.  I have loved this collaboration so much!).  I started painting - drawing a line up and down the page - remembering some of what I learned in Jane Davies' workshop - and letting the line take on a life of its own - thinking of the path of these girls - how they were off to take high school exams when their lives abruptly turned course - thinking of how the paths of their families have abruptly changed too.  I thought about the places they might be hidden, the mystery of the forest, which had become the landscape of fear and dread.  I stamped lots of circles with different caps - could they be here?  Could they be there?  My page evolved.  

I opened up my April stencils from Stencil Club, which had arrived while we were away on our trip and which I hadn't used yet.  This month, they are designed by Carolyn Dube - who created gorgeous images for us to work from.  The large clock seemed perfect to symbolize the time ticking away for these girls, and the agonizing minutes their loved ones are enduring.  I used the letters to represent their names - I don't know them, will never know them, but they each have a name and I wanted to acknowledge that somehow.

I created a silhouette from a picture in a magazine ad of an African woman in profile, and line her up along the page.   I had the windows stenciled already on some tags (using the Doors & Windows Stencil), and cut them out and adhered them.  I imagine the anxious parents looking out of the windows for their children.

I punched some circles from a gelli print - I loved the way the purple worked with the warm colors already on the page.  And finally, this beautiful quote from Herbert Hoover:  "Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit."

May these girls be freed.  May all people all over the world be free to pursue their education, to live lives without fear.  Please sign this petition if you are so moved.

Here is a video of my process:

You can see "Bring Back our Daughters" on YouTube here.  

For my daughters - for all daughters everywhere. Linking to Art Journal Every Day, Paint Party Friday, and Art Journal Journey (Circles).

Your comments make me so happy and let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will happily answer any questions as soon as I can.