the Painting Activist

Click here for a direct link to the Champions 4 Her video.

I have spent at least the past six months coordinating the street art festival for an upcoming umbrella fundraiser for 10 Louisville nonprofits. One week from today (Saturday, June 21), ‘Champions 4 Her‘ walk/run will launch its first year at Waterfront Park.

Initially, I was asked to scout and hire an internationally renowned madonnaro (street painter) to set the festival apart from the plethora of other walk/runs in the city. I loved the idea, but immediately thought of the truly unique opportunity the concept of a street painting festival afforded clients of the 10 organizations we were raising money for. I agreed to find a feature artist for the event to draw in the media, but pitched the additional idea of having each of the beneficiary partner organizations create their own amateur street paintings depicting how their respective nonprofit assisted women and girls in our community.

The idea was not hard to sell, and soon I was also hiring a team of local artists to guide the novice nonprofit participants through the process of a creating a roughly 8′ x 12′ chalk pastel painting in one day.

I saw a lot of wide eyes as I sat in on the introductory meetings between the art teams and the artist they were paired with. This is the first time many of the participants have been to exposed to the visual arts on this level. Working with a full-time professional artist has really expanded their perception of the abilities of the arts to impact a community.

Within a few weeks I was getting concept sketches of each group’s final design. It has been such a treat to get photos in my email inbox and snail-mailbox of the art they’re designing.

You can support these wonderful organizations by registering yourself or a team to do the walk/run, or just come by and see the art in action.

I did of course hire a feature professional artist for the main street painting. Her name is Tracy Lee Stum and she will start on her piece the Wednesday before the event. Feel free to stop by Waterfront Park during the day to see her at work. She (and the other street paintings) will be in the parking lot in front of Joe’s Crab Shack.  See you June 21!

Confession: I have a knack for an embarrassingly horrific use of the English language. I think I was in my twenties when someone politely pointed out that I was pronouncing “fruition” as “fruitation.” I’ve downloaded an extension on my web browser that highlights all misspelled words in every application on my laptop. I’ve come to feel handicapped when I’m on someone else’s computer.

In my own defense, I’m very proactive about addressing this weakness. I subscribe to multiple word-of-the-day-emails and have downloaded another plug-in that lets me right click to get the definition of unknown words. But these approaches pale in comparison to the latest tool I’ve found that does far more than flex the brain’s language muscles. FreeRice is a website where your reward for each correct multiple choice vocab questions equates to 20 grains of rice donated to feed the hungry. The donations are made possible through website advertisers. The rice is then distributed by the UN World Food Program.

Studying for the L/SAT or just readying yourself to impress a date? Fill empty bellies while you’re filling your head with new words.

18″ x 24″ oil on canvas, SOLD.
See all artwork available for sale.

Are you happy? Would you say you’re a happier person than a citizen of a neighboring country? How do you measure happiness?

A 2006 study calculating happiness by nation has added a new unit of measurement to the typical equation of income and access to quality health care and education. Inserting the new variable seems to be based on the theory of “what goes around, comes around.” The Happy Planet Index reminds us that we live in the environment we help create by naming ecological sustainability as one of its 3 primary indicators. No one wants to call smog-filled community without clean water home. The study “shows the relative efficiency with which nations convert the planet’s natural resources into long and happy lives for their citizens.”

A more traditional study would likely name a Scandinavian country such as Denmark the world leader of pleasure and contentment. The Happy Planet Index bestows the title to the unlikely candidate of Vanuatu, a small freckling of islands in the South Pacific that only gained its dependence from Britain and France in the 1970’s.

Analyzing life satisfaction, life expectancy, and ecological footprint yields some very surprising results. Mexico and Columbia are 2 of very few countries on the index’s world map positively denoted in green. Give their survey a spin for yourself to gain a better understanding of information collected for the study. Hopefully you are happy and/because you’re ecological footprint is petite.

18″ x 24″ oil painting on canvas, SOLD
See all artwork available for sale.

It’s a beautiful scene, isn’t it? Maybe for most, but for me personally, looking out my window and seeing a fresh blanket of snow does not make me think joyful and serene thoughts of the winter season. Instead I imagine opening my front door to step into a life-size freezer that stings my skin and drys my contacts to my eyeballs. I usually stand at my window and try to enjoy the white landscape from the comforts of my heated apartment until the chilling, drafty air seeps through the window to get me.

