A couple of those players happen to be Diana Scimone and her friend Leah Widemer. Diana passed some information along to me via Twitter (@DianaScimone) a couple weeks ago about a new project she’s working on with Leah, an artist located in Orlando, Florida, who’s helping her illustrate a new children’s book aimed at combating human trafficking. So, when I got in touch with Leah, she relayed this story to me:

“I spent a lot of time praying about how I could make my art work benefit others beyond decorating their home or office. When Diana Scimone first approached me about doing the illustrations for her children’s book series, “The Adventures with Paw Paw,” I felt it was an answer to prayer. I worked in watercolor for the three “Paw Paw” books, making slight adjustments to the feel of each book according to the artistic culture of the country Paw Paw was visiting. Diana’s vision was to use the books to raise money for various children’s charities. Then, with the passing of a few years, Diana’s vision became more specific and she zeroed in on preventing child trafficking. Now I am thrilled to be doing the illustrations for a wordless book which is an allegory about the world of child trafficking that teaches children, parents and teachers about the dangers of child trafficking with the goal of ending it.

“Besides my illustration work, I paint portraits (mostly from old photos) and scenes from our travels throughout Italy. I have committed to donating 10% of all proceeds garnered from my paintings to various charities.”

You can find more of Leah and her work, as well as more about Diana Scimone and her organization, Born to Fly, on these sites:
Leah on Twitter: @RoamingArtist
Diana on Twitter: @DianaScimone
Leah’s Blog
Leah on Cafe Press
Born to Fly

If you’re a Twitter fanatic and have a heart for human trafficking, you also might be particularly interested in checking out this post from Diana, which lists a lot of great Twitter users to follow who are working toward ending slavery.

The piece pictured here was painted by Brandi Stanley on 48″ x 24″ compressed wood with acrylic, spray paint, and Sharpie paint markers, at an event for Falling Whistles (http://www.fallingwhistles.com/). It has since sold, but I am offering commissioned pieces similar to it (at a price to be agreed upon), if you’d like to contact me directly to discuss sizing, changing the words on the sign, removing the whistles, or any other alterations.

Just write me if you’re interested!

Ty (also known as “samo4prez”) works in all mediums, primarily painting, but says his biggest passion lies in writing. Clay and bronzing are part of his roots, but he says, “I keep creative as much as possible; I am finishing two novels with two others in the beginning stages…Sometimes I have the inner argument about being an artist who writes or a writer who paints. Maybe I am both.”

He and his wife just moved back from China two years ago, and they’ve moved around 14 times in the 8 years they’ve been married. The couple now resides in Lewisville, Texas. But, as Ty claims, “I will go, live and create anywhere.”

When asked what issue he feels most passionate about, he responds with, “I don’t think there is one particular issue. There are many that I support in a number of different means. Anything involving children I will put everything I have towards if I feel strongly about it. I have traveled and worked in many orphanages, handicapped schools, and boys homes for abused kids all over the world. My heart breaks for kids who are in need.

“Right now I support Falling Whistles through my fashion company, Veritas. I have gotten to know Sean Carrasso, [founder of FW], over the last year and a half and I believe in his vision and him as an individual, which gives even more strength to the cause he is fighting for in DR Congo. I support Invisible Children. I have a lot of dear friends who work there; I have been able to observe them since day one become an amazing and successful organization. My wife and I buy TOMS Shoes like no tomorrow, so that is support. They blow me away…amazing people and amazing vision as well.

“We are in the process of raising money for an orphanage in Kenya right now, too, through Veritas, called Naomi’s Village that will house over 120 children upon completion. If I could, I would get involved in everything I could find, but I am worn out enough with what we are doing. I just hope that the people that we (Veritas) engage and build community with will see our hearts and vision and it will inspire them to act where they feel led.”

How Ty first got involved in social justice?
Here’s his story:

“My parents have been working in Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Mexico for over 13 years serving in refugee camps, orphanages, handicapped schools, and the slums. I first left the country with my dad in 1995 for Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya. We spent time with street kids and handicapped kids singing, playing soccer, netball, dancing, you name it we did it. It was a heart wrenching joy that I never felt. When we entered Rwanda it had only been a year since 800,000 to 1,000,000 Rwandans were killed in the Genocide attempt. It was my first encounter with child soldiers; I didn’t know what to do or how to react. Every border stop I had 10-12 year old children checking my passport with machine guns. My heart was non-existent, I had no beat left; it literally crushed my spirit.

“There was one particular orphanage that we spent time in. There were I believe 200 or so kids who had all witnessed the murder of their parents in a church service. After the Hutu rebels murdered the parents they locked these children in the church with the bodies, it was a week before anyone found them and let them out. I have never seen a completely hopeless, full of sorrow child before in my entire life. Kids I know smile and laugh even when they are down. Later that day I wept in my father’s arms in a way I never thought I could weep. When we left that orphanage, there were smiles and tears of joy on every child’s face. Our touch, our smiles, our love that we shared with these children was so real it gave them hope. I see those faces, both sides of them all the time. It pushes me, inspires me, and sanctifies me to build hope, to raise awareness and to engage culture through my creative abilities so that I can influence those to feel, and observe the emotions and cultures that I have experienced.”

That’s the stuff I love running across in doing this blog. Thanks to Ty for being so willing to share. I’m hoping his story inspires you to use your own creative abilities to make a difference. Check out more of his work below, and click on any of the links listed to find out more about Ty or the organizations he works with.

Other places to find Ty and Veritas:
Samo4Prez
MySpace
Veritas
Samo4Prez on WordPress
Veritas on WordPress
Samo4Prez on Twitter
Veritas on Twitter

I thought I’d start this blog off the best way I know how: featuring an artist that’s one of my biggest inspirations and has some of the most amazing natural talent I’ve come across in my lifetime. Not to mention, Kelli’s involvement in social justice issues runs deep. As the lead designer for Jedidiah clothing company, Kelli works with several organizations that “give back.” Below is her story in her own words, about her involvement specifically in an organization called Soul Care, and comments on why she does what she does.

“In life, no matter who we are, I have found that we are all more alike than we are different. We all need love, we all need hope, and we all need to feel accepted. We all have had our times of struggle, where we feel like there is no where to go but down, but there is always the opportunity to overcome. Soul Care exists to remind women of their beauty and strength, and to create energy for change by inspiring hope and restoring dignity. So much of my art revolves around these concepts of love and hope and beauty, and I want to use my talents to encourage and inspire not only just women, but anyone who it might relate to. I am a believer that art can speak where words might fail.”

Check out this video below, which you can also find on Jedidiah’s web page. You can also click on the photo below to link to Kelli’s blog and check out more of her fantastic work.

Kelli Murray Interview from Jedidiah Clothing on Vimeo.

If you love the mission behind Jedidiah USA, check back on this blog soon. I’ll be featuring even more of their talent in the near future.