As we’ve mentioned before, the ways we area able to use our art to help others are truly endless. James Niehues’s incredible talent and outreach bring a unique aspect to our IK4HK series. If you are an avid skier, chances are you are already familiar with James’s paintings, which are often translated into trail maps across the country that are used to help winter sports fans blaze their trails.

In the video clip from MSNBC below, you’ll hear Greg Ditrinco comment that “Jim’s trail maps are as integral to skiing as snow. Everyone recognizes his style.” He also goes on to say that “with Jim’s maps, each one celebrates the mountains as a piece of art, an organic natural piece of art.”

Ditrinco couldn’t have said it better when he said that each one of Jim’s maps celebrates the mountains as a piece of art. We thought the Imagekind community would enjoy watching a fellow artist receive this well deserved national recognition.

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We’d like to thank Jim on behalf of those who use his ski maps to chart their courses, and maybe those who use them to go a bit off course and make their own trails thanks to the close attention Jim plays to every detail on each trail he blazes with his brush. It is immeasurable the amount of delight and joy that he has brought to people who have had the pleasure of using his paintings for this purpose.

We encourage you to check out James’s amazing work. If you’re already wrapping up the season and haven’t had a chance to use Jim’s maps yet, be sure to start charting next season’s course by checking out Jim’s Imagekind store. You may find a ski resort that you’ve conquered; support James by ordering a unique, hand painted rendition of it for yourself. What a terrific way to reward yourself!

After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, we all undoubtedly became more familiar with the struggles that the people of Haiti face every day. Even before the Earthquake, the PAHO/WHO (Pan America Health Organization) estimated that insufficient access to clean water accounted for 16% of under-5 (children under five years old) deaths. Their data also shows that 50% of the rural population and 33% of the urban population also did not have access to an improved water source. The earthquake only magnified this reality.

This month’s story focuses on an amazing couple who have a unique understanding of this crisis in Haiti. Ken and Virginia lived in Haiti for ten years and developed a passion for two very important aspects of their struggle: education and clean water. We hope you will enjoy their story find inspiration in their mission.

Our passion for helping the people of Haiti is rooted in the origin of our business name: Clothesline Art. The origin of the name came from a suggestion by a co-worker when we were living and working in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. Virginia began watercolor painting while living in Haiti and teaching art to students in classes K-12. She became known within the community for painting the people and the culture. The co-worker’s suggestion was to simply display her work on a clothesline. We spent nearly ten years in Haiti and learned to love the people of Haiti and agonized over their many challenges. Our real passion beyond the importance of education was the need for fresh drinking water. This has become an even more important issue following the devastating earthquake. So in our retirement years we have decided to help support well drilling in Haiti by donating 10% of all our sales and commissions to this cause. The goal is to help provide clean water for all the people of Haiti. The non-profit organization that we contribute to is the ClearBlue Global Water Project – Haiti. We invite you to join us in assisting this worthy project. A close friend of ours who is associated with this organization was in Haiti drilling for water during the recent devastating earthquake and helped rescue several individuals. We encourage you to find out more about ClearBlue’s work in Haiti and other parts of the world. Please visit their website to learn more. – Virginia & Ken Harris Clothesline Art Umatilla, Oregon

Most of us cannot even begin to grasp the idea of living day to day without access to clean water. Nearly all of our daily routines revolve around our immediate access to it here in the United States: bathing, brushing our teeth, cooking, cleaning, flushing the toilet… the list goes on and on. The only access most Haitians have to water is through rivers and wells that are dangerously polluted. We’d like to encourage you to visit Virginia and Ken’s Imagekind store; they have some truly amazing artwork and by purchasing it, you will help them raise money for this incredibly important cause. Thank you, Virginia and Ken, for your efforts and your commitment to our global community.

Our final blog for 2011 celebrated a remarkable artist who was inspired to bring art back into a school in her community. Her project centered around Martin Luther King’s call to all of us to serve our communities. Our hope with every blog is that you will be inspired to reach out in your own communities and carry the torch that your fellow artists keep lit each time they go beyond themselves and use their art for a greater good.

Jim Lepage ended 2011 with an incredible feat that we hope will spark a fire of change in all of you. He participated in a capital campaign called “Making Space.” The campaign was organized by Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, MN. The goal was to raise money to expand their food shelf and make building renovations that would continue to help serve as an overnight shelter for people without homes. Jim saw this as a great opportunity to become directly involved in his community – and what better way to do this than to offer 100% of proceeds from your art sales to the cause?

At the end of November, my church launched a fundraiser to help low-income and homeless folks in St. Paul, MN, where I live. At the same time, I’d been gearing up for print sales in December since that’s when the Christmas rush happens. The second I had the thought about donating my December proceeds, I knew I had to do it. Honestly, I was a little afraid it might bomb and I’d look like an idiot, but fortunately, folks seemed to get excited about it and I was able to surpass my goal. My goal was to raise $600; I raised $1000. Woodland Hill’s goal was to raise $26,000; they raised over $100,000! The whole experience was very encouraging and inspiring. – Jim LePage

Homelessness is not something we spend a lot of time thinking about as we go about our daily lives, unless we have to. If you have never experienced financial turmoil in your own life, chances are you know someone who has. The truth is, it can happen to any one of us in the blink of an eye. It is humbling to imagine how one actually becomes homeless. Incredible, heartbreaking stories exist behind each person that we walk or drive past on our streets. When we consider these stories, it makes the success of Jim’s campaign even more heartwarming.

