I Can Meet the Artist, Get to Know Him Personally-Kris Persson.

 Kris Persson has contributed the above photos for our auction on Sunday. I think they are incredibly moving.

Kris traveled with Amy when she met little LT.

LT loves her Uncle Kris.

We love him too.

Thank you Kris, for these absolutely beautiful  shots.

See you Sunday.

 

I Can Meet the Artist, Get to Know Her Personally- Heather Cox

My dear friend Heather Cox has donated this print for the event.

She is another one of our friends who just happens to be an amazing photographer.

Imagine how lucky I felt when we met Heather and Chris, and discovered that they live around the corner.

Heather is a wonderful friend, caring, kind, and generous. She is a great mom to her two girls.

 She has M&m's too.

Thanks Heather, for this beautiful print, and for so many other things. We love you!

I Can Meet the Artist, Get to Know Her Personally- Andrea Fox

Andrea Fox is a blog reader living in the bay area. She created this beautiful quilt for the Fundraiser. How cool is she?

Andrea has a son from Aleto Chuko, who is almost two. Andrea and her sister-in-law Dawn have worked for months on this quilt. Don't you just want to wrap yourself up in it?

Thanks guys! Truly beautiful!

This quilt will be listed in the online auction that will accompany the event.

I Can Meet the Artist, Get to Know Her Personally- Lori Precious

If you live in Southern California and have adopted, or are in the process of adopting a child from Ethiopia, you have probably heard about Lori Precious. She is our community leader and organizer- a one woman powerhouse welcoming committee. Lori manages to find all of these new parents, and with a great openness and warmth (she's from Michigan), she makes everyone feel like they are a part of this incredible community. Steven and I attended the monthly lunches she organizes for well over a year before we ever received a referral. Lori always made us think that we were exactly where we should be on those Saturdays, surrounded by extended family.

Lori Precious is a famous artist. Her work is totally unique. Her medium...

Butterfly wings.

It is with great excitement that I announce that Lori has created a piece for our fundraiser auction. It is an abstract Ethiopian flag, made entirely of butterfly wings. You are going to have to wait to see it.

You may have read something about Lori recently in the news. Lori's ideas have been, how shall I put this, STOLEN, by the very famous artist Damien Hirst. Check out this amazing video...



Lori is not the kind of person who lets this sort of thing slow her down. She continues to create her art. She is also a director. (I know right? All of these double, triple, hyphenated, talented types!) Lori has an amazing idea for a documentary that I hope comes to fruition (or just to a Kickstarter page near you), very soon.

Lori is also responsible for starting and maintaining this charity.  She and her incredibly talented husband have two kiddos, Miles, and Silanchi (Amharic for 'pistol' I think). They are a great, giving, family, and I am so grateful that she decided to give to our school and library as well.

Thank you so much Lori. See you on the 17th.

I Can Meet the Artist, Get to Know Him Personally- Jim Hubbard

Jim Hubbard is an award winning photographer. And by award, I mean he is a photographer who has been nominated three times for a Pulitzer Prize.

In 1989, Jim Hubbard created Shooting Back, an organization dedicated to empowering children at risk by teaching them photography. The name was coined from a spontaneous comment by one of the young participants in the program: when asked why he was photographing his own world, the homeless child responded, “I’m shooting back.”

I met Jim a few years ago. I was hopeful that they would choose Ethiopia as a location for this project; Ethiopia definitely being a place full of small houses and big welcomes. I love the idea of children documenting their own lives. It is so interesting to see photos taken by small children, to see what their eyes see. I think Jim should still consider doing this project in Ethiopia, and taking me and my friends to pass out the cameras. Maybe we can swarm him at the event to convince him? Just kidding Jim. We promise to only swarm your photos.

 I am thrilled that Jim is donating a piece or two for our auction on the 17th. I don't know which ones they'll be, but they could be his I-phone photos from yesterday and I would still be thrilled. Give yourself a treat this Sunday and spend some time here. Be moved and inspired.

Thank you Jim.

