On June 7, 2012, The Art4TheHomelessBoard of Directors and Officers met andseveral key things were discussed includ-ing the Masquerade event.

Art4TheHomeless is creating a BuzzTeam: a group of 10-20 people who willcome to our event, post pictures up onFacebook, Twitter, Instagram, GooglePlus with the key tag word#Art4TheHomeless. In return, the first10 people to sign up will get free admis-sion to our fundraising event. If youwould like to be a part of our BuzzTeam, please contact Johnna Crider orHart Deer.

The Board also wants to present musicby our Feature Musicians of the past,present, and future in a way that will pro-mote them. The Art4TH Website is un-dergoing a major change and soon therewill be a playlist, of all the musicians whohave been featured–with their permis-sions, of course. The music copyrightswill all be held by the musicians and theirrights will be protected by the fullest ex-tent of the US and International laws.

In other Art4TH News,Art4TheHomeless is establishing partner-ships with a variety of media, arts andentertainment networks to further pro-mote our cause: Homeless Awareness.We would like to announce all of our cur-rent and new partners and sponsors inthis edition. Their logos to the right are inthe same order as the list here. You canlearn more about them atwww.art4thehomeless.org

Art4TheHomeless current partners andsponsors

� May Day Atlanta� Project3Sixty� The Masquerade Atlanta� Chicago's Nancy’s Pizza in Mid-

town Atlanta� Rural Business Solutions� Elegance Boutique Atlanta� The Ultimate Louisiana Party

Tour� UCE Equal� Doing It Homeless and the No

Box Blogs Project� The Sorrow Pants Zine

In This Issue our Features are:

Homeless Relief Organizaton:The Homeless Network

Visual Arts:Shaelin JorniganMike Alsplaugh

Literary Arts:Karley BayarAsha Perera

Performing Arts:Zeffereen

Columns:Cayenne’s KitchenCreative NoiseDoing It HomelessLondinium ScragsIlluminata Scripta

Sponsors and Partners ofArt4TheHomeless

June 15, 2012

www..facebook.com/TheHomelessNetwork

The Homeless Network isn’t just one homeless relieforganization. It’s many.

Over three million (3,000,000) Americans are home-less today. Even more have to choose between foodfor the family or rent. Some live without power orwater.

The goal of The Homeless Network is to provide anonline support to people who are homeless and needhelp, about to become homeless, or is looking on in-formation on homelessness.

Homelessness is the condition and social category ofpeople who lack housing, because they cannot afford,or are otherwise unable to maintain, regular, safe, andadequate shelter. The term "homelessness" may alsoinclude people whose primary nighttime residence isin a homeless shelter, in an institution that provides atemporary residence for individuals intended to beinstitutionalized, or in a public or private place notdesigned for use as a regular sleeping accommodationfor human beings.

The Homeless Network is set up as a Facebook Fanpage where you can like, the link, post on the wallwhether you need help or post resources.

It’s set up to be a huge online network resource forhomeless advocates, homeless people, homeless relieforganizations, and people who simply want to re-search homelessness.

Also, it is linked with a Twitter page that automati-cally posts to Twitter when a post is posted up toThe Homeless Network.

The idea came from a homeless person in Atlantawho wanted to have online access to a multitude ofhomeless relief organization in one spot.

Who is homeless?

Anyone can be homeless. Homelessness does notdiscriminate. There are many causes such as loss ofjobs, lack of housing, or simply choosing to behomeless. For those who don't want to be homeless,but have no other option, there is help out there.

The Homeless Network is a branch ofArt4TheHomeless that puts as many homelessresources we can find together in one spot on theweb. The Homeless Network is an on going andgrowing list of homeless resources.

To access The Homeless Network see the link be-low.

New Mexican artist ShaelinJornigan loved art ever sinceshe was a baby. While othersplayed dress up or chase,Shaelin contented herselfwith a box of watercolors anda paint brush. Finding herfooting in 2008, she had herfirst entry into an art contest,and never looked back. Sincethen, Jornigan has managedto win over 15 awards in theMetro Youth Art Exhibit and

the Focus on Youth Photography exhibit, includingfour first place wins and four merit awards. Additional-ly, she has been featured in local and school newspa-pers, as well as being honored on a local commercial.