My distaste for winter had me knitting thick scarves for friends and family as Christmas gifts, motivated by the strange personal responsibility I feel to protect my loved ones’ well-being from the harsh elements. But as usual, time ran short and more of my yarn was still in a ball, not knitted in rows. I’ve turned to the web to supplement the goods I couldn’t produce myself, but with the great disadvantage of specifically looking for items made under fair working conditions.

Earlier this week I got a thorough update on sweatshops on this NPR program. An independent factory inspector and other industry experts laid out the various components of the industry including cheaper, more loosely regulated overseas labor, market transparency and socially responsible alternatives. I then found a couple especially worthy resources to share with you.

If you aspire to be an armed consumer at all times, consider the back-pocket-sized “The Better World Shopping Guide” for yourself or as a gift. The comprehensive buyer’s companion is a directory that ranks companies based on their commitment to social and environmentally conscious business practices.

Too busy to look up a company’s ranking? Go straight to a retailer that professes fair practices in its name, “No Sweat.” Yoga pants, hoodies, jeans, screen printed shirts and yes, scarves are available at very reasonable prices. If you have to venture out into that gigantic outdoor freezer, at least you can say your body heat is being guarded by garments produced under humane and fair working conditions.

detail of 5″ x 7″ watercolor
SOLD
See all artwork available for sale.

This summer, while doing research in preparation for a working trip to Seattle, I was introduced to a highly unique approach to addressing homelessness: “Tent Cities.” I found a 2005 Seattle Times article profiling an elementary school teacher, Peggy Hotes, who immersed herself in the plight of Seattle residents unable to afford the city’s 32% higher cost of living than the national average. Peggy soon found her compassion would spark the beginning of an extended metropolitan camping trip alongside Tent City residents to learn more about the system that prevents the able-bodied tent residents from affording permanent housing.

I contacted Peggy to schedule a face-to-face explanation of Tent Cities while I was in her neighborhood, then drove to a Thai restaurant to meet her with a list questions such as, “Do you think we should combat homelessness with prison reentry programs and substance abuse rehabilitation?” With all the civility and kindness that a war-worn advocate of civil rights could muster, she educated me about the various (and little known) forms of homelessness. I hadn’t given much thought to homelessness resulting not because of an addiction, but because a full time job (and maybe more than one) did not provide enough income to cover their cost of living.

After a good sociology lesson over pad thai, Peggy took me to Tent City 4, the nomadic camp where she has spent most of her time. At this point I had no idea what to expect, my preconceived ideas having been dismembered over dinner. We drove to the church where the front lawn was partially occupied by Tent City 4 for its standard 90 day stay. The complexity of the self-governing mini-town and diversity of its residents really caught me off guard. I met a woman working a shift at the check-in tent (outfitted with a desk and computer). The tall fence bordering the huddled canvas-thin houses created this single point of entry where the woman on duty ensured resident-created policies were being honored. Residents of a Tent City are screened for outstanding arrest warrants and sex offenses. No minors are allowed to stay overnight, no alcohol on the premises, and quiet hours are from 9pm-8am.

I can’t honestly make a generalized statement about the residents I met that evening; there were no stereotypical parallels between them other than the fact that none could afford traditional housing and they shared an affinity for coffee. To provide some individual color: I met a young white girl leaving to catch a bus to her full time job at Nintendo and a middle-aged Hispanic film producer preparing for a meeting with his investors the next day. No beggars, starving children, trembling drug addicts, pick-pockets, tattered clothes, shopping carts full of aluminum cans or empty beer bottles were in sight. This was a place of dignity for capable people struggling to find balance between current wages and the cost of living.

Tent City advocates also work diligently to lobby for policy change that will fairly ameliorate difficult living conditions and allow them to move back into apartments and homes. The courage to take a stand and the wherewithal to establish an alternative to homeless shelters found in those tents was amazing.

I was disappointed, however, in what I sensed as a level of complacency for Tent City residents. Peggy made it very clear there was no director or person of authority checking that residents were applying for a job, attending money management classes, going to school, etc. Residents could stay as long as they liked and no one would ever ask if they were employed or aspired to greater things. I do have issue with that because I think it encourages lackadaisical behavior in people who are looking for a second option to avoid proactively finding ways (i.e. education and job training) to make their income meet expenses. Many other people have been on the cusp of a similar existence, but have chosen one of multiple ways to increase their chances of joining a higher paying work force. That challenge yields a more beneficial, educated society. And who better to advocate for a living wage than an erudite former Tent City resident who went on to graduate from law school and fight for the cause on a level playing field?

