Dearest people of my English class,
What’s up? I’m doing all right, not too shabby. I’ve decided to focus my passion blog on art, although I’m not completely sure how exactly I will organize it topic-wise. I think most weeks I will do an “Artist of the Week” post, but I may occasionally throw in some of my own project ideas…
Before I begin, here is some background information about myself… From a very young age, I’ve had a strong love for drawing and art. My family and teachers have always supported this interest; however, my k-8 grade school did not have the money to support an art program and as upperclassmen, my 8th grade class participated in the same basic projects as the 3rd and 4th grade. We even resorted to acrylic paint mixed with glue for an “oil paint substitute”! When I got to high school, my art classes became a haven. I’d never before experienced such guidance and accessibility to so many mediums! I loved being able to try many different things even if I had to adhere to project guidelines. This may sound super lame/corny, but I aspire for my mixed media pieces to push the viewer to question his/her surrounding environment and love the tagline listed above: “Welcome to Curious City.” I’m a little upset I couldn’t schedule any art classes this year, but hopefully this blog will push me to keep up a little art during the school year and if so you’ll probably see a lot of portraits because they are my favorite.
Speaking of portraits…Here comes my first “Artist of the Week,” yo!
I originally had another artist in mind for this post, but in respect to 9-11’s recent anniversary I found a different artist… Some of you may have already heard of her, as her charitable work is nothing new. In 2003, Kaziah “The Goat Woman” Hancock, began painting portraits of fallen U.S. soldiers from the war in Iraq/Afghanistan and concurrently founded Project Compassion for this cause. Escaping a rough youth in a polygamist society, she now manages a goat ranch in Utah. She alone has created nearly 1,000 portraits since the project’s start and with partners has produced over 4,000 paintings of loved ones lost in the warzones of the Middle East. She notoriously does not accept any money for these pieces and never turns down any requests. After Ovarian Cancer rendered her infertile, she sees these young men and women (and her beloved goats) as her children and during an emotional speech finished with: “You have my heart, so I give you my hands.”
One of Kaziah’s portraits (Jason R. Arnette)
It’s so refreshing to see someone making such a difference in other’s lives and her supreme conviction and dedication in continuing this project for so many years without hesitation. Her genuine and honest character is also extremely remarkable… She inspires me to one day be as devoted to something that I believe in as she is and I hope you experience the same!
Below is the link to her website:
http://www.kaziahthegoatwoman.com/kaziah.html
