Cherie's Progress

Cherie and I at her home in a few weeks ago in September

For those of you who have been following my childhood friend Cherie's Progress since her paralyzing auto accident on 9/30/10 (four years ago this month) I have some news.

First of all, she remains to have a positive attitude. She's been having in-home therapy through the VNA association ever since she came home from Shepherd Center for Spinal Cord & Brain Injury Rehabilitation. The VNA feels as though they have brought her as far as they can, so they helped her make a video and fill out the application to attend Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville, FL for a four week program of multi-disciplined intensive therapy.

If you want to make a tax deductible donation to Cherie so that she may continue to fund her progress, please visit her HelpHOPELive website for more information.

When Cherie first came home from Shepherd Center in Atlanta, GA to Vero Beach, FL, I reached out to my artist friends and asked them to make and send her cards of encouragement, to help keep her spirits up. Cherie has told me over and OVER again how much those cards meant to her, how much the kind words of strangers meant to her.

I'd like to ask you again if you would send a word of encouragement to a stranger to you, but a dear lifelong friend to me. Cherie's mother was an artist, she worked in soft pastel and was the first person to ever take me to an art museum.

Email me for the snail mailing address for notes and cards for Cherie.

Thank You
for being a part
of my Art Journey,
Elizabeth

Cherie's Progress

Cherie and I in October at her home in Vero Beach

A quick note to tell you that Cherie is doing well in South FL and staying warm (note the wrap and at the fancy matching jewelry that I picked out this morning I stayed over to see her in October). 

For those of you who do not know Cherie's story, read about her journey and battle with spinal cord injury here:

http://elizabethsthilairenelson.blogspot.com/search?q=Cherie%27s+progress

Currently her PT and OT therapists are busy filming her standing up in the standing frame and filling out forms to apply for her to return to Shepherd Center for Spinal Cord Rehab in Atlanta where she could gain more training and therapy.

Cherie spent some time there after getting out of intensive care in Florida, but now that she has gained a bit more strength and movement, we are hoping that she is a candidate for even more therapy. 

Keep her in your thoughts and in your heart that she will soon be on the road to Atlanta. She will have to buy a new handicapped van in order to get there, her current one is old and won't make the trip. 

We love you Cherie!! Well wishers can email her or mail her notes and cards of encouragement, which she absolutely LOVES! Cherie's mother was a fine artist who gave me some of my first exposure to museums and art when she and I were just kids. I've know Cherie all my life. 

If you want to send Cherie and art card or words of encouragement, email me for more info:

ejnelson@mac.com

Thank You for being a part of my Art Journey,
Elizabeth

The Gallery recently moved into a new space

Many thanks to the Art Gallery of Viera for inviting me to judge this years annual juried exhibit. Yesterday morning I hit the highway around 8:30 am out of Orlando and headed South on 95 down the coast of FL about an hour until I arrived in Viera. It was really nice to see Susan, Helen, and Jerry again. 

Art Gallery of Viera hosted a Paper Paintings workshop about two years ago, it was a very well attended class and we had an excellent weekend. Ironically, Amanda from that class popped up in my Houston class again this year! You just never know...

The new gallery space is stunning, as is the plaza in which they are located

Jerry told me that this year they turned away 35 pieces and kept 48, much higher numbers than they had in last year's show, and the quality of the work represented this. 

I took my time looking at every piece individually and making notes on my favorites in no particular order. I revisited my favorites and intently considered what it was that I liked about each and every one of them, it's a very difficult decision to narrow things down.

some examples of the work in the show

As a juror and a viewer, it is impossible to disregard the personal experience and preference that you bring with you to a piece of art. I am someone who appreciates unique technique and bright colors, as a result, work of this genre is most interesting and appealing to me. I was drawn to the liberal use of color in some of the landscapes as well as the creativity of technique in some of the photos and mixed media pieces. Making art is much about honoring creativity, conceptual thinking, and technique; some of the most creative pieces in this show were the ones that pushed their medium and execution way outside of the typical “box.” 

Check out The Gallery online if you are in the area and are interested in showing your work or taking a class, this is a great group of people. 

