To raise funds for the 2009 South Florida Rally for Recovery, world famous tattoo artist and clothes designer, Ed Hardy, has committed to creating and donating custom T-shirts to InTheRooms.com. Hardy is best known, as of late, for adapting a Japanese-style, tattoo art that he often incorporates into his T-shirt designs.

Although there are few details currently about what the t-shirts will look like, or how much they will sell for, Intherooms has confirmed the donation/fund raising project.

For those unfamiliar with Intherooms.com, it is a social networking site specifically designed to help connect people in the recovery community world-wide. Currently, intherooms has more than 40K members with a combined recovery time of 120,000+ years. Additionally, Intherooms.com is the official host of the 2009 South Florida Rally for Recovery, which takes place Sep. 12th in Miami, FL.

For more information on the event, please click the following link, 2009 Rally for Recovery.

As the guitar wailed like electric wolves in the night, we made our way towards the stage and into the pit. We were small and out numbered, so we chose to stay on the fringes; something we’d do for the next several years of our lives as we entered deeper and deeper into the underworld of drug abuse and crime.

Standing on the edge of the pit with the slews of onlookers, Santos noticed a guy with a Mexico soccer jersey on, and they struck up a convo: “chingalo buey!,” “no mames, buey,” “Oye! Que estas fumando…” They’d struck a common chord, much like Billy Corrigan and the other band members that broken into, “Who want’s candy? Long as there’s some money…” And so the deal went down.

Next thing I knew, we were dashing through the crowd, bumping people over as we made our way to were my brother and his friends were. Santos had his hand cupped, but I knew by his wide-eyed gestures that we had just capped some weed and were headed to get our first taste. Although we had lied about it to other people a 100 times, we were actually about to enter into a new class of cool…In our minds. We were about to be initiated into the drug sub-culture of the hippies in the 60’s, the disco fever attics of the 70’s, the hip-hop underground of the 80’s and now the “too cool” grunge kids of the 90’s.

We finally caught up to that same friend of my brother’s, only this time we were garnishing a hand full of REAL weed. As we asked him to roll a joint for us, he just started again: “Dude, don’t waist my time with your little kid bullshit weed, man.” We assured him, showing him what we possessed and there was automatic respect: “Dude, let me see that…man, where’d you get this from? Bro, you think you can get me some…”

Funny enough, we were initiated into the world of crime before we entered into the world of drugs because we ended up selling him half for roughly a little more than what we paid for it. The trend of selling drugs to feed our addiction would be a common practice in years to come. Anyway, he rolled it up for us and we went and sat far from the crowd, on a hill with all the other shady characters below some giant Banyan trees.

We lit it up. And as the smoke seeped from our noses, we would cough and laugh, and pass the joint. I just remember lying down in the grass with my hands tucked behind my head…looking up at the stars…listening to Smashing Pumpkins playing a melody: “Today is, today is, the greatest…day I’ve ever known…” Some how in my mind I felt the same, lost in the illusion of euphoria. I’d caught my first glimpse of a drug induced escape and it was love at first sight…

Ernesto Here — Read all the Addiction Testimonials from our categories section:
http://recoveryarts.com/category/addiction-testimonials/

The South Florida Rally for Recovery and the InTheRooms foundation would like people to donate artwork to the foundation, so it can auction it off on eBay to raise funds for the South Florida Rally for Recovery.

Recovery Arts will be fielding any emails from possible donators who want to give for the great cause. Please send us a message anytime through June to: ernestosthompson@gmail.com. IntheRooms plans to have the ebay auction promptly after June, so please send any inquiries before then.

All funds raised from the charity auction will go towards the South Florida Rally for Recovery, which IntheRooms will be hosting September 12, 2009 at Bicentennial Park (Downtown Miami) as part of National Alcohol and Recovery Month.

The event will include a 5k walk around the Miami Beach area, food, guest speakers, a free concert, and much more. For more information, please visit the official website at: Rally for Recovery

For those who don’t know, IntheRooms.com is a recovery networking website dedicated to connecting people in recovery all over the world with online support on the web.