Through contrast, color, and line, Shaelin creates herown style of portraiture. Designs are created in a vari-ety of medium, and add a twist to the classic tech-niques of surrealism and impressionism. This results inbright, eye-catching artwork that is as eclectic as it isunique.

perfectyardsale.weebly.com

Shaelin JorniganShaelin Jornigan

Mike Alspaugh is an Ohionative living in Atlanta, GA.He illustrates for children’sbooks and also paints por-traits. He studied at the ArtInstitute of Atlanta

http://mik777.webs.com

The Problem is…

The problem is that I think it’s obvious, butyou don’t see it at all.

The problem is that I get your hints, but Iknow better than to reply.

The problem is that I don’t think it’s fair foryou to expect me to go to bed early becauseyou want to take some Nyquil.

The problem is that you don’t care what Iwant.

The problem is that I am outgrowing you.

Another dinner done. Another work day ac-counted for, and relayed. Another five-minutedinner stretched into 20 minutes while I goabout my business.

I understand that you think you are getting acold, but life goes on. You can take some Ny-quil and still function, if you want to. Youjust don’t want to. You want to pack me intomy bed at 8pm and not deal with me for thenext eleven hours.

I would say “I’m sorry, but…” except that Iam not sorry. I simply do not wish to cut myevening short for you. Maybe this is heartlessand mean, but I have been called those thingsby you already and I am trying to strip themof their meaning.

I don’t think you know the meaning of“mean.” I can’t give you mean. I can’t giveyou truth, or openness. I can’t speak frankwith you or tell you what’s going on with me.You will just turn it around, so that you aresomehow the victim.

There’s no victim in this story.

We both want different things. You wantthings to stay the same and I would rather diethan see things remain this way.

I have tried numbing myself down for you,but instead I have come to life. I don’t wantto be numb and bored. I don’t want to spendthe rest of my life in this house because I amyour so-called best friend.

We’re not close enough to be best friends.Sometimes I don’t feel like I am close enoughto you to be your firstborn. Sometimes it’s likeyou’re my nurse, and you can’t wait to get thetask over with so you can leave. We can’t standto be near each other.

I will risk these needles and fiber optics and sur-gical equipment. I will court death with the holein my heart and the complications that couldoccur on the table. I will jump off this cliff, andif you will not be there to catch me, I will stilljump. I am too young to give up. I am notafraid of death. I am afraid that I have neverlived and that you will keep me from doing so,if you had your way.

We cannot discuss this at the dinner table. Wecannot discuss this in the waiting rooms or thedoctor’s office. I know you will take everythingthe wrong way. I know that you would ratherpace and eye your watch, because you want toget your van in the shop. I know that your vanis more important than my potentially lifechanging event. I know that, when we had thataccident, you never came to check on me.

I am not the victim. I will not be the victim any-more. I am strong. I can handle it. I can deal. Ifnot, I know who I can count on and who I can-not.

The problem is, Mother, dear, I cannot counton you.

The problem is that I have learned this lessonthe hard way.

Karley Bayer, is thecreator/mother of theFilth zine. A quarterly20+ full sized black andwhite zine featuringshort stories, poetry,rants, interviews, pho-tos, art and whatevercatches our fancy.Stitched binding, fulllength exclusive mix,buttons, stickers, sur-prises! Find us at:www.wix.com/the_filth/zine buy it athttp://www.etsy.com/shop/thefilthzine?ref=si_shop submit at:thefilthsubmissions@gmail.com

Literary

Alone.

by Asha Perera

Alone or lonely? Two words with differentmeanings alone is to be by yourself or makeit alone and lonely is the lack of others inyour life. We may have all been there or arealready there in our lives. But what definesone from the other is the way you feel inside,you can be a surrounded by a crowd & stillfeel lonely. Or you may feel a certain peacein your aloneness. But people fear both thesesituations, they really fear these two morethan death itself. This would explain whypeople resort to unhealthy relationships; im-merse them selves in work or even other un-healthy distractions, just so that they couldfill that inner void. Is it really necessary tofeel fear? We’re born alone & we die alone, ifso why fear the in-between space so much tobe alone? Why do we fill it with things, peo-ple & situations, but never find gratification?Has it ever crossed our minds that the voidwe try to fill is really a lack of self love of be-ing comfortable with one’s self that you lookaround to fill it with meaningless conversa-tions & situations. This is what leads peopleto find partners they’re not compatible withor other situations which bring misery tothem.

