JUDE HARZER FINE ART

When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.”~ Paul Coelho

A young and vital child knows no limit to his own will, and it is the only reality to him. It is not that he wants at the outset to fight other wills, but that they simply do not exist for him. Like the artist, he goes forth to the work of creation, gloriously alone.
Jane Harrison

Jude Harzer Artist/Art Educator

Jude Harzer Artist/Art Educator
My art is a reflection of my effort to recognize and embrace the beauty in the world around me, even when it seems most difficult to find. Contact me at judiharz@aol.com or visit my website at http://www.judeharzerfineart.com

Visit My Website

http://www.judeharzerfineart.com

"Most of us have two lives- the life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands resistance."Steven Pressfield

"The greatest freedoms are freedom from regret, freedom from fear, freedom from anxiety, and freedom from sorrow."
Thich Nhat Hanh

Saturday, December 20, 2008

A Christmas Message From Zimbabwe

I received this message from Janice Ashby,a friend,artist and humanitarian who has selflessly devoted her life to helping a community of papercrafters in Zimbabwe. To read about Janice and her non-profit organization, Eco-Africa,click on the following link: http://www.ecoafricasocialventures.org/home
Janice and her efforts are a wonderful reminder of the abundance that we share and the generosity and the resilience of the human spirit. Happy Christmas!

Hi everyone.
Here is a picture out of Zimbabwe which is good news for a change. The distribution to our artisans of the food that was purchased with your donations of US dollars.

This means Christmas time for Eco Africa’s artisans and their families will be not spent desperately searching for food sources.

The truck arrived at St Alois mission Wednesday morning and was quickly unloaded by teams of women ready for distribution later in the day. The smiles of relief and joy on their faces made it worth all of the efforts we, together with you our friends and supporters, went to to make it happen. Then there was the Christmas Party, our fifth at Eco Africa. Finally we all went home, tired but happy, never mind that it poured sheets of rain the whole day. It’s the rainy season!

I thought I would make this more of a Holiday Picture Show than a newsletter. I went deep into the township of Chitungwiza on Sunday and saw first hand the horrible effects of the total breakdown of services there. The huge piles of trash that line the roads uncollected, the streams of raw sewage that runs down each side of the streets and collects in fetid pools. I have graphic pictures that would horrify and sadden you – but instead I chose these. While parked outside the tiny modest cottage, home to one of our artisans, I contemplated the devastating neglect that has caused the sickness and extreme hardships in these peoples lives.

Then - a moment that brightened my day – a tribute to the resilience of children. Even in intolerable circumstances - kids will be kids!


Happy Holidays every one.
Janice

Jude, Art and Inspiration