I know who won, but I can't say anything! Winners will be announced on Sunday, stay tuned and in the mean time, visit the Gallery on Facebook.

After a nice lunch with Susan, I hit the road another hour South to visit Cherie in Vero Beach. Only to witness her in a STANDING FRAME upright and vertical. She's doing amazingly well and in her new room (she moved to a bigger house!) are framed Art Cards from her days in the spinal cord rehab center. For all of you who sent notes and cards, she still talks about how much it meant to her.

Cherie and I posing for the camera, pulled out all the family jewels this morning!

Learn more about Cherie's Story Here

Thank You
for being a part of my
Art Journey

Cherie's Progress

Cherie, up and supporting much of her own weight, with the PT

It's been a while since I did a post on Cherie. I've been visiting her pretty regularly in Vero Beach and she's been making a lot of progress! She's working really hard with all of her weekly therapies and her dedication shows! 

Cherie has started her own amazing blog that tells her story of the accident and the following days, weeks, months of her life. She's an AMAZING writer and she has an incredible story to tell. If you ever wanted to be thankful for being able to scratch your nose, or if you ever felt down on yourself, Cherie's story will make you sit up and take notice of all you have to appreciate in life. 

She sent out this update today, things are looking amazingly positive:

Hello All, 

Just a quickie here… I am gaining so much, so fast that we have actually had to start keeping a journal wherein we write progress incidents almost daily. With the use of the standing frame every week I seem to improve all the more rapidly. Not only am I gaining in muscle tone in my legs but I am also gaining sensation off and on. My level of injury dictates initially, paralysis from the shoulders down. Obviously this isn't true any longer. But the interesting thing is that true sensation does seem to follow the path of the injury from the top down. So now I am feeling hot water, texture from bath towels and more touch specifically along my upper back and upper chest. My cold receptors turned on first which of course is ridiculously uncomfortable when you know it's 80° outside! Now I am getting more warm receptors and hopefully one day my thermostat will level out!

Anyway long and short of it, too much to say and try and condense an update. My hope is that I can transfer from the updates to the blog. I will catch my blog up to present day. And anyone who wishes to keep tabs can sign up to receive updates via e-mail. I have just posted page 7 of my blog. Anyone can comment, anyone can read. I want to be able to help people with the things I share. And just a word of caution if it hasn't already been obvious, I'm not going to sugarcoat what's difficult. On the other hand I am not going to allow the painful parts to dampen or suppress "me" my spirit or my forward motion.

Love you guys, for everything every one of you has contributed past present or ever after. There's a saying "It Takes a Village". Perhaps in some existential way, you are my village! Big hugs!

Cherie

http://castannard.blogspot.com/

Cherie's Progress

With Love From Cherie



Cherie has wanted to create this video for quite some time. On my most recent visit last week we just bit the bullet and ignored all the reasons we had not to done it in the past... "my hair is a mess" "I'm tired" "I don't like this shirt" "Let's just do it next time"

So here it is! For ALL of the artists and wonderful people who reached out to Cherie when she was in ICU for over six weeks at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center and when she was at the Shepherd Center for Spinal Cord Rehab over Christmas. She totally appreciated all of the hand made art and cards that were sent her way to cheer her up EVERY day. When I visited, the mail would come EVERY day, by the bag full. It was an incredible outpouring of support for my best friend. I should make a thank you video too. Cherie says it best, she was always the level headed one of the two of us, I'd probably just start to cry.

Random Cards of Kindness

Cherie at Shepherd Center

And yes, the title of all these posts has been Cherie's Progress (you can search this in the top left corner of this blog to learn more about her amazing journey) so I must tell you that I was lucky enough to sit in on a therapy session at home with her and she's really doing great!

Cherie supporting her own weight on her elbow

Cherie supporting her own weight sitting up for brief moments

She continues to have an amazingly positive attitude and an incredible spirit. Just incredible. Her sister Sue is still caring for Cherie at home. Sue just recently sold her car and they were able to obtain a wheelchair adapted van. 

Here we are after 37 years of friendship!