5″ x 7″ watercolor in a 12″ x 15″ frame
Click here to see picture of framed painting.
Painting sold to be auctioned here on eBay to raise money for WFP.

Watching Hotel Rwanda last night and anticipating this Saturday’s visit by exiled Rwandan, King Kigeli Ndahindurwa V, has reminded me, in a roundabout way, to mention that this is World Hunger Relief Week. Yum! Brands, one of the world’s largest commercial food manufactures, has joined efforts with the United Nations World Food Programme to address this global issue. Yum! Brand’s efforts are threefold: utilize their powerful marketing capabilities to raise awareness, fundraising (in stores and online, with an additional 7% of the donated amount matched by the Yum! Foundation), and recruiting Yum! employees to volunteer at food banks, to collect donations, and more.

By pulling from Yum! customers at 35,000 restaurants in 110+ countries, the company and WFP hope to raise enough money to feed half a million people. A modest contribution can go a very long way in areas in the most dire need of food. The World Hunger Relief Week website states:

• Giving just US$1 can help five people avoid starvation.
• $10 can feed a hungry person for a month
• $34 can feed a child in school for the entire academic year
• $100 can feed a class of 25 students for a month
• $500 can build a school garden, supplying children with fresh, nutritious produce
• $1000 can provide emergency rations to nearly 2,000 people

I can hardly eat on $10/day, much less $10/month.

With 1 in 7 people in the world going hungry everyday, I hope you’re compelled to give while you’re out to lunch this week. If, like me, you’re not a regular customer at Yum! Brand restaurants (Taco Bell, KFC and several others), you can make an online donation by visiting www.fromhungertohope.com.

5″ x 7″ watercolor in 12″ x 15″ frame, $220 ($10 donated to FareStart)
Click here to see picture of painting framed.
SOLD
See all artwork available for sale.

At the intersection of the demand for great food and people in need of job training and employment is an organization I toured while visiting Seattle: FareStart. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of downtown, FareStart hosts hungry customers in a sophisticated and swank interior with culinary presentation and flavors that match in quality. What’s unique about FareStart is a kitchen swarming not with well recognized foreign chefs, but rather Seattle residents who are homeless or otherwise disadvantaged.

FareStart offers a free 16 week job training program to prepare students for careers in the food service industry. During that period, case managers and FareStart staff address the needs of each individual, such as housing, transportation, crisis management and employment services. The boarder objective is to create a sustainable lives and eliminate poverty from the equation for each participant.

Monday through Friday, 11-2, FareStart is building the confidence and skills of the staff-in-training as they please the palates of Seattle residents with upscale dishes including “toasted hazelnut field roast.” Additionally, every Thursday night a premier guest chef works with the students on a new and exciting three course meal. This week’s chef is Adam Stevenson of Earth and Ocean, featuring the following tempting menu:

Starter:

grilled octopus and adam’s hand crafted salami

grilled red potatoes, cilantro pesto, crisp pears

vegetarian: pear and grilled red potato salad

Entrée:

grilled all natural lamb sirloin

foie gras creamed spinach, smoked goat cheese, red wine reduction

vegetarian: arancine, heirloom tomato, fennel confit

Dessert:

“www.chocolate.com”

warm, wild and wicked cake

If you live in the area, or plan to visit, I highly recommend you experience the fruits of this amazing organization with your own mouth. They are located at 7th and Virginia and take reservations (206-267-7601) for the Thursday night dinners. They also do catering, private parties and offer a conference room for lunch meetings. So dine for the greater good! Cheers!

Click here for the direct link to watch a video of this painting being created.

30″ x 36″ oil on canvas
Contact me at ashley.cecil (at) gmail.com for purchase inquires.
See all artwork available for sale.

During my recent 2 weeks in Seattle, an unintentional theme of poverty presented itself in my agenda of meetings with community activists and nonprofit staff. Talking to people both personally effected by poverty and those involved in administrative roles opened my naive eyes to the nature of the issue and deepened my sensitivity. Just finishing Adrian Nicole LeBlanc’s Random Family was also a rude awakening to a culture foreign to a middle class kid like myself.