“What got me started on putting my photography to use in recovery was my search for one of those tear off 365 day calendars about AA. After searching for a few years and not having any luck, decided maybe someday I would make one. So I started by sending photos with AA sayings to friends. This expanded to my own website and a daily “Sober Inspiration” email every day.”

“What I have found along the way is how it influences my sobriety. I “try” to go daily to our “Attitude Adjustment” AA 6 am meeting. I listen for those nuggets when people talk about being sober. At last count I am up to about 700, and adding daily, so I have lots to work with. It gives me purpose in sobriety to pursue my passion for photography. I especially like macrophotograpy. It gives me a chance to have a close-up view of recovery, to see the little things that escape our daily struggles. The things I overlooked when loaded.”

My motto is:
Sights from my camera with Insights about recovery – together we can stay sober.

Blank Canvas (Creating A New Life) is an inspirational documentary film that follows six women who use the medium of art to push through their struggles with substance abuse and recovery. According to the official website at www.blankcanvasmovie.com, the film promises a “transformational journey,” but one that is, “both tragic and triumphant.”

The six artists in recovery featured in Blank Canvas (Creating A New Life) come closer to understanding their sensitive characteristics, which pushed them into addiction, but also embrace the same emotional spirit to understand themselves as artists and work towards their recovery. According to the official synopsis, “We discover an inspirational community of artistic support that grows around six women.” It also hints that “not everyone survives.”

Blank Canvas (Creating A New Life) received acclaim at the Women’s Film Festival (San Francisco) when its director, Ashley Phelps, who is also in recovery, received the award of “Best Emerging Film Maker” for the documentary film. In the most courageous manner, Phelps not only decided to make this provocative film but also appears in it as one of the six artists in recovery whose interviews and artwork are featured.

We were lucky enough, recently, to have Ashley Phelps share her thoughts on Blank Canvas with us:           
“I hoped to make a film that talked about addiction and recovery from a more personal angle, in order to counter the stigma associated with substance abuse. By relating the struggle to the human condition in a more general way, and talking about recovery through artistic creation, I hope to demystify the process and encourage those who are seeking help.”

This past Monday, a slew of celebrities including Kevin Bacon and Michelle Monaghan teamed with fashion-world elites like Italo Zucchelli, Amy Sacco, Mary Alice Stephenson, Glenda Bailey, David Granger and Francisco Costa at Calvin Klein headquarters for the annual fundraiser to benefit the “Free Arts” organization.

Free Arts is an organization dedicated to providing free workshops for underprivileged youth. Free Arts organization encourages kids to explore their talents and the art world in general through mixed media (drawing, painting, sculpting, etc.). This year’s silent auction by the art organization saw the likes of Phillip Lim, Ed Westwick, Karolina Kurkova and Hilary Rhoda who were all in attendance for the Free Arts charity fundraiser in New York City.

Kevin Bacon had this to tell reporters from wwd.com that were on hand: “I read up on it [Free Arts Organization] and I think it’s an amazing organization. In terms of mental health and happiness…we’re not all number crunchers or scientists. I came up in the public school system in the Sixties. Even if it was lame, you got crayons and a way to express yourself outside of violence and drug abuse.”

In a recent interview in connpost.com, Eugene Chesney described what the scholarship to Housatonic Community College, from the Community Partners in Action Prison Arts Program and the Co-op Center at the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport, was able to provide him: “The class I got the scholarship for was behavioral and mental health peer specialist. Without the scholarship, I wouldn’t have been able to pursue my interest in that. It helped me buy books and pay for tuition. I didn’t have money at the time.”

The Co-op Center at the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport and Community Partners in Action Prison Arts Program usually give out two or three scholarships every year for $500 to ex-offenders. The first five years, the Co-op scholarship was funded by private donations until the center was able to team with the CPA Prison Arts Program and organize a more lucrative annual auction that featured the works of former recipients.

