How this all began...

To me, this story doesn't really seem all that interesting... People need a tangible reason for everything, but the answers sometimes don't even matter. I call that the 'why of the why'. Everything major in my life has started with a dream. A little over a year ago, I had a dream and that dream led me to an art supply store. I have never studied painting or ever had the desire to do so, and yet I found myself walking into Blick and buying oil paints and canvases and brushes. I went downstairs and bought the most amazing metallic pigments. I had no idea what I was doing. I sheepishly walked up to a sales person and asked if I could mix the acrylics with the oils because they each had 'pretty colors' and they weren't the same. The sales person looked at me like I had two heads and walked away mumbling "oil and water idiot, don't mix"... I felt like a total goofball. Of course oil and water don't mix. I stood there shaking my head and a little old lady who had been watching the interaction was so kind to me. She was in a painting club and shopping for brushes. I felt so humbled as she led me around that store for over an hour and I will never forget her kindness. Thank you kind stranger. When I got home and set up my canvas and placed that first stroke of blue on all of that white, I felt like I fell into an alternate reality or a trance. The next time I looked at the time, two hours had passed and I was an artist! I still have that first painting on my bedroom wall. I will never live in a home without that. I started volunteering at Housing Works as a tribute to my sister's best friend Gary. He died over ten years ago of AIDS, and he is a huge part of the reason I started modeling in the first place. He taught me about beauty and grace and love of self and mascara!!! He had the most alive laughter that made me feel like I was in the midst of a thousand wind chimes and his eyes sparkled with mischief! He said the funniest phrases that I called Garyisms and he made me laugh until my stomach ached. We would be at the mall shopping and he would see a beautiful dress and look at the price tag and screech "Girl...this dress is as high as giraffe pussy"! I would literally giggle from embarrassment until I had tears rolling down my face. He knew how to live!! We would stay up late with my sister and he would put our hair in rollers and we would play poker until 3am. We called that our 'Cafe' time. His death, to all who knew him, was a huge loss of a light that shined so brightly in all of our lives that for quite some time... the world seemed to have grown dim in an instant. I dedicate this to Gary. We are publishing a beautiful book for the event and we will have a facebook page up and running later today. I encourage everyone to watch the teaser because we are making a film short which will have the same feel and premiere it an hour before the event. Victoria Silvera is our filmmaker and she is one of the most beautiful women that I have ever met. Her compassion and kindness are only slightly eclipsed by her talent and that is saying so much!!!!! Ano Okera is one of my best friends and has been a major contributor to me since I first had this little idea to give back to my favorite cause. He is my angel and is so deeply rooted in my heart that I call him Brother. He is my family and my champion and a talented force that never ceases to amaze me! We are starting a revolution of heart, mindset, community, charity, and artistry! We want to create socially conscious projects in the entertainment industry which move people and change their humanity for the better. I had a little dream which turned into a larger dream which turned into a new thought process which turned into my personal revolution and I am forever changed. I want to give that experience to you...