You don’t have to be afraid to be alone any-more nor feel lonely anymore it’s just a stateof mind created by lifetimes of negative con-ditioning, to fear this. To indulge in thingswhich are harmful to self & others just so tofill the emptiness really doesn’t serve anypurpose. It only highlights the misery evenmore. As humans I feel we need to find the

purpose we came here for & not justgo around filling a void between life &death with meaningless pursuits. Butaspire to do things with meaning forself & others.

As for me I’ve found the most blissfulstates of joy when I’ve been alone.And felt so terribly lonely surroundedby crowds of chattering people, somuch so that I’ve wished for morepeace & quietness in my life more of-ten, that’s my perspective. And every-one’s entitled to their own opinion. Mypersonal belief is that in life, things ofbeauty & meaning were never createdin a crowd it’s always in stillness thatyour mind has a chance to connectwith the divine. Fear not your alone-ness for it is really not so, if you havefound yourself having achieved yourgoals & aspirations alone there reallyis nothing to fret about is there? As forloneliness that too has a way of beingconquered when you’re at peace withyour self, for when you gain innerpeace you naturally overcome loneli-ness. When peace arrives lonelinessfleas out the window just as in dark-ness when there’s light. Wishing youall a wonder filled week of bliss. Loveyou.

Literary

ZEFFeREEN is a musicianwho works for a living buthas to create music in orderto stay alive. He’s won sev-eral awards including BestSinger for Walking With Je-sus in 1972, Best WesternMusic Vocalist at MadrasChristian College (India),and many more.

He’s sang with a few promi-nent rock bands in India,composed God Bless UAE(United Arab Emirates) forthe UAE’s 40th NationalDay, and the song led tomany television and radiointerviews.

In 2011, He lanched his of-ficial music career with thelease of the self titled debutalbum, ZEFFeREEN.

I encourage you to take alisten to his beautiful musicat

www.zeffereen.com

PerformingArts

Ingredients you will need

� 1 ½ cups light brown sugar� 2/3 cups half & half� 1/8 tsp. of salt� 2 T of melted oleo� 1 ½ cups of pecans

Directions

Combine sugar, half & half & salt in glass dish.

Add oleo.

Microwave on high 7-10 minutes stirring once.

Stir in pecans. Cool for 1 minute.

Time this! Beat by hand by until creamy and thickened about 4 ½ to 5 minutes.

Drop onto wax paper

Microwave Pecan Pralines

Creative NoiseBy Mary Clare Riverahttp://www.facebook.com/MaryClaireStudios

In the beginning of MayI threw down some ex-periments on canvas in-stead of in my safesketchbook. The God-dess Withinwas the resultof a few walks in nature,and a combination of adesire to add more depthand texture to my tech-nique while expressing apeaceful state of accep-tance of self, life, and

circumstances beyond our control.

The Goddess WithinNature’s beautyEncircles me.My innermost, mutedColors are freed.Languished flowers I recall,Late-blooming and plantedalong the garden wall,and long-lived leavesuplifted by a breeze.Rising and falling,surrounding mein a museful dance.Wisdom and spirit areguiding and calling,Their echoes stirring,as they advance.reminding me to embracemy sacred self and releasethe goddess within.

My daughter and I had our first 'day of beauty' asshe called it; a few months ago. We had our hairdone and a mani/pedi. This is an extravagantevent for me, much less my 5 year old, and willprobably happen once a year if we're lucky.

Although I enjoyed this special girl time together,I have never been thrilled with the acts of beauti-fication on my own. It really is agonizing for meto sit and get my hair and nails done but I have agreat hairdresser who makes it worth it (thankyou Mike!). The nails usually get destroyed withpaint the next day, ripped off in a week.

I think for me, personally, I have come to therealization that these things matter less and less tome as I get older. Not that I want to let myselfgo...I just wholeheartedly believe and want toteach my daughter that true beauty comes fromwithin. When we love and accept ourselves in allour imperfections, we are releasing the silly soci-etal ideals and pressures we place on ourselves tobe perfect and 'beautiful'.

We are much better-equipped to handle things, Ibelieve, without worrying about our appearancesor how we 'look'. I am careful about what I sayabout myself and my body in front of her, andfocus on activitiesand interests,some of her own,and ones that wecan enjoy togeth-er.