I Can Meet the Artist, Get to Know Her Personally- Christy King

Christy King is one of the great women we have in our Los Angeles adoption community. She is a single mom, and an educator. She has a really, really, really cute son named Eli. Christy makes these cool pieces. Notice the Amharic?

Christy is allowing us to offer one of her custom pieces at our auction on the 17th. Can you picture your kidlet's mug in one of her creations? I can. These are so cool in real life. Miss Tunsitu has one, and it is stunning.

Thanks Christy!

I Can Meet the Artist, Get to Know Him Personally- Jake Dorr

Jake Dorr is an incredible artist. He and his wife Beka are also parents to an adorable son from the Kambata Tembaro region. I am thrilled that they are going to collaborate on a painting, like the one pictured above, for the Fundraiser.

Beka, when she isn't busy chasing her son around, writes a beautifully honest blog.

Here is a great article about Jake and his work.

Did I mention that I am in love with my UPS man? I just follow him around like a puppy waiting for these beautiful creations to arrive in Los Angeles. I am constantly amazed at the outpouring of talent and generosity for this project.

Thank you Jake and Beka. I can't wait to share your creation on the 17th.

I Can Meet the Artist, Get to Know Her Personally- Cindy Mirkes

The amazing Cindy surprised me with these beautiful pieces.

Oil on canvas. unattached diptych. 8 x 10 sized panels.

I am in love with these, and I'm so thrilled that they are going to be a part of the auction on April 17th.

Cindy, her husband Craig, Steven and I used to all live together in one room in LA.

Ok, not really. But they did come to visit.

I am thrilled that I will see Cindy again soon. She is coming to the fundraiser.

Thank you Cindy, for this beautiful donation, for your gorgeous inspired writing, and for your friendship.

I am bidding on this one myself. You guys will have to fight me for it.

I Can Meet the Artist, Get to Know Him Personally- Marshall Garlington

When Marshall Garlington isn't busy creating sound for movies, he is taking pictures. He takes beautiful pictures. I can't help but admit that whenever I receive an Evite to a local event, I look for Marshall's name. If he is coming, a shout out a little 'yay!' (because I like him), AND because I know there are bound to be some gorgeous pictures of the kiddos.

Many of the photos on this blog are swiped from Marshall (like the M&m's on the sidebar). He is amazingly talented and I am so happy that he is donating several prints for the auction on the 17th. Here are a couple more...

Thanks Marshall, for you talent and generosity. Thanks for capturing my ugly cry at our baby shower, our first real family photo, our 2nd Genna, and so many more great memories. We love spending time with you and your adorable family. (That last link is to one of my all time favorite adoption videos).

See you on the 17th!

I Can Meet the Artist, Get to Know Her Personally- Jennifer Rikkers

In January I received an e-mail from a woman in Wisconsin who wanted to contribute to the school and library. Jennifer Rikkers is a blogger, a photographer, and an artist. She has a lovely family which includes her Ethiopian daughter, Tesfanesh.  She is obviously very talented, and I particularly liked this series she did.

I thought it was incredibly sweet of her to offer to donate a painting. Imagine how I felt when she wrote to me to say that she wanted to create the piece around something that I had written. Imagine how I felt when this happened.

Jennifer told me that she'd like me to keep one of the paintings for myself as her gift to me. Insert. Ugly. Cry.

I am stalking my UPS man. She told me they were being delivered soon. Here they are again in case you missed the link...

I am keeping the first one. The second one will be auctioned on the 17th.

Thank you so very much Jennifer. I am moved beyond words. You are truly an incredible person.


More about Jennifer:

Jennifer Rikkers is a Wisconsin-based artist who specializes in mixed-media arts incorporating her original photography and love of painting.  She is a mother of four children, with a connection to Ethiopia as an adoptive mother of daughter who has now been home from Ethiopia since March 2010. 