I held a preconceived perception of poverty that assumed there was something “wrong” with a person who couldn’t afford housing, food, and other essentials; that something needed to be fixed about that individual. True, there are many factors, such as substance abuse, that may contribute to an individual’s inability to support themself, although in many cases, poverty means that a full-time job and frugal living does not equal the cost of living. Hindering circumstance outside of one’s own control, taking on a multitude of forms, can snowball into devastating financial results demanding more than a lifetime to surmount (ie death of a spouse, illness, or even a car accident resulting in a sudden loss of transportation).

Of course, I have several pieces in the works inspired by my interactions with the folks in Seattle, but the broader issue of poverty is a great tie-in to a nonprofit in New York that has been collecting dust in my backlog of organizations waiting to be featured here. The long awaited completion of this painting of NYC presented the perfect opportunity to bring Robin Hood to center stage.

Robin Hood, much like United Way, boasts a record of impressive efficiency with dwarfed administrative cost. Both organizations fund other nonprofits rather than offering services directly to individuals themselves, inherently cutting administrative costs, but additionally,

“Robin Hood’s Board of Directors underwrites all of [their] fundraising and administrative expenses. From the rent to staff salaries to the website…it’s all paid for so your money goes to help others. [They] believe the urgent need in New York’s poor communities requires [them] to put every dollar out on the streets helping people and not in an endowment.”

What all of this means for New York residents is that more services and aid are made available to them to overcome poverty, whether that condition be the result of a self-destructive lifestyle, or the more common inability to afford the cost of living in spite of very sincere effort to make ends meet.

Much of what I read on their website reads like a landing page for a venture capital firm: “follows an extensive due diligence process to ensure that every dollar invested generates results,” and “before investing in a program…reviews its strategy, scrutinizes its financial statements, evaluates its management teams, and conducts multiple visits.” The business speak certainly is indicative of backgrounds of the successful board of directors spearheading the organization. Such an approach has proved to be highly effective, as indicated in their quarterly updates and success stories. Thank goodness since, reportedly from their website, 1 in 6 New Yorkers live in poverty.

8″ x 10″ oil on canvas, $220 ($50 donated to Beyond Housing)
SOLD
See all artwork available for sale.

Thanks to Eileen Flanagan for bringing to my attention a St Louis nonprofit I would have otherwise missed: Beyond Housing. Comparable in focus to Habitat for Humanity, the organization’s aim is to couple an increasingly unlikely pair: low income individuals or families and affordable housing. The niche of Beyond Housing differs from that of the larger scale Habitat for Humanity in that their work is devoted to building educational, financial, and personal skills necessary for homeownership verses literally building the actual homes.

Bad habits, learned routines, lack of education, illness, debt, lack of resources and so on can keep a suffocating leash on people who otherwise have the potential and wherewithal to beat the paycheck-to-paycheck rat race. Intervention can be key in shifting gears and implementing a new plan towards attaining adequate, affordable housing. St Louis area residents utilizing Beyond Housing have an array of services available to them including: Service-Enriched Rental Housing, Homeownership Services, and Community Building. A few of the particulars of the three programs are:

• Employment counseling and vocational assistance.
• GED educational support.
• Transportation assistance.
• Individual Development Accounts (matched savings accounts to encourage saving and asset accumulation).
• Parenting skills.
• Crisis intervention.
• Child care assistance.
• Money management training.

I’ll leave you with a few stats pulled from Beyond Housing’s website that paint a picture of the need associated with their cause:

“According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, ‘for the first time … a full-time worker at minimum wage cannot afford a one-bedroom apartment anywhere in the country.” Nationally, a family with two full-time workers earning federal minimum wage would make just $21,424, while they would need to make $32,822 to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. To afford a Fair Market Rate three-bedroom apartment in St. Louis, a minimum wage employee would need to work 129 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, 40 hours a week at a minimum wage job.’”

“Over 100 requests are made for each rental home [Beyond Housing has] available. ”

“7,000 families are on the local waiting list for public housing.”

And on a good note:

“Last year, Beyond Housing staff provided home buyers training to 441 individuals, one-on-one budget and credit counseling to 361 individuals, and anti-predatory lending training to 1,007 individuals. Moreover, Beyond Housing staff conducted foreclosure intervention counseling sessions for 54 individuals and directly intervened to prevent eight foreclosures.”