Your Creativity Muse

I’m bringing this up because I want my homeless friendsand those who are unemployed to realize you can stillmake progress and obtain food, shelter,clothes, almostanything, just by offering your services. Are you good atsewing? Are you a mechanic? What about a tuto Awedding planner? A personal trainer? There’s literally norestrictions here, if you have a service to offer, you canfind a clientele. I’ve mentioned before the clients I’veobtained even without my barter club connections –alawyer, a dentist, a hair salon, a tanning salon and achiropractor. Because I offered something I have orsomething I can create, I got legal advice on creating myLLC, got my teeth cleaned and whitened, got 10haircuts, got 6 months of tanning and I am STILLseeing my chiropractor!

Word of mouth is a gold mine for small businesses, soget the word out about your services and get a clientelegoing. Use CraigsList, use MoochList, use Facebook,Twitter, YouTube, get out there and learn how you cansurvive pretty well while spending little to no money atall, and at the same time, earning money or food orshelter, and learning how to create a business all at thesame time.

If you have any questions at all, hit up Mooch!

Doing It HomelessDoing It HomelessMooch@art4thehomeless.org

I spoke with my mother last night for the first time inmonths. It was my first night off in 3 months, and myoffice was closing down at 9pm, so I had a few hours torelax before heading to the gym for my usual shower,shampoo and shine routine. And while the phone wasringing, a light green praying mantis was just chillen,walking up my windshield, scaring the crap out of me!

During our conversation I told my mom how I was do-ing, adding the usual, “I’m ok mom, everything is goingwell. I got a raise, still working everyday, still never beenhappier…”. I also mentioned how I’ve been finally sav-ing my money and putting it into the Mooch Mobile;getting a new gas tank, new seatbelt, tune-ups, oilchange, radiator etc. She takes care of me so I will nodoubt take care of her. But what’s great about my me-chanic, even though he is an hour away from me, is thathe is in my barter group. This means I only pay him forparts in cash, and the labor I pay him in barter bucks.Barter bucks is the same as cash, with the same value ascash, only you can use it strictly with members of notonly your barter group, but 1000s of others internation-ally. In short, you’re trading a service for a service. That’swhat barter is. People have been doing this for centuries.

What do I barter? Since my expertise is in web, graphicand print design and development, I can offer anythingfrom websites to logos, to graphic design, even printproducts such as business cards, brochures and flyers.Over the past few months, I’ve accumulated over $2000in barter bucks, and I’ve only spent about $600 of it onmy mechanic after 4 trips to the shop. I saved $600 incash because of barter – awesome!

Homeless People Can Barter Too!By Mooch Doing It Homeless

Londinium Scragsby Londinium Scrags Art4TH's UK correspondentLondinium.scrags@art4thehomeless.org

No.It.U.Lover a.k.a. E.R. My Arse

Karen Barnes is a strange crea-ture. She's had a dream sinceshe was 20 (around 15yearsago) and at Goldsmiths ArtCollege in Londons deepestsouth, Deptford where thepunk/art/music scene has al-ways been at its best. She cur-rently lives in a truck calledEileen at a yard at the back ofthe pub where she works, one

of Londons last great small DIY gig pubs.

I met her a few years ago when the 1st WorldHomeless Day happened, and we decided to try &mutually get it together as we are pretty similar inideas and doings.. She was hosting a Ten Days ofPeace at the 303 squat in Camberwell, which hadpreviously been a stationers. I went along to find thelarge squat space transformed into an art� gallerywith a large stage for bands and proper lighting, doneby Londons' punk underground sound system outfitReknaw.

I went along to a few gigs & things there.. always in-teresting & thought provoking pieces of art - taste-fully done, nicely hung & always with an urgentmessage behind it that you never get out your headagain. Some one is in trouble. Some one has beendone over by the system. Some one needs you! Andit ain't your country! Karen lives on a slightly differ-ent realm to most others & expresses it well.

Everything she does is rubbish! And it's wonderful!She has collected and hoarded rubbish off the streetssince her teenage years (over two decades of trash!)

This then gets recycled as do her ideas, her life &thoughts which she then artfully throws back in your faceto make the statement: E.R. My Arse!

Once a year you'll find her standing on a little tin trunkbanging her drum, outside the Houses of Parliament,where they keep insisting on passing illegal laws, encour-aging people to tell those Lords and Ladies of a tired oldstuffy regime what we think of them, & the few bravepeople who can be arsed go & meet up to bare their arsesat those bastards & Moon For Peace. Karen always getsapproval from the local bobbies at Scotland Yard for herevents at The Old Palace Yard.