Jennifer's paintings are soulful reflections of the people, objects, and situations that surround and inspire her in my everyday life.   Jennifer's art is an expression of her love and gratitude for each subject. Sometimes the attraction is purely aesthetic– the way the light hits a surface of a tree’s leaves, for instance. Other times, the subject has a message, thematic, or narrative significance that references her passion for a topic.

Using mixed media, Jennifer incorporates her digital photography into her paintings via a transfer process.  This use of both paint and photography results in a very personal, unique and soulful piece of artwork.  As an artist, Jennifer hopes to capture and communicate the moment or spirit of a subject by creating a sense of modern realism through dimension, depth and luminosity with the paint and glazes. 
Jennifer's intention as an artist is to evoke emotion and elements of contemplation while sharing a message.

I Can Meet the Artist, Get to Know Him Personally- Fortune Sitole

(I am re-posting this post from many moons ago. Thanks Fortune, for donating a piece for our April event! Thank you for helping us build a school).

Fortune!


We met Fortune several years ago here. Fortune is an artist. If you have ever been to the Venice boardwalk, you know that it is no place to sell your art. It is wall-to-wall people...


One misstep by a slippery, sun-screened skateboarder can wipe out years of work. I read somewhere that Venice Beach is the second largest tourist destination in California next to Disneyland. While that may mean the occasional sale to a tourist, it is still a very difficult way to succeed as an artist. This recent article from the Los Angeles Times explains some of the challenges.

We would see Fortune frequently wheeling in his work, setting up, and settling in for a long, hot day in the sun. We bought this from him...

It looks exactly like the four hundred square foot house we lived in, in New Mexico. The painting cost about forty dollars.

A few years later, we were participants here.

Fortune's booth was two booths away from ours.

We commiserated about the inebriated festivals goers who really had no interest in purchasing anything.



Here is what Fortune says about his work...

"I want to foster an awareness of the conditions suffered by South Africans, who create makeshift shelters by optimizing outside space and leftover materials - metal, tires, stones, etc., whatever they can find to build their homes.

Fashioning my work as homage to my ancestors, family and community, these pieces are a reminder of the day-to-day life in black South African townships. But shanties exist throughout the world and my art actually tells a story of the universality of poverty.

The characters in my scenes are about communities who have overcome adversity and have progressed into the 21st century. Complex dimensions allow a peek down streets at women washing clothes, children playing, girls braiding hair and wandering drunken fathers. Pictures of everyday events, ironically set against the backdrop of vivid dawns and dusks, reflect the darker issues of economic enslavement, discrimination, poverty and hardships.

Shanties are slowly disappearing from South Africa’s landscape. Redevelopment and investment begin to paint a brighter picture for the future of South Africans, an encouraging example for the people of the world who are experiencing poverty today."

I find Fortune's art absolutely breathtaking. You really have to see them in real life to appreciate them fully. They are three dimensional. The work is vibrant.



I am happy to announce that Fortune has moved off of the boardwalk, and into Equator Books.



This bookstore is showing his work through May 30th. If you are in Los Angeles go check it out. Be sure to go on the first Friday of the month for extra  festivities.

If you are not in LA, you can see more of his art here.


How will my adoption impact Fortune? I believe Fortune's art will have an impact on my children. This it what my kids will see when they wake up in the morning...


Maybe it will remind them of where they came from. Maybe it will make them think of their birth mom. Maybe it will make them long for what they have left behind. Fortune knows a little bit about that. His wife and children still live in South Africa. He sure does wish it were easier for them to come visit him. It sure would have been nice for them to see their dad in his big, incredible art gallery opening.

I can't wait to bring my kids to Fortune's studio. It is a magical place. There are coke cans, and soup cans.  There are piles of sand and bags of rocks. There are little cut-out figures lying around, people, dogs, wheel barrels. Just walking in there makes you want to get your hands dirty and create something.  In Fortune my kids will see a man who has worked very hard to achieve his goals. They will see a man who struggled, and is still struggling with racism and persecution. They will see a man who has dedicated his life to fostering an awareness of the universality of poverty. They will see a man generous in spirit. There is a kind of warmth that radiates from Fortune. You can see it in that very first picture. You can really feel it in person.

