I got a little reminder today to stop and look around once in a while….you never know what you might notice, what you might find. This morning, after I dropped my older son at school, the little one and I went out for a walk. As we rounded a turn and made our way down the last hill toward home, I saw this painting stapled to the telephone pole, and under it a sign that said Street Art For Charity – TAKE THIS PAINTING! Who am I to not do as I’m told?
Now to be quite honest, I recognized the painting, which is part of a project that my good friend actor, painter and all around renaissance man Michael Ornstein has been working on for a few weeks now. I took the painting down and turned it over.
This is Street Art for Charity
If you take this painting
please donate $25 to the Downtown Women’s Center
and let me know you did
-Michael Ornstein, Twitter @swimdeep
The painting is entitled Downtown Women’s Series #2. The Downtown Women’s Center serves homeless women in the Los Angeles Skid Row community. From their website:
The mission of the Downtown Women’s Center is to provide permanent supportive housing and a safe and healthy community fostering dignity, respect, and personal stability, and to advocate ending homelessness for women.
Founded in 1978, DWC is the only resource in Los Angeles that is exclusively dedicated to serving the unique needs of homeless and very low-income women in downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row community.
Our services include meals, personalized case management, an on-site medical clinic, health workshops and screenings, computer literacy, government benefits advocacy, support groups, job counseling, and self-expression classes.
I’ve already made my donation and am so excited about this project. Not only has Michael decorated the outdoors, breaking down the walls where paintings are traditionally hung, he has done it with altruistic intentions – fostering connections between art and community service. In a time where so many social programs are threatened by the economic crisis I am happy to do my part…and I got a nifty painting that is already framed and ready to be hung.
Thanks, Michael, for this work, and for helping me to stop – and notice the color of the sky (it was blue)!
If I didn’t stop, I would have missed this gem too, which is not Michael’s, but shared the same pole.
We should all stop and notice things once in a while.
Check streetartforcharity.com for more info!
This reminds me of when I was in Ireland. There was a local artist who did a similar promotion for a non-profit group of local artists. Always nice to see art being used to help others.
Yes – From Michael Ornstein , the artist “I look at it as a win/win/win: Original art for the taking / Make a donation and help somebody / I get to put my work out there and share it with people. So, grab a painting, put it on your wall and make a donation. It’s more important to me that that happens / That you take the painting and pay it forwards.”