The program manager, Jeff Greene, says that “The Co-op Center auction is a small, though incredibly impact event, where artists participating in Prison Arts Program workshops are given the opportunity to donate artwork to be auctioned to benefit released inmates.” So far, 21 artists have donated 31 pieces of artwork for this year’s auction.

For more information about the Prison Arts Program or to make a donation, call the Co-op Center at 334-1121 or e-mail PattyJensen@ccgb.org.

With nearly 12,000 hits on its page counter and regularly updated posts of the newest paintings that comprise its remarkable gallery, AlcoholicOutsiderArtist.blogspot.com has definitely earned its spot amongst the premier recovery art websites on the net. Besides, Parker L has a special place in my heart, as we’re not only both recovering artist, but also because of his great taste in authors, amongst which he notes Hemingway and Hunter S. Thompson. No, but seriously, the featured artist of Alcoholic Outsider Artist is Parker Lanier, who describes himself and his artistic vision in the following way: “51 year old recovering alcoholic artist. Since I had my moment of clarity a few 24 hours ago I cannot stop drawing and creating things out of found objects. Outsider/visionary in the truest sense of the word.”

Aside from the 100+ works of recovery art that Parker L has available for viewing on the site, he also has a compilation video that features a collection of his works to the sounds of “Dreadful Selfish Crime” by Robert Earl Keen (Please see video below). Also on the Alcoholic Outsider Artist site are listings of future events, which include “The Folk-Outsider Art” show to be held in June of 2009 at the Talents Coffee Studio in Springfield, TN. Additionally, the site offers more info on a future full-length documentary film that features Parker Lanier’s artwork titled, “My Name Was Bette: Life and Death.” Finally, for those interested in seeing Parker L’s recovery art in person, it is up on display at the Anchors Aweigh AA Club in Key West, Florida. For more info, please check out the site at: http://alcoholicoutsiderartist.blogspot.com/

To raise funds for the 2009 South Florida Rally for Recovery, world famous tattoo artist and clothes designer, Ed Hardy, has committed to creating and donating custom T-shirts to InTheRooms.com. Hardy is best known, as of late, for adapting a Japanese-style, tattoo art that he often incorporates into his T-shirt designs.

Although there are few details currently about what the t-shirts will look like, or how much they will sell for, Intherooms has confirmed the donation/fund raising project.

For those unfamiliar with Intherooms.com, it is a social networking site specifically designed to help connect people in the recovery community world-wide. Currently, intherooms has more than 40K members with a combined recovery time of 120,000+ years. Additionally, Intherooms.com is the official host of the 2009 South Florida Rally for Recovery, which takes place Sep. 12th in Miami, FL.

For more information on the event, please click the following link, 2009 Rally for Recovery.

As the guitar wailed like electric wolves in the night, we made our way towards the stage and into the pit. We were small and out numbered, so we chose to stay on the fringes; something we’d do for the next several years of our lives as we entered deeper and deeper into the underworld of drug abuse and crime.

Standing on the edge of the pit with the slews of onlookers, Santos noticed a guy with a Mexico soccer jersey on, and they struck up a convo: “chingalo buey!,” “no mames, buey,” “Oye! Que estas fumando…” They’d struck a common chord, much like Billy Corrigan and the other band members that broken into, “Who want’s candy? Long as there’s some money…” And so the deal went down.

Next thing I knew, we were dashing through the crowd, bumping people over as we made our way to were my brother and his friends were. Santos had his hand cupped, but I knew by his wide-eyed gestures that we had just capped some weed and were headed to get our first taste. Although we had lied about it to other people a 100 times, we were actually about to enter into a new class of cool…In our minds. We were about to be initiated into the drug sub-culture of the hippies in the 60’s, the disco fever attics of the 70’s, the hip-hop underground of the 80’s and now the “too cool” grunge kids of the 90’s.

