"We’re volunteering with the United Way and doing some work at the Hope House today. Washing toys, doing yardwork, cleaning up the property, just trying to help out." Volunteer with the United Way or the Hope House and make a difference. From the Hope House website: Hope House provides a stable environment in which children can address the impact of HIV in their lives. Hope House is the only facility in the State of Tennessee designed to meet the unique needs of HIV affected children.
"Being a single mother to my 3-year-old daughter is definitely the hardest thing I've ever done. I had her when I was 19, and I'm 22 now. Paying the bills by myself is hard. And losing sleep when she's sick. But even when I'm tired, I try to make things fun. I want her to be able to do all the fun things kids do. It's hard, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I try to make every day count with her. She likes my tattoos and when I change the color of my hair."
“I’m five years old. I broke my arm one time. I fell out of a tree.”
"I'm in the second grade. I like baseball and hunting." “I taught all these guys to flip. Taught ‘em in my backyard. My nephews, their friends, neighborhood kids. I’ve been doing this for 22 years. I want these young guys to stay out of trouble, stay away from drugs, earn scholarships, and go to college.”
“Everybody wants to feel valuable, no matter how rich or poor or sinful or great or whatever else they are. We all need that. I’ve tried to teach my kids to make friends with those who don’t quite have it all together because, you know, none of us do, really. I know they understand that on some level. I want them to know that God takes care of us because he loves us so much, because it makes him happy to give us what we need. At the end of my life, I want to be remembered for loving people."
“When I was in the fifth grade, I was always drawing all these barbarians. I remember giving one of my drawings to my teacher, who said, ‘Can’t you draw something else?’ I was crushed, but it started me looking around and thinking about what else I could draw or paint. By the time I was in the sixth grade, I was selling paintings to my mother’s friends. At school, my teacher asked me to show my classmates how to paint, so there I was, teaching painting to my peers in the sixth grade. I’ve been at Wooddale High School for several years now, teaching art.” Rollin Kocsis, Director of Gallery 56, put together a wonderful slideshow of Shamek Weddle's work, which will be on display through September 27, 2014. It's definitely worth a few minutes of your time to see these amazing pieces. Thank you, Rollin, for giving permission to link to the slideshow! Click HERE or on the image below to watch.
“I taught art in the Memphis City Schools for thirty-seven years, including twenty-seven years at Westwood and four at Overton School for the Creative and Performing Arts. I’d drive by Gallery 56 every day on my way to school, looking in the window and thinking, 'I’d like to show my work there', so one day I went in. I started out as one of the artists, and now I’m the director. I’ve been at Gallery 56 for four years now. I’m a sort of gatekeeper, helping to decide which pieces the gallery will take. A lot of effort has gone into this place. I love it. There’s such energy, so many interesting people.” Gallery 56 Director Rollin Kocsis's hand-painted silk scarves are available at Palladio Antiques and Art, 2169 Central Avenue and at Diane's Art, Gift, & Home, 1581 Overton Park Avenue. For a slideshow of the beautiful pieces that are available, click HERE.
See Rollin's work at http://www.rollinkocsis.com/ “I moved here eleven years ago to pursue a Fine Arts degree and ended up working out of my studio in the Cooper-Young area and teaching at the University of Memphis and. I’ve been interested in art since I was five. In fact, one of my mentors through the years was my Kindergarten teacher. She, along with a number of friends, came all the way from south Louisiana for this show. That means so much to me.” Chere Labbe Doiron also owns the Fema Guesthouse in Midtown, available for short-term rental and part of the https://www.airbnb.com/ network.
“I grew up in a Christian commune in South America with a group of European refugees from WWII and moved to the U.S. in 1961. I took my maternal grandmother’s maiden name as mine: Wilding. Alice Wilding was her name. I’ve always wished I had been named Alice. Why was I named ‘Faith’ when I am so full of doubt?” Although not a Memphian, we're glad to have Faith Wilding as a guest in our city for a few days. Her work Fearful Symmetries is on exhibit at the Clough-Hanson Gallery (Rhodes College) from September 5 through October 10, 2014. She is currently working on a memoir. To find out more about Faith, go to http://faithwilding.refugia.net/
"I’ve been involved with GlobeMed since I was a freshman at Rhodes College, and now I’m a senior. You know, when you first go to college, they tell you to get involved in everything, but this is one of those things that has lasted. I’m from a Protestant home in Atlanta, and I’ve been involved in mission work, but I don’t know if those efforts were always the best way. The GlobeMed chapter at Rhodes partners with A Ministry of Sharing Health and Hope (AMOS), a non-profit organization that works to improve the health of impoverished communities in Nicaragua. The money our chapter raises goes primarily toward water filtration programs. I think it’s a really good model that provides long-term help."
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