Erin Lambers, a fellow artist and good friend from college, recently asked me to paint a few pieces of her beautiful pottery (shown below) to use in an ad for an upcoming charity event. She is spearheading a creative fundraiser, focused on combating hunger, that I will let her let you about:

7″ x 9″ watercolors, SOLD
See all artwork available for sale.

“My name is Erin Lambers and I am a potter and clay teacher. The last two years I have attended an event in Dallas, Texas called Empty Bowls. It is held all around the world in the attempt to end hunger. Empty Bowls is an event where people come and share a simple meal of soup and bread and receive a handmade bowl of their choice to take as a reminder that there is someone out there who also has an empty bowl in their hands.

I have decided to bring this amazing event to my little small town – Marshall, Texas. We are a town of 25,000 or so and the need to help those in this area is great, and I hope that with this event we will be able to raise enough money to help the Food Pantry here in Marshall provide meals for those looking into their own empty bowl. So far 100 people have come to the Art Center and have made a bowl for the event and more are to come. I, as well as other local potters, are donating hundreds of bowls for the event. Every penny in ticket sales goes directly to the Food Pantry — tickets are $10, which in turn should help at least 35 people in need. All donations to Empty Bowls anywhere in the country can help feed many.

Empty Bowls is an event in which all people from all walks of life may contribute to stamp out hunger around the world. For further information about Empty Bowls please visit www.emptybowls.org.”

Erin’s event in Marshall, TX is quite a way’s off (February 3^rd, 2008 from 11am-2 pm at the Marshall Visual Art Center), but there are Empty Bowls events happening all over the country continuously. Visit www.emptybowls.org to find an event near you. Also be sure to check out Erin’s pottery at www.erinspottery.com. She has a large collection of work and takes custom orders. I used to strive to throw as well as Erin on a potter’s wheel in college, but the painting studio called to me. It kind of worked out well, wouldn’t you say?

7″ x 9″ watercolor, $70 ($10 donated to Tree Nation)
SOLD
See all artwork available for sale.

I received an email recently from Jeremiah at Tree Nation that sparked the inspiration for this painting. At first, I was a little skeptical of a project (albeit backed by the United Nations Environmental Program) that was set out to plant 8 million trees in the unlikely location of the Sahara Desert. I don’t really equate a healthy, hardy forest with an arid desert, but the project location (a park in Niger) is apparently experiencing desertification; meaning it naturally isn’t meant to be so barren. This phenomenon is the result of climate change and other human related factors which has induced dwindling wildlife and compromised the wellbeing of many communities (think farming and commerce).

I posed my concern about planting trees in such harsh conditions to Jeremiah, who promptly responded with:

The trees we plant at the border of the Sahara Desert first spend their first months in a nursery growing strong . If they reach a certain age, the trees are brought to the spot in the desert where they are put in to the ground in a hole which is deep enough for them to reach the water sources beneath the desert, within a certain amount of time. Within the first months in the desert the trees are checked for their growth. It’s not easy, and there are definitely trees which fail to grow and which need replanting, but the value of trees fighting desertification and reproducing fruits and other benefits in one of the poorest countries of the world is well worth the trouble.

The Tree Nation website really lets you virtually get your hands dirty with a map, reminiscent of the old school video game Zelda, that allows you to see where your tree of choice has been planted, how it’s doing, and browse the profiles/progress of trees/tree owners around you.

This is a great gift idea for a techy friend who love social networks and environmental sustainability. Definitely check it out.

Click here for a direct link to watch this painting being painted.

7″ x 9″ watercolor, $70 ($10 donated to Second Harvest)
SOLD
See all artwork available for sale.

I thought I had landed on some bogus website when I read that approximately “25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes.” It turns out this statistic is stated in multiple sources, and therefore I assume it’s accurate. I was raised in a town of 30,000. I can’t imagine nearly that entire community being wiped out in one day, but the equivalent does happen every day.

Tomorrow is Hunger Awareness Day and I’m positive there multiple ways for you to get involved in your own community. Personally, my time is precious and I’ve already committed tomorrow morning to being in family court as a CASA volunteer. Therefore, I’ll direct you to a website where, in a time-efficient manner, you can make a difference that is engaging and sustainable. I recommend you go to Kiva.org and contribute funds to an individual receiving a micro-loan to run a food related business, like Tusiga. Tusiga needs a loan to pay for a fence to protect her crop from wild animals and thieves. She’s requested a $850 loan. I couldn’t buy a fence at Home Depot for my yard for that amount that would keep crop snatchers at bay.