We finally caught up to that same friend of my brother’s, only this time we were garnishing a hand full of REAL weed. As we asked him to roll a joint for us, he just started again: “Dude, don’t waist my time with your little kid bullshit weed, man.” We assured him, showing him what we possessed and there was automatic respect: “Dude, let me see that…man, where’d you get this from? Bro, you think you can get me some…”

Funny enough, we were initiated into the world of crime before we entered into the world of drugs because we ended up selling him half for roughly a little more than what we paid for it. The trend of selling drugs to feed our addiction would be a common practice in years to come. Anyway, he rolled it up for us and we went and sat far from the crowd, on a hill with all the other shady characters below some giant Banyan trees.

We lit it up. And as the smoke seeped from our noses, we would cough and laugh, and pass the joint. I just remember lying down in the grass with my hands tucked behind my head…looking up at the stars…listening to Smashing Pumpkins playing a melody: “Today is, today is, the greatest…day I’ve ever known…” Some how in my mind I felt the same, lost in the illusion of euphoria. I’d caught my first glimpse of a drug induced escape and it was love at first sight…

Ernesto Here — Read all the Addiction Testimonials from our categories section:
http://recoveryarts.com/category/addiction-testimonials/

The South Florida Rally for Recovery and the InTheRooms foundation would like people to donate artwork to the foundation, so it can auction it off on eBay to raise funds for the South Florida Rally for Recovery.

Recovery Arts will be fielding any emails from possible donators who want to give for the great cause. Please send us a message anytime through June to: ernestosthompson@gmail.com. IntheRooms plans to have the ebay auction promptly after June, so please send any inquiries before then.

All funds raised from the charity auction will go towards the South Florida Rally for Recovery, which IntheRooms will be hosting September 12, 2009 at Bicentennial Park (Downtown Miami) as part of National Alcohol and Recovery Month.

The event will include a 5k walk around the Miami Beach area, food, guest speakers, a free concert, and much more. For more information, please visit the official website at: Rally for Recovery

For those who don’t know, IntheRooms.com is a recovery networking website dedicated to connecting people in recovery all over the world with online support on the web.

“What got me started on putting my photography to use in recovery was my search for one of those tear off 365 day calendars about AA. After searching for a few years and not having any luck, decided maybe someday I would make one. So I started by sending photos with AA sayings to friends. This expanded to my own website and a daily “Sober Inspiration” email every day.”

“What I have found along the way is how it influences my sobriety. I “try” to go daily to our “Attitude Adjustment” AA 6 am meeting. I listen for those nuggets when people talk about being sober. At last count I am up to about 700, and adding daily, so I have lots to work with. It gives me purpose in sobriety to pursue my passion for photography. I especially like macrophotograpy. It gives me a chance to have a close-up view of recovery, to see the little things that escape our daily struggles. The things I overlooked when loaded.”

My motto is:
Sights from my camera with Insights about recovery – together we can stay sober.

Blank Canvas (Creating A New Life) is an inspirational documentary film that follows six women who use the medium of art to push through their struggles with substance abuse and recovery. According to the official website at www.blankcanvasmovie.com, the film promises a “transformational journey,” but one that is, “both tragic and triumphant.”

The six artists in recovery featured in Blank Canvas (Creating A New Life) come closer to understanding their sensitive characteristics, which pushed them into addiction, but also embrace the same emotional spirit to understand themselves as artists and work towards their recovery. According to the official synopsis, “We discover an inspirational community of artistic support that grows around six women.” It also hints that “not everyone survives.”

Blank Canvas (Creating A New Life) received acclaim at the Women’s Film Festival (San Francisco) when its director, Ashley Phelps, who is also in recovery, received the award of “Best Emerging Film Maker” for the documentary film. In the most courageous manner, Phelps not only decided to make this provocative film but also appears in it as one of the six artists in recovery whose interviews and artwork are featured.

