I am sitting here listening to Mishka's album Above the Bones. My friend Daryl produced the album and I am just basking in humility. I am so awed that I know Daryl and his wife, Denise. Daryl is the guitarist who did the solo in Higher Heights on the Carson Daly Show. I am so honored that Mishka is allowing me to feature his music in the Art4TheHomeless Zine for the anniversary edition.

A lot of people in my life--work for example, don't take me seriously about Art4TH. Technically, it's still in the dream stage and people see dreams like mine go down the drain all the time, so I don't blame them. I use it as motivation to actually become something and do something with my life.

The wonderful people who come along the way--God has brought them of course--just awe and inspire me. Mishka is one of them. So are Dani and Tim, who will be walking to raise money and awareness in the US for the homeless. And God chose me--this young person from practically nowhere--to be and represent Art4TheHomeless.

Just today, money was donated to Art4TH. The number 111 had followed me for most of my life. It came up 5 times today. 3 times were at work. 1 time was on television today. And 1 time is the sum of the donation money in the Art4TH Fund: $111.00 $62 of that will be going toward a domain name: Art4thehomeless.org!!! The rest, with some out of my own pocket, will be split up between 5 homeless shelter and given out at the time of the anniversary edition of the Art4TH Zine.

One day, I will get to meet Mishka and his family. I got to spoke to him over the phone and for those of you who have heard his songs, yes his voice is as pure as it is in the music. He has a musical voice.

The number 111 has come up so many times and I have been told that it's the sign of my angels, fate, and much more. Whatever it is, I know that I am on the right path for my life and I thank God for giving me His idea: Art4TheHomeless.

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It's been a few months now--since February actually--that I have been into stones. I started out with a chrysocolla, amethyst, and black tourmaline. Now I have several little friends and I am very connect to them. I feel their energies.

Moldavite, I had to save up for, but its totally cool. I have a couple pieces of jet, an ocean jasper, sunstone, mookite jasper, unakite jasper, several of the double ended laser quartz wands, a clear quartz, labradorite, rose quartz, malachite, turquoise, tektite, lapis lazuli, emerald, jad, green aventurine, two sodialites, and today, on my way to little 5 points, a piece of coal called to me. Actually, it fell from somewhere and hit my foot. I looked down and there it was looking up at me LOL.

I also bought a beautiful piece of carnelian, another chrysocolla, and a raw sapphire--the sapphire is for my mom. She has a little collection too that I bought her.

Anyway, I felt called to my stones today and I meditated.

The mookite jasper, a rose quartz, and a clear quartz were at my root chakra--normally rose quartz is for the heart but it was totally okay--the carnelian was big enough to share with both my second and third chakras. Moldavite for the heart chakra with a double ended quartz wand. I had the chrysocolla at my throat for the throat chakra and the Amethyst at my crown for the crown chakra.

When I meditate, nothing usually happens. But I was optimistic. My thoughts came and went including one about the fact that I had forgotten to add a stone to my third eye chakra--the amethyst is good for both the third eye and crown so I moved it in between--as close as I could w/o it falling off LOL.

I have always wanted to experience the "light" that everyone talks about. I have never experienced no matter how hard I tried to visualize it, I just couldn't "see" it. I was just thinking about that when suddenly light was everywhere and there was a presence to my left.

I just kinda laid there for a moment in awe. It got so bright that I felt as if I were emanating the light.

I guess you could say I have a stone collection, but they are more than stones. I am connect to the spiritually and can feel their pain.

When mom was in the hospital, I brought all of my stones with me--they go everywhere with me LOL--and one of them, this large double ended quartz piece fell and broke.

I felt it's pain.

I can't explain the hows, or the why's, or break it down to you scientifically--I just know that I felt and I cradled the broken pieces in my hands. I think I spent an hour with them.

A friend told me later that when it happens, it's because the stones don't belong together anymore--that they have to break up and go their separate ways. I gave the other half to my mom :)

But anyway, that "light" experience was like WOW! I just can't explain it any further.

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Yo.

The Art4Th Blog is hosted by Nutang~ this really cool blogging community built by Dave.

Thing is, it used to be a revenue sharing site--meaning blogging for money. Art4TH raised almost $20 but not quite.

Dave stopped it because Nutang is not profitable anymore.

And many people abandoned us :(

So, would YOU like to be a member? You need an invite code to get in but we have plenty! I have three and Kuri~another blogger has a bunch and is willing to share.

We want to build this community up with bloggers and friends!

Art4TH designed a html flash add for Nutang for anyone who wants to add it to their site. Message me if your are interested in hosting the add or getting a code to join!

