A Timely Contribution to Charity

I know I've been rambling on quite a bit lately about how to find an audience and get some artistic criticism, but I think I've failed to pay proper homage to the importance of having a supportive group of family and friends. I think I would have given up on the idea that my work might be enjoyable to anyone but me many times over were it not for the encouragement I've received from my amazing family and friends. For instance, my Uncle Steve recommended that I start this blog. And now, thanks to my fabulous grandmother, I am pleased to report that I've been invited by her friend Jolene DeLisa to contribute a photo collage for a 2013 charity calendar revolving around the theme of peace.

Please indulge me as I depart, for a moment, from the theme of photography in order to give you a bit of background information on the Great Peace March, which is the inspiration for the calendar. In 1986, approximately 1,200 gathered in Los Angeles, California with the intention of marching to Washington, D.C. to demonstrate their commitment to and passion about nuclear disarmament. In the face of substantial adversity, a core of between 300 and 400 of the original marchers, in addition to several hundred more who joined along the way, arrived in D.C. in November of 1986. My grandmother, Connie Fledderjohann, was among the core of marchers who made the full trip; she has co-authored a book about the Great Peace March (yes, she is THAT awesome), and her friend Jolene from the march, as part of her continuing commitment to peace, has decided to make a calendar for charity centered on the the theme of peace. She is seeking artists from around the world, and hoping that the theme of peace will relate to the artist's specific cultural context. The calendar is called The World at Peace, and it will be available for purchase on Amazon.

I'm excited to be a part of the project, and I'm looking forward to learning some new editing techniques in the process. I've never made a photo collage in GIMP before, so you can bet I'll be posting what I learn soon!