We were lucky enough, recently, to have Ashley Phelps share her thoughts on Blank Canvas with us:           
“I hoped to make a film that talked about addiction and recovery from a more personal angle, in order to counter the stigma associated with substance abuse. By relating the struggle to the human condition in a more general way, and talking about recovery through artistic creation, I hope to demystify the process and encourage those who are seeking help.”

This past Monday, a slew of celebrities including Kevin Bacon and Michelle Monaghan teamed with fashion-world elites like Italo Zucchelli, Amy Sacco, Mary Alice Stephenson, Glenda Bailey, David Granger and Francisco Costa at Calvin Klein headquarters for the annual fundraiser to benefit the “Free Arts” organization.

Free Arts is an organization dedicated to providing free workshops for underprivileged youth. Free Arts organization encourages kids to explore their talents and the art world in general through mixed media (drawing, painting, sculpting, etc.). This year’s silent auction by the art organization saw the likes of Phillip Lim, Ed Westwick, Karolina Kurkova and Hilary Rhoda who were all in attendance for the Free Arts charity fundraiser in New York City.

Kevin Bacon had this to tell reporters from wwd.com that were on hand: “I read up on it [Free Arts Organization] and I think it’s an amazing organization. In terms of mental health and happiness…we’re not all number crunchers or scientists. I came up in the public school system in the Sixties. Even if it was lame, you got crayons and a way to express yourself outside of violence and drug abuse.”

In a recent interview in connpost.com, Eugene Chesney described what the scholarship to Housatonic Community College, from the Community Partners in Action Prison Arts Program and the Co-op Center at the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport, was able to provide him: “The class I got the scholarship for was behavioral and mental health peer specialist. Without the scholarship, I wouldn’t have been able to pursue my interest in that. It helped me buy books and pay for tuition. I didn’t have money at the time.”

The Co-op Center at the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport and Community Partners in Action Prison Arts Program usually give out two or three scholarships every year for $500 to ex-offenders. The first five years, the Co-op scholarship was funded by private donations until the center was able to team with the CPA Prison Arts Program and organize a more lucrative annual auction that featured the works of former recipients.

The program manager, Jeff Greene, says that “The Co-op Center auction is a small, though incredibly impact event, where artists participating in Prison Arts Program workshops are given the opportunity to donate artwork to be auctioned to benefit released inmates.” So far, 21 artists have donated 31 pieces of artwork for this year’s auction.

For more information about the Prison Arts Program or to make a donation, call the Co-op Center at 334-1121 or e-mail PattyJensen@ccgb.org.

With nearly 12,000 hits on its page counter and regularly updated posts of the newest paintings that comprise its remarkable gallery, AlcoholicOutsiderArtist.blogspot.com has definitely earned its spot amongst the premier recovery art websites on the net. Besides, Parker L has a special place in my heart, as we’re not only both recovering artist, but also because of his great taste in authors, amongst which he notes Hemingway and Hunter S. Thompson. No, but seriously, the featured artist of Alcoholic Outsider Artist is Parker Lanier, who describes himself and his artistic vision in the following way: “51 year old recovering alcoholic artist. Since I had my moment of clarity a few 24 hours ago I cannot stop drawing and creating things out of found objects. Outsider/visionary in the truest sense of the word.”

Aside from the 100+ works of recovery art that Parker L has available for viewing on the site, he also has a compilation video that features a collection of his works to the sounds of “Dreadful Selfish Crime” by Robert Earl Keen (Please see video below). Also on the Alcoholic Outsider Artist site are listings of future events, which include “The Folk-Outsider Art” show to be held in June of 2009 at the Talents Coffee Studio in Springfield, TN. Additionally, the site offers more info on a future full-length documentary film that features Parker Lanier’s artwork titled, “My Name Was Bette: Life and Death.” Finally, for those interested in seeing Parker L’s recovery art in person, it is up on display at the Anchors Aweigh AA Club in Key West, Florida. For more info, please check out the site at: http://alcoholicoutsiderartist.blogspot.com/