I love financially contributing to something that perpetuates giving beyond a one-time experience. Besides making a difference in the world, Kiva is causing a lot of buzz as the “coolest,” new, hands-on way to address poverty. You want to be cool, don’t you?

$21 a week for food? Anyone relying on food stamps to feed themselves wouldn’t find this such a crazy idea. Apparently, this is “the amount the average food stamp recipient receives in federal assistance.”

I found a shocking article in the Washington Post detailing 4 congressmen’s experience of eating for one week on a humble $21 ($1 per meal).  The objective was to gain an understanding of the magnitude of this reality for those living it week after week.  The “Food Stamp Challenge,” presented by the House Hunger Caucus, meant “the four House members [could not] eat anything beside their $21 worth of groceries. That [meant] no food at the many receptions, dinners and fundraisers that fill a lawmaker’s week.”

The article is certainly worth a read.  I was particularly reminded of the implications such budget restrictions have on one’s  health options.  Only the poorest quality foods, laden with additives, bad fats, sugar, and refined/processed carbohydrates, are affordable. It’s an ugly equation resulting in a snowball effect of further poor and compromised quality of life.  Read for yourself; here’s a link to the article.

‘Tis is the season, once again, for the exchange of “stuff” on the cheap from the comforts of someone’s driveway. God bless America!

But, would I tell you about any ordinary yard sale? Of course not. I just received an email from the executive director of Women in Transition of Kentucky about their:

GIANT YARD SALE
to benefit Women in Transition’s travel to the US Social Forum
Saturday, June 2
8:30am-2:30pm
corner of 3rd & Ormsby
rain or shine

I’m having trouble accessing their website, but will save a fleshed out article about WIT, with a working link to the organization, in a full profile at a later time. For this post, what you need to know is that WIT is a small grassroots nonprofit assisting members (poor women, often times single mothers) in their transition from from poverty to success. Beyond their support to participating women, WIT is very involved in the political process and lobbying for policy that positively impacts their constituents.

WIT is fund raising for the cost to “attend and participate in the United States Social Forum as a member organization of the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign.” They will be addressing issues such as the Kentucky child welfare system and inadequate wages during forum workshops.

There are other similar organizations (if not identical) throughout the country, and perhaps in your neighborhood. Try a google search to find one near you as nearly everyone, regardless of your own economic standing, will come in contact with a person in need of such services.

If you have items to donate or questions, call WIT executive director, Jennifer Jewell, at (502) 298-0462. Otherwise, let the season of yard sales begin!

10″ x 20″ oil on canvas, $400 ($50 donated to Witness for Peace), shipping not included

See all artwork available for sale.

Traveling to Venezuela in February of this year left me perplexed about my own stance on various forms of government, capitalism, and corporate involvement in politics, the media, and foreign affairs. I met with many disadvantaged Venezuelans who made the benefits of socialism hard to dispute, if as nothing more than a transitional solution to their social and economic crisis. On the other hand, I associate with many people working for, starting, and investing in capitalist ventures who logically make solid arguments as to why competition in an open market benefits society, including who least fortunate.

Essentially, I’ve come to the conclusion that corporate responsibility is the issue at the heart of the problem. Venezuela’s poor majority has repeatedly elected a president who promises social and economic salvation. Hugo Chavez stood on a platform of free health care, education, and the availability to business opporunities; exactly what the majority of Venezuelan people want and need. It’s hard for someone in this position to consider the downfalls of socialism when children are going hungry and uneducated because there is no work (that pays a living wage) for family members. If corporations thought beyond their fiduciary duty of making money for shareholders, the social impact of their decisions would be taken into consideration. Christine Arena, author of The High Purpose Company, calls this the triple bottom line.

Going into the details of what constitutes an especially responsible or pathetic company is the start of a very long-winded spiel that you’re better served to read about in The High Purpose Company. What is worth expanding on is my endorsement for organizations that offer first-hand exposure to the countries and people grappling with these issues. Paintings, like this one, are the result of my trip to Latin America with Witness for Peace. I applaud the broad itinerary the organization compiled for the delegates with meetings and appointments covering the full gamut of political perspectives. There’s no better way to develop an informed opinion than to witness with your own eyes what is going on behind the curtain. It certainly shifted my thinking.