New Book for Sale: Small Town ~ Big Vision

•

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/700435

A year ago we were chalk drawing on the site, over the next two week we covered 90,000 sq. ft. and set a new World Record. Please join us now in celebrating by buying our new book to share the creative energy and support future project with youth and community.

SMALL TOWN ~ BIG VISION is the story of the Kids' Chalk Art Project ~ a creative community event that set a new world record for the largest chalk drawing, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

May 27 - June 7, 2008: 6,000 participants, including over 3,800 elementary school students; two weeks of chalk drawing, 90,000 square feet (300' x 300'), the story of a salamander and ginkgo leaf, lots of chalk, a satellite photograph, and a special dog.

The Kids' Chalk Art Project is the first collaboration of Re-Enchanting the World Through Art, a nonprofit that supports and inspires the creative spirit in youth and community.

www.reenchantingtheworldthroughart.org

For an Artist, a vision is a dime a dozen, that's less than a penny per vision. Having them is worthless unless you do something with them, which is priceless. ~ Mark Wagner

•

Excerpt from the Book

•
Next week we launch our NEW BOOK!

80 pages of beautiful color photographs of our world record chalk drawing made a year ago by the kids and community of Alameda, CA USA.


Please join us in celebrating our efforts into keeping the arts alive for our kids, for the future, and for us all now.

School flyer going out to all the elementary school parents.

Excerpt for the book:
Along the Way: A Few Lessons
I Learned About Dreaming Big Dreams

• If you are going to dream big, be prepared to pay dearly. Dreamers pay in blood, sweat, and real tears for the wisdom they receive and the experience they get along the way.

• Dreamers require co-conspirators. You need to enroll others in your vision, you can’t do it alone.

• Asking for help is an art of its own. Keep asking, never stop. You'll never know if the person beside you wants to be involved in the project otherwise.

• Be prepared to have your original vision changed along the way, it's a natural process, pay attention, go with the flow.

• You get much more out of a community project than you put in. Awareness of what you achieved will transform you for the rest of your life.

• To dream big dreams and see them through, you need a strong internal fire to keep going. That fire will have to keep you warm on many lonely nights.

• When it comes to volunteers, there are two classes: those with the best intentions
and those whose best intentions are backed by real action. Whether your dream becomes reality or not depends on the latter.

• Consider carefully all the advice that you get along the way – but don't be afraid to ignore it and follow your intuition.

• Many people will not understand your dream at first. No matter: they will be inspired by your passion and want to be part of it themselves.

• If you are a dreamer and you aren't a master of all the skills you need
(e.g. accounting, project management, organization), surround yourself as soon as possible with people who are.

• Many people will tell you that your dream is impossible to achieve. Thank them politely - and get back to work.

• Be a maker of miracles. Everyone wants to be a part of a miracle.

Kevin Carrel Footer
Documentary Film Maker

www.reenchantingtheworldthroughart.org
•

Youth in Art - Italian Street Painting Festival

•

The Italian Street Painting Festival by Youth in Arts in San Rafael CA is coming up June 13 - 14th. It's one of the largest chalk drawing festival in the country and in the world. Hundreds of artist come to draw and thousands of people come to watch, listen to great music, eat excellent food.

If you live in the area it's not to be missed. I have been drawing there ever since it began some 15 years ago.

Youth in Arts 2007

Youth In Art, San Rafael CA

www.reenchantingtheworldthroughart.org
•

The Art of Driving - BMW

•

The Art of Driving - BMW

I saw this BMW ad last night at the movies for the first time - wow! I wish I had Art Directed that! It made me think about the chalk drawing we did last year that set a World Record.

I am going to get in touch with BMW, see if that want to do a chalk drawing ad with their cars!

Driving around my Toyota truck on site was always so cool, so big, surreal.

www.reenchantingtheworldthroughart.org
•

Youth in Arts

•

Youth in Arts - San Rafael CA, has one of the largest chalk drawing festivals in the world. Each June hundreds of artists, both well know chalk drawers and newbies gather for a weekend to get covered in chalk and made some of the most amazing art ever - and it's temporary, and it for the people. Thousands and thousands of people flock in to watch artists work, listen to music, eat great food, and celebrate the visual arts and this totally unique medium.

Italian Street Painting Festival - Youth in Arts

Here are some chalk drawings that were created at the festival and at other festivals around the world by artists who hang in the hood.

Clayton Thiel's and my piece from 2007 is the last one. We'll be there this year so put it in your calendar. June 13 & 14.

Also follow my new blog on the Art of Being A Dad.
•

Last Night

•

Last night we worked the final edits on our documentary film. Victoria Zorraquin, a young cute 24 year old new to the documentary film world and step kid of a Kevin Footer (who is the original film maker on this project) is leaving town today for France, then? Argentina. So we needed to put some hours in before she left. Kevin will do the last minutes tweaks.

Vic ready to film - I drove!

This is Victoria's first big (small) film experience. She's done an excellent job, she has the obcessive qualities that a true artist needs, and she sticks up for what she believes in which is a quality I admire. She also is young and gives her power away too easily feeling frustrated and saying, "I don't know what to do here, so you just tell me!" Ha... I say, "don't you do that, I want you here/now trying to figure it out with us, this is your training ground, another client might not be so appreciative. Take a brake, get some air, and get back in the seat and let's do it - together!" She also learned Adobe Premiere for this project.

I meet Kevin Footer through the men's group that we are connected to. The East Bay Nation of Men (EBNOM.org). The name doesn't quite say it, we are really a circle of men who support men, families, and communities. I do like the "Nation" thing, I'd call us a United Nation of Men, we are all seperate counteries that make up one body of spirit. Great guys! Our World Record project was partly originated by this group 6 years ago, and the event was primarily produced by these guys - watch the DVD!

Victoria, Kevin, Mark

The first day Kevin came to one of our Sat. monthly morning meeting out in a park, I was there going my best to enroll the guys into helping me (which did take some work - nothing being for free, I had to "enroll" them). I had all these jobs listed for the project written on sticky pads. One said "Documentary Film." Kevin was the one and only guy at that time to reach out and pick one.

Kevin's beautiful and talented wife is a Latin Grammy Nominated Singer - Maria Volonte. She is singing in San Francisco Jazz Festival May 31, 2009 at 2pm.

Maria and Kevin

The Rev. Alexandra "Sasha" Childs also hung out with us to edit the film. Sasha and I meet in art school at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn NY, in the early 80's. She now lives on the island near by and has been an elemental force in the creation of our event last year, but also in the book and film's production. Her sense of design, type, what visually works is unsurpassed in my experience.

Sasha and Cristin Barnes (our brillant dog soilder Project Manager)

www.reenchantingtheworldthroughart.org
•

Creative Spirit Women

•

I found these photos on the web, and yes truth be told .... women making art, being creative is a beautiful thing. It combines some very powerful things; sex, art, and spirit. These elements come together and create something larger, a deep pull to and from the human race, an invitation to grow and expand, to evolve, and to celebrate. Blessings!

~M

www.reenchantingtheworldthroughart.org
•