Best friends! In our youth on Martha's Vineyard

Her physical therapy has been in the home since the hospital where she was going closed down the spinal cord rehab facility. Cherie now has a website where you can give a tax deductible donation. 

We watched President Obama raise amazing amounts of campaign funds with $5 donations. If you can, please consider donating to someone who's fighting every day to keep positive and make progress, one baby step at a time. Someone who has faith and pushes forward despite amazing odds. Someone who I have admired since I was seven years old. Someone who truly deserves a fighting chance. 

thank you!!

Cherie Stannard Spinal Cord Injury Fund

Personal Victories - Finding the Glass Half Full

A Glass Half Full with an amazing view of the harbour in Bermuda

Amelia Island Triathlon Weekend

As many of you who follow this blog know, second only to art – and maybe fashion – athleticism is very near and dear to my healthy heart and part of my everyday routine. 

Yesterday was my last race of the season, supposed to be anyway. I had wanted to go out with a bang, end on a high note. After all, that's what we all aim for right? 

You Gotta Start Somewhere

I had registered to compete in the Olympic distance of the Ameliaman Triathlon which took place on beautiful Amelia Island, FL which coincidentally is where I gave my very first Paper Paintings collage workshop EVER! I went on to teach my class there for three years in a row. The first year was pretty amazing because learning how to teach others what you already know can be a little confusing.

When I agreed to teach workshops, it was kind of like when I agreed to compete in my very FIRST triathlon with my sister at 40 years old. I had NO idea what I was getting myself into, but I decided that the best way to be a rounded person in art and in life, was to branch out and try new things. You can't grow if you don't branch out once in a while. 

The Amelia Island workshop, my first class ever

Believe in Yourself

Now that I am a seasoned triathlete, (and workshop instructor) having moved up from Sprint distances to Olympic, my daily routine consists of swim/bike/ run or some combination of two. I love to inspire my workshop students to get up off the couch and get moving! There's nothing that makes you feel better about yourself than being in shape and making some YOU TIME to fit exercise into the routine. I have so many students who dust off their sneakers and register for a 5K walk or run! I love to inspire people to get motivated, in art and in fitness. 

Have you gotten any exercise yet today?

I headed up to Amelia Island on Saturday afternoon. Racked my bike and picked up my race packet. I could hear the waves pounding but didn't think much of it, it's the ocean after all. Before heading to my hotel I walked down to the beach, it's so beautiful I wanted to have a look. Once down there I met a Half Iron Man competitor who told me that he had heard they were going to call off the swim. "Look at it out there!" he said "Do you REALLY want to swim in that?"

The surf was looking pretty rough on Saturday afternoon

Some of the locals told me there had been small craft advisories in the water for a week. Come to find out, there were "life threatening rip currents" and six foot waves. Yikes. 

I checked into my hotel and headed over to the Athletes Pasta Dinner and Pre Race Meeting where we were all disappointed to find out that they were calling off the swim. 

As much as I HATE SHARKS and was dreading the open ocean swim, I likened the swim being cancelled to using scissors to cut my collage papers or adding paint on top! (OMG NEVER) it was kind of like a cheat to have a Triathlon with the swim portion ripped (cut?) out. But..."no Half Iron Man, I don't really want to swim in that!"

So I ate my pasta and went to bed early and figured I'd kick some serious butt in the bike/run, especially without the dreaded transition time of trying to get out of a wetsuit and onto a bike. All my Facebook friends and my family encouraged me and cheered me on and made me feel confident. 

My bike on the rack and ready to go Saturday afternoon

Preparation is Key

I had gone into this race NOT feeling so confident. I told my son earlier in the week that I was feeling kind of like I could have been better prepared, could have worked harder, pushed more. 

Ever feel like this about your art? Often times before a show or a competition I start to doubt my work and think the very same thing, "could I have done more work, better work, been better prepared?"

I think we all suffer from some self doubt now and then, I know that sometimes I look at my own artwork and say "Is it good enough?" The key is to BELIEVE in yourself. Have CONFIDENCE that

you can do it. You know half the battle is in your own head. 