Congratulations Fortune. We are so proud of you.

I Can Meet the Artist, Get to Know Him Personally- Chris Koch

Woman Smiling

I have incredibly talented friends. The above picture was taken by Chris Koch. Chris will have several prints available at our auction on April 17th. Don't forget to get your ticket!

This isn't the first time I have had one of Chris' photos on my blog. He took these early photos of M and m that I just adore. I feel like he really captured their spirits.

 

Chris is one of those people who is incredibly talented at many different things, (which would kind of be annoying if he wasn't such an incredibly kind person). He is a director of film and television. His newest venture is the hilarious TV show Traffic Light, which is getting great reviews. He is a photographer (obviously), and a composer as well.

 He also has a heart for Ethiopia and Ethiopians, especially these two...

We are all members of the Chris Koch fan club, especially Meazi...

Chris has a fantastic sense of humor. He is a leader. He is very, very, generous. We try to hang around him as much as we can. He can lighten a lousy day in mere seconds. I am thrilled that he is allowing us to share some of his photos at our event.

These prints are heart-stopping. He manages, remarkably, to capture the spirit of Ethiopia- the sadness and the joy.

Thank you Chris. Thank you for sharing your talent. Thank you for building a school. Thank you for your friendship.

I Can Meet the Artist, Get to Know Him Personally- Dale Nigel Goble

 A couple of weeks ago I got an e-mail from a lovely woman named Shauna. She lives in Canada with her husband and her three children. Her boys are from Kambata. Her daughter Molly started a fundraising campaign to build a well in Addis Ababa. Shauna's friend donated some prints for her daughter's efforts, Because she was so successful (quickly raising the 10k for the well), Shauna asked if I would like to have the prints for the auction in April. (Who does that?!) Dale agreed, and so we have nine beautiful Peace Prints like the one above.

How cute are Shauna's kids ?

Learn more about the incredibly talented and generous Dale, HERE.

Thanks guys. Amazing. Truly Amazing.

* I am still trying to figure out if I should do some sort of online auction as well? Or maybe interested parties could bid by proxy? Enlisting one of the incredible families that are coming to bid for them? Let me know what you think.

I Can Meet the Artist, Get to Know Him Personally- Yadesa Bojia

Remember that Crash Test Dummies Song? I know, I'm really old. That song is so old that I can't even find a link to it.

I thought I'd do some posts about the artists that will be donating their work for our Fundraiser. I thought it might be interesting, whether you can make it in April or not. If there is enough online interest, perhaps we can have some sort of auction pre-bid through the interwebs?

I want to start with Yadesa Bojia. Yaddi commented on this blog years ago. He was (and still is) living in Seattle with his family. He wrote to offer his support and guidance regarding all things Ethiopian. He e-mailed me and told me he was available to help with me with any questions I had. Who does that?

Flash Forward 3 1/2 years, Yaddi is friends with one of my closest friends here in LA. Amy tells Yaddi about the Kambata project, Yaddi becomes my biggest supporter. Yaddi, one of eighteen children in his Ethiopian family (NOT A TYPO!), knows firsthand how important it is to get an education. I am hopeful that he can come to the event in April, and tell everyone his truly remarkable story.

Yaddi has another great story about how he learned that his design was chosen for the Flag of the African Union. He sent in a drawing and then three years later, while watching CNN, saw Kadafi sitting in front of his design.

Yaddi's work was just featured on Marcus Samuelsson's website too.


Yaddi designed our poster.

Yaddi is donating a piece for our auction. I burst into tears when I opened the attachment. It is an incredible painting. Wanna see it?

Ok.

Here it is:

'Nebab'- (means reading)-18x24, Acrylic on Canvas. Starting bid- $1000.**


To say that I am happy about this donation is an huge understatement.

Thank you Yaddi. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. It is a beautiful, beautiful painting.

**The artist has the only right to reproduce and use for print media or other reproduction rights. According to California Civil Code 982.