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Art4TH now has it's own website with the domain name .org!!

http://www.art4thehomeless.org be sure to stop by!

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Will you spread the word by adding this code to your blogs, websites, and social networks??

Email me for the code [email protected]

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Art4TheHomeless wants to become a legal nonprofit organization and needs the money to pay the filing fees of the article of incorporation with the GA Secretary of State and also getting the business lisence.

On August, 28th, 2009 Art4TH will kick off a two week long online fundraiser to raise the money one dollar at a time.

That simply means were accepting donations of $1.00 only!!!! If 100 people donate $1.00 then Art4TH will have enough to take that first step into becoming Non Profit

Incentives including CDs from a musician in Shreveport, LA and art prints from artists in the UK and the US will be given to random donors. Winners will be announced September 15th in the Art4TH Zine, Art4TH Blog, and Art4TH Website!!

This is going to be a FUN way to raise money for Art4TH and unite artists together in a cause for helping the homeless.

To learn more about Art4TH and the Fundraiser go to

http://www.art4thehomeless.org

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From: The Homeless Resource Center

Description: The goal of Pedal Power is to put a bicycle in the yard of every person transitioning out of homelessness. Through an innovative community partnership in Chattanooga, TN, Pedal Power empowers people with bicycles, a low-cost form of transportation that promotes health, independence, and a sense of ownership.
Content: The bicycle is a beautiful and simple mode of transportation. There is likely one in your backyard or your garage, gathering dust. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, people are donating bikes for repair and refurbishment so that people who are transitioning out of homelessness can pedal on their own power to work. A green mode of transportation is also helping to sustain employment, health, and housing.

In partnership with Outdoor Chattanooga and funding from Art for Change, the Chattanooga Community Kitchen is launching a program called Pedal Power. The Chattanooga Community Kitchen is an independent social services agency that works to reduce poverty and despair among people who are homeless in Chattanooga. Their mission is to restore dignity and self-reliance to the people they serve. The Chattanooga Community Kitchen provides shelter services, transitional housing services, case management, domestic violence assistance for women and children, meals, job training and employment, clothing, health care, and medical respite care.

Pedal Power is a small town way of solving a common sense problem. The objective is to make sure that everyone in transition from homelessness will have access to a low-cost and sustainable method of transportation.

�People love the idea,� says Jens Christensen, Director of Marking at the Chattanooga Community Kitchen, �and we will be giving out bicycles very soon.� All bicycles have been donated by the community and restored so that they are ready for the road. The organization has collected over 100 bicycles and twenty are ready to be given away.

Chattanooga is a bike friendly city. A bicycle provides a simple and sustainable solution for people who cannot afford a car, or have no license. It is a healthy way to get around town and a viable option for transportation to work.

A local bike mechanic from Outdoor Chattanooga is restoring the donated bikes. The group hopes to extend Pedal Power to encourage people to learn how to fix their own bikes. They hope that being able to fix one�s own bike under the guidance of a mechanic will establish a sense of ownership.

Included alongside the bike is a street safety class, a helmet, a lock and a bell or a horn for the bike. In order to receive a bike, recipients will be asked to participate in the street safety class.

Funding for this project came from private donations and seed money from Art of Change. Art of Change was formed to transform old parking meters into works of art when digital meters replaced them. Local businesses sponsor the meters and citizens are encouraged to place spare change in the meters. All money collected goes to fund programs like Pedal Power. By promoting mobility and sustainability, Pedal Power is empowering people to develop independence.

http://www.homelesscoalition.org/

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I used to go down to SRAC all the time to either paint with the Peter Pan project they have for the Christmas in the Sky event (2004??) and I was a member of the Literary Panel. I remember the smell of paint in that building and drinking the free wine and painting my heart out. It was fun. All was in the name of art and helping the Shreveport-Bossier City artists find their niche.

That building is gone.

An arsonist took it upon himself to annihilate our community's art center. Why? I have no clue. there was another building besides SRAC that was hit. Why do people seek to destroy?

Everything was burned down to the ground and everything was lost.

I don't get paid until September 4th~my next check~ but I will give SRAC some $$ from my own pocket. It won't be much but it will be something.

It totally depends on how much Art4TH fundraiser raises but the majority of that money will be going to Art4TH and paying the costs of starting a non profit organization.

SRAC is having a thing today @ 5 Louisiana time, I would love to go, but I am here in Atlanta, so I will be there in spirit and here on my end, I will support them. After all, SRAC supported me when I first started out as an artist

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