Transition area on Sunday morning

Giving it Your Best Shot

All you can do is your best. Your best artwork, your best attempt at teaching a class, your best effort. You should be able to rest assured knowing that you gave it your all. I did not do a lot of resting or sleeping on Saturday night, but that's a normal pre-race scenario and everyone will tell you so. 

Yours Truly very early in the morning, just before the downpour

Personal Victories

So here comes the best part. I hope you had the attention span to make it to the end of this post. On Sunday morning the rain was POURING DOWN in Amelia Island. The athletes were all huddled under any shelter we could find to protect us from the downpour. I huddled under a very small overhang from the roof of the restroom building on the beach. Standing next to me was a man I had met the day before who drove all the way from Pensacola. "I switched out of the Half Iron Man to the Olympic" he said "I just could not imagine biking 54 miles in this rain." I had to agree with him, but I was not sure I was willing to bike ANY miles in this rain. The start was delayed, delayed, delayed as the rain kept on pouring down. At one point I even though about going home. And anyone who knows me, knows it takes a LOT for me to give up. 

I have been promoting my artwork and pushing to make a living from fine art for several years. I never give up even when the going got rough. (My Dad loves that saying) I pushed harder and stronger when sales were down and galleries were closing. When workshops were cancelled due to poor attendance, I pushed to promote the next one on the schedule. You have to have drive and dedication to be a fine artist. You can't let it get you down when things don't go your way, and you CAN NOT take critique of your art personal in any way. If you don't get juried in to this show, submit again!

Finally the rain let up, but there were puddles everywhere and the course was slick. They told us there were at least five roundabouts (in MASS we call them "rotaries:") and we were advised to get out of our "drops" (aero bars) and hold on to our brakes as we rounded them.

Without the swim, they had to stagger start the bikes in a time trail manner, letting one bike go every five seconds. I shot out of the gate and never looked back, I had my bike up to 20/21MPH in no time and I was flying through the puddles. I was feeling good, pushing hard and was pretty darn proud of the fact that I was able to keep a good average pace without struggling. 

Well about 11.5 miles in it happened, I heard a noise that sounded oh so familiar coming from my back tire. My BACK tire, the worst wheel to have to remove off the bike. A flat tire. A flat tire. That's it, you're done. You can get off and change it and get back on, but your time is shot. Totally. 

There is a LOT of grease on the back wheel of a bike. 

I Did It!

Some folks will DNA (did not finish) with a flat tire in an Olympic race because you can no longer be competitive when you factor in the time it takes you to change a flat. But the idea of not finishing what I started did not ever occur to me. And guess what? I have NEVER successfully changed a flat tire on my own! I have always reverted to the help of my husband or the bike shop. I have tried, and failed. I even spent over an hour with the bike shop guys teaching me how to do it! In the end it was THAT training that helped me to successfully change this tire on the side of the sandy, wet road in Amelia Island. I DID IT!

Can you imagine just giving up because you didn't get your art juried in to the show(s) you submitted to? Do you know that I submitted every month for a YEAR and was turned down every time for a YEAR before ever being accepted to the Orlando Museum of Art First Thursday Show? I was, and it was discouraging to say the least. But I never gave up. And in the end, they accepted me over and over and asked me to be a featured artist in the Museum Shop Gallery. 

I got back on the bike, got back up to 20/21 MPH (or faster) and powered through the second half of my 26 mile ride. I felt good about myself for remaining positive and changing that tire. I felt good about the speed I was maintaining regardless of the fact that now my computer was not working either, and I was out of the competition anyway (what ELSE could go wrong, I was afraid to ask). I also started to feel really good about the upcoming 6 mile run. I started feeling very confident and ready to rock-n-roll. 

I dismounted the bike, changed my shoes, put on a visor,  and headed out of transition. As I made the turn into Fort Clinch State Park for the fully shaded and most beautiful run course, I started running, and thinking....

I finished strong passing folks younger than me and even some men on the run!

How Lucky Am I?

I mean really, how lucky am I that I am physically ABLE to do this in the first place? I started thinking about my childhood friend who was paralyzed from the neck down two years ago. Cherie. How she would love to be able to even walk, let alone accomplish what I was doing today, competitive or not.

How awesome was it that I actually changed that tire, for the first time? and it worked! 

How lucky am I to be able to make my living as an artist and a graphic designer, working for myself and doing what I love? 

How incredible is it that I am able to teach classes and travel to new places and meet new artists all over the country? the very BEST part about teaching art workshops is all the wonderful people I get to meet, hands down. I even meet wonderful people at races, huddled under the overhang, concerned at the beach, and comparing pre-race notes with the 27-year old "kid" who's bike was racked next to mine. He was born and raised in Houston, then lived 12 years in England, and now lives on Amelia Island. He has competed in at least seven Olympic races and plans to push on to the Half Iron Man distance next year. "You were FLYING on the bike" he said to me "I couldn't even come close to catching you!" boy did that make me feel good. I mean really. 

461 was a winner, in the end. 

The Moral of the Story

The moral of this very long post today (and give yourself a gold star if you made it to the end) is to recognize personal victories. Even if you don't win Best of Show or place in your age group, there are personal accomplishments along the way that should not be glossed over. 

My son reminded me when I came home on Sunday afternoon that he never lost faith in me. He said he was proud of me for competing and for finishing strong. He reminded me that he knew I was not feeling very confident going into the race, but my positive attitude about my performance was awesome, and really what matters most in the end. My son is 12 and about as tall as I am, this kid is really growing up fast. Thank you Connor, for believing in me. 

I never won anything in the juried shows I was accepted into with the National Collage Society, but having been juried in to three, I am now a Signature Member of this prestigious group, and that's something to be proud of. And lets not forget all the wonderful people and artists we all get to meet in classes and workshops and at opening receptions.

AND all the great shoes you get to wear along the way.

http://www.fluevog.com

Cherie's Progress

Cherie in the driveway, headed for the van

It's been a couple of weeks since I made the trip down the Florida Turnpike to visit Cherie, but the fun we had is still making me smile. Thanks to the many donations to her website, Cherie now has a wheelchair accessible van!

Cherie in the new van!

We had a ball, for the first time in two years, I was able to go OUT to dinner with Cherie riding in her own chariot. We had dinner beach side and Cherie even had a drink!

Me corrupting Cherie with gin and tonic!

She's so appreciative of all the notes and cards she has received from so many of YOU, my followers and fellow artists, that she has asked me to post a "thank you" here and to let you know that eventually she's going to do a short video to the same effect.

Us trying to keep our eyes open for the photo

Just a little while ago Ellen Lindner, a fabric collage artist and friend of mine was shopping in Vero Beach and ran into Cherie out and about at Homegoods! She immediately recognized her from my blog and went over to say hello.

Cherie emailed me and thanked me for making her into a celebrity.
That kid has the best attitude in the world. :)

Cherie's Progress

Yours Truly (left) with Cherie in Spain, 1985

How about that high waist band? OMG

I'm headed to Vero Beach this morning to visit with Cherie. Thanks to donations and the kindness of strangers through her website, Cherie finally has a handicapped accessible van!! Yes, she was able to purchase a used van and I cannot wait to go "out and about" with her. It's been almost two years since her paralyzing car accident and she has been basically house-bound since September 30, 2010.

Cherie's Help Hope Live website has allowed folks to donate tax deductible donations and this is what added up to the purchase of the van.

I'll catch you all up on how much trouble we get into when I return!

Read more of my posts about Cherie here

Cherie's Progress

Cherie at Shepherd Center for Spinal Cord Rehab in Atlanta last winter

It's been a little while since I updated you on Cherie, my childhood friend who suffered a paralysis after flipping over in her vehicle in September, 2010.

Cherie has a brand new website for donations and they are now TAX DEDUCTIBLE! Yahoo!

Thanks to some big time donations, I am also happy to report that she finally has enough finds to purchase a handicapped accessible van. This is HUGE people, this means she can get out of the house. Previously she was at the mercy of public transport, which would only accommodate doctor appointments.

Can you imagine not being able to go out to eat, or to see a movie, or shopping for almost two years? There were a couple of occasions where she did get out. They rented a van and came up here to Orlando for the screening of "Defining Beauty" and we actually had dinner.

But having her own van is going to allow her something else.... She's agreed to head up the paralysis support group in her community and now can attend regular meetings. Wow, go Cherie, go!!

I'm headed to visit Cherie the end of this month, we plan to get into some trouble now that we have wheels!

If you can donate, even a tax deductible $5, please visit Cherie's webpage on Help Hope Live

Cherie's Progress

Friends forever: Barbara Beasley, Cherie Stannard, Yours Truly

Cherie has a brand new place where you can make TAX DEDUCTIBLE donations! Her uncle worked hard at finding out how to make the possible. She really still needs all the help she can get as she has no health insurance and is relying on Medicaid to pay her bills and they do NOT cover everything she needs.

Cherie and Yours Truly last February on her birthday

President Obama raised a record breaking amount of money for his campaign in $5 increments online. Can you give $5 to help an amazing woman in need?

As of late she has been making progress! She has been gaining strength in both arms and is finding she has more sensation in her right arm. She is able to keep herself up sitting straighter without the benefit of armrests and THIS IS HUGE! It means that the muscles in her torso are getting signals, which means her spinal cord is making pathways and her brain is getting the message. She is also getting tingling in her legs, which is also new. Physical therapy has helped this very much, but PT costs money and Medicaid does not cover all of it.

Here is the link, check it out for yourself and consider a small donation, forward to your family and friends. Do something good for a stranger today. It will make you feel good, I promise.

 http://www.helphopelive.org/find-a-patient/profile/index.cfm/patient/E209D2EA-B1F5-9953-49F117782A848AC7

Cherie's Progress

Cherie (right) and Me sitting on the front porch of her family's cottage on Martha's Vineyard, 1982

Tomorrow is Ground Hog Day. It is also Cherie's 44th Birthday. That means that she and I have been friends for 37 years. Ever since middle school I have called her Hoggatha, on her birthday.

For all of you who have followed along with Cherie's progress on this blog, who have made and sent her art and cards and notes when she was in ICU and at Shepherd Center for Spinal Cord Rehab... I'd love for you to reach out to her once again and send her a birthday email. Yes, that's right, I said email!! Thanks to Dragon software, Cherie now can read and reply to email and Facebook via speech recognition. Email is best because Facebook requires some mouse clicking, which she can't quite do... yet.

Can you take a minute to send her a Happy Birthday email?
cas2268@msn.com

Cherie (right) and I taking a break from touring, Spain, 1985

For those of you who might be new to Cherie's story, the quick synopsis is that she was in a car accident on September 30, 2010 in which she broke her neck and became a quadriplegic. I have been asking artists and folks with big hearts to send her well wishes ever since her accident. www.CherieStannard.com

Cherie has been touched beyond words by the generosity of strangers from far and wide. She has been touched by all the artists who contributed to my fund raising book for her, Art With Heart

Cherie (left) and I on that very same cottage front porch the summer after we graduated high school together, 1987

We have been through thick and thin together, We HAVE BEEN thick and thin together. Do you see us both getting BIGGER and BIGGER in these photos? Well, Cherie was always small, but me...

Cherie (left) and I on that very same cottage front porch, Memorial Day 1988

It has meant a lot to Cherie to have such an influx of kind words from friends of this blog. It has meant a lot to me too. I hope if you have a minute you might send some birthday wishes to Hoggatha. Tell her I sent you. :)

cas2268@msn.com

Cherie's Progress

I know it's been a while since I posted about my friend Cherie. For anyone who has not followed this story, Cherie was paralyzed in a car accident last September 30, 2010. I have known Cherie all my life.

I drove to Vero Beach this weekend to spend Saturday and Sunday with Cherie and her family. We had a great time. Cherie and I enjoyed catching up, eating sushi, and enjoying the warm weather in Vero Beach.

We looked on Facebook at some pictures of "kids" from our neighborhood and people we went to school with. We remembered some stories and people we had not thought about in a very LONG time and it was lots of fun! Cherie and I have been friends since we were about four years old.

I'm SUPER HAPPY to tell you that she has regained some significant movement in her arms (not hands)! She is left handed, and she can move her left arm, from the elbow, in and out, back and forth, and hopes to soon be able to drive her wheelchair with it via a joystick. Right now she is using the head array to control the chair. This is big news, because her injury is C4-5, which is very high up in her neck. The therapists are very excited and continue to use electric stimulation on her hands and arms!

If you are looking for a place to make a small donation that can make a big difference this holiday season, Cherie has a charitable trust in her name: www.CherieStannard.com. You can donate via PayPal or credit card there and any amount helps. Cherie has no health insurance and Medicaid is very limited in what they cover.

If you would like to purchase a wonderful book of art from artists around the world that I put together, Art With Heart is a great coffee table book and 100% of the profit margin goes to Cherie: http://www.blurb.com/books/1854848

I received a very very special gift from Cherie and her sister Sue while I was visiting. Some of you remember that Cherie's mother was an artist, and my first artistic influence. She took me to visit an art museum for the first time, and I used to love to look at her work and watch her use watercolor and pastel at the easel in her studio. This painting, a copy of a Degas, hung in Cherie's home as LONG as I have known Cherie. Jean Stannard painted this painting as a lesson painting, to learn the techniques of Degas. I always admired how beautifully it was executed and was especially drawn to the lighting on the dancer.  I  can still picture where this painting hung in their home as I always enjoyed walking past it, heading up the stairs to Cherie's room!

Cherie and Sue surprised me and GAVE Me this painting! Jean passed away several years ago, and they said that they could not imagine anyone who deserved the painting more than me. They said that Jean would be happy to know I had it.

I can't tell you how much this means to me and how close I have been to Cherie all my life. This gesture was truly generous and I am much appreciative. I just thought I'd share it with you this morning, as we approach Christmas.

The Anne Marie is Helping Cherie

From Author Israel Parker

Cherie Ann Stannard and Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson

Until the End of September
Sometimes you have to do something for a perfect stranger. Not too long ago I read a story on my friend Elizabeth's blog. Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson, is a very talented fine artist who happens to be the cover artist for my first novel "The Anne Marie." 


There on Elizabeth's blog was a moving article about a woman named Cherie. I was so touched by Cherie's story, I decided to give 50% of my website book sale profits (website only -- due to royalty control) to help Cherie with her medical expenses. I will be donating these proceeds from now until September 30th. On my bookstore page I would also encourage you to read Cherie's incredibly challenging road to recovery and learn why it is so important to find it in your heart to give. 


For more information about Cherie, please visit her website at CherieStannard.com


You get a great book, and 50% goes to help a person in need at the same time. 

Israel Parker, author, holding the limited edition giclée print

It Gets Better!
On top of the donation, everyone who buys a book from IsraelParker.com during the month of September will also be entered to win a 24x18 limited edition gallery wrapped canvas giclée print of the exquisite cover of "The Anne Marie," a collage by Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson! The print is signed by both the artist and the author.

Cover art for The Anne Marie ©St.Hilaire Nelson

Cherie's Progress

Global Peace Film Festival Poster

I'm happy to say that the Global Peace Film Festival is working with me to raise funds for my paralyzed friend Cherie. They have agreed to give 50% of proceeds from the sales of posters to her charitable trust. 

The posters this year feature my original artwork and are all hand signed! 

What's the connection between Cherie and Global Peace Film Festival you ask? They are screening the film "Defining Beauty; Ms. Wheelchair America" here in Orlando. Cherie is making the trip up to Orlando from Vero Beach on Thursday, September 22 to speak at the film screening. It's at the Plaza Cinema Cafe in Downtown Orlando.

Come out and see the film and meet Cherie if you live close.
Click here to purchase your signed copy of the poster and donate to TWO great causes!

Cherie's Progress

Today I met with the folks from the Global Peace Film Festival in Orlando. They are screening the film "Defining