We are proud of Jim’s success and commend him on his selfless and admirable determination to seek out ways his art can help others. We know that many of you are already using your art to make a difference in your communities and we encourage you to continue.

It is fitting that January is the month we celebrate MLK Day and watch organizations all over the country honor his memory by participating in this National Day of Service. In his reflection, Jim makes an excellent and honest statement about his fear that his project would not succeed. I think we can all agree that it is the courage to overcome that fear that makes serving our communities so rewarding. As Martin Luther King said, “Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” Happy MLK month and Happy New Year! Let this be a Year of Service for all of us!

On October 3rd, 2011, President Obama declared October as National Arts and Humanities Month. While referencing Norman Rockwell’s painting “The Problem We All Live With,” which speaks to the struggle for racial equality in our Nation, he reminded us of the impact artists have in influencing our society. The President stated, “This is the power of the arts and humanities — they speak to our condition and affirm our desire for something more and something better. Great works of literature, theater, dance, fine art and music reach us through a universal language that unites us regardless of background, gender, race or creed.”

This sentiment runs parallel to the story we have to share with you about an Imagekind Artist who succeeded in keeping this appreciation for the power of art in the lives of children. I doubt one of you is not passionate about keeping quality art programs in all of our schools. Thankfully, the passion and dedication we have for our own art can also be a contagious and influential way of achieving this goal.

Joanna Whitney is a shining example of how we can all help keep art in our schools. We hope you will enjoy her story, which we are sure will encourage each of you to reach out to local schools and explore ways that you can support art education as well. In 2002, Joanna Whitney answered an advertisement on an artist’s message board that called for an artist to create a mural that would focus on the theme “Martin Luther King’s message” at an Oakland Public Elementary School in California. As soon as Joanna learned that the school system had cut all art programs and teachers in its schools, she knew she had to act.

The Marcus A. Foster Elementary School Martin Luther King Day Mural Project Sponsored by Learning For Life

I was horrified, trying to imagine my dismal life in elementary school without art to look forward to. So I decided it was important that I join with Julie McDonald, event coordinator for Learning for Life, who funded the event. Learning for Life is a non-profit program dedicated enabling students to achieve their full potential through career exploration. Martin Luther King’s message inspired me to create an image that portrayed the idea that we can all live and grow together in the warmth and light of the Human Spirit. I saw that symbolized in a garden with a giant sun shining down upon it. Because the mission of the project was to provide a way for the school children to foster their creativity and build self-esteem, we encouraged them to draw creatures that would live together harmoniously in the garden. We wanted to allow them experience participating in a project from start to finish so that they could take pride in the beautification of their school, and thus their community. The neighborhood that surrounds this school was well-known as an economically challenged area which was infested with drugs.

On Martin Luther King Day, January 20th, in 2003, the painting officially began. All the kids got together with teachers and parents and painted the mural background. About 3 months later, the mural was complete when the words of a 5th grader were placed over it in bright white letters. The poem was written before the project was initiated. It read, ‘I have a Dream that we will see a rainbow on a rainy day full of stars with the sun shining down on our faces. I have a Dream that children all over the United States should live to see the wonderful things in life like birds, bees, and even a whale in the deep blue sea.’

Congratulations to Joanna for taking on such a challenging and important endeavor! We love our artist community! We are so encouraged by the way you all support one another in your efforts to grow and challenge yourselves and your skills. In that same spirit, we’d like to encourage you to participate in the upcoming National Creative Conversation on October 25th hosted by Americans for the Arts. The conversation is titled, “Community Engagement in the Arts” and is held from 2-3:30pm EDT. This is exactly why Imagekind for Humankind was created – to inspire all of us to become more involved in our communities. This is a perfect way to start if you haven’t yet.

You’re an artist. You make wonderful things — things you know people will love. Creativity is your strong suit. Let Wishpot teach you the nuts and bolts of communicating with your fans and followers.

• Answer questions. Watch your Facebook Fan page. Check your mentions on Twitter. Stay connected. Your fans and followers need to know someone is minding the store.
• Ask questions! The people who follow you on Twitter and like you on Facebook have sought you out because you interest them. Talk to them! Find out who they are and what they like.
• Listen. You asked the questions, now listen to the answers. Follow people who interest you. Follow news outlets. Follow businesses you like. You’ll have more fun, and it will help you keep your art and your business relevant and up-to-date.
• Be forward. Ask for Facebook likes and Twitter retweets. Do you want your fans and followers to spread the word? Tell them! A recent study shows that asking for Facebook likes boosts activity. Activity means happy fans and customers.
• Be grateful. When your followers, fans and customers like you and retweet you, thank them. Thank them verbally, and thank them with your advice, content, and exclusive deals.
• Sing in your own voice. Say what’s on your mind. Talk about what matters to you. Talk about what you love. Passion is contagious.
• Be consistent with your brand. Choose a profile picture of yourself that you love. Write a bio that is short, to the point, and sounds like you. Include a link to your website and portfolio.
• Adapt. Consistency is good. Tweet often. Blog on a consistent schedule. Post to Facebook daily. Set up a social media calendar. Wishpot can help.
• Try new things. It doesn’t hurt to try. Give the potential next big thing a chance. It could pay off, and you’ve got nothing to lose. Try using Wishpot product posts. People who love you -love your work.
• Be the expert! If you’re a photographer, give me 5 tips on photographing a sunset. If you’re a painter, show me how I should be hanging my art.

Take creating your brand and promoting your work seriously, but remember you’re allowed to enjoy it, too.

For more information or assistance with implementation, please feel free to contact Christine Saunders at christine@venpop.com.

This guest post was written by Christine Saunders.