There's the parties & the private viewings. Always opento the public.. Come & see, feel free ~ always a warmthfrom Karen that's seductively inviting. I interviewed herjust a few days ago, she was dog tired & rambled on a bit,but it was riveting, fun, emotional & again so entertaining& thought provoking to be in her company. She's invitedme over for a roast lunch in the pub on Sunday to findout what she's up to next after the Jubilee (what Jubilee Iasked her?) a few weeks ago... Stay tuned because this isonly the start of Karen Barnes Revol.U.Ti.On.

Find Karen Here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/ERmy-arse-Enough-Is-Enough-Everything-Must-Go/128911660471649

Next Month: Spray Paint!

ne day , about a couple ofyears ago, I came across aninteresting stone. A friend saidit literally healed his hand. Thestone is called Moldavite. So Iwent in search for it. It wasn’ta long search. I went to anawesome gem shoppe called

Crystal Blue and they had plenty in stock.

Not knowing much about this stone, the guy gave me one tohold. He said, “ hold it for a minute and you should feel it,”and I had no idea what he meant. I held it for about five min-utes and he was perplexed. So, he grabbed all of the Molda-vites he had in the case–about 15–20 of them and put them inmy left hand. I held them for 10 minutes then BAM!

I was literally electrically charged. The energy was so hot andso intense that I could and did zapped people when I touchedthem. That energy lasted on me for two weeks.

Naturally, I had to have one. Being very rare, they usually runup to $10 or more per gram. So I saved up the money andbought one. I spent almost $100 but it was well worth it. Thiswas before I started wire wrapping jewelry. My mentor, Daryl,wrapped my piece of Moldavite in Sterling for no charge. Itwas a gift. He also gave me a rose quartz and said that it is thebest stone to keep my grounded.

That day changed my life forever. It was the wrapped Molda-vite I studied as I learned to wrap stones. It was Daryl whogave me instructions. And it was that stone, that opened myeyes to the real power of gemstones. Yes, people, it’s true.Each gem stone has power. Some people are sensitive. Someare not. I was closed until I held those Moldavites. What is a

Moldavite? Well, some would say it’s the HolyGrail. Others would say it was the first stoneto fall out of Lucifer’s crown. Legends point toboth.

Over 20 million years ago, there was a meteor-ite shower, and this rare, bottle-green crystalwas the result. They are among the most rareminerals on earth, rarer than diamonds, emer-alds, or rubies, and prized by humans for thou-sands of years. According to one historical

facts, the clear, deep green stone in the Holy Grail wasMoldavite. And anyone that touches the "Grail Stone" willhave a spiritual transformation.Moldavite is also the only gem grade tektite in the world.At first glance, it’s dark green almost black. When youhold it up to the light, it literally changes to a pale or olivegreen. Could it be the Holy Grail?

Of the many versions of the Grail legend, themost mysterious is that espoused by Wolframvon Eschenbach where the grail is not theCeltic cauldron of plenty or the cup of theChrist but a green gemstone, that fell fromthe sky out of Lucifer’s Crown. Moldavite isthe only cosmic gemstone ever found andthus deepens the mystique surrounding it as

the probable grail stone. It’s color is also several shades ofgreen.

Some of the effects that people get when encountering aMoldavite are:

� Flushing� Buzzing feeling� Dizziness� Heat or warming sensation.

In fact, there is a term called the Moldavite Flush. I’ve letseveral friends hold my piece and one, who is black–notjust her race but she’s really dark–she went from darkskinned to red skinned and freaked out at the energy com-ing from the stone. I’ve also felt the pull when a stone Ipossess calls to another person. When Moldavite doesit–it’s really intense. It happened on a night when it was 20degrees out. We had to open my apartment door and turnoff the heat. It got that hot when I gave the stone to her–it was one I wrapped.

I encourage you to learn about Moldavite and if you havehad any experiences, let me know!

Illuminata ScriptaIlluminata Scripta

By Johnna Crider JohnnaCrider@art4thehomeless.org

I have found the Holy Grail!!

© 2011 Johnna Crider

Copyright information:

Art4TheHomeless Webzine holds copyright privileges, claims,or rights regarding the artworks presented. Each artists, literary art-ists, columnists, guest columnists and performing artists works pre-sented retain their copyrights and their copyrights are protected tothe fullest extent of the law. Please, enjoy the artworks, and do notsteal or plagiarize.

Sincerely,

The Art4TheHomeless Publishing Team..

To have your work featured in the Art4TH Webzine, go towww.art4thehomeless.org and click on Art4TH Webzine to see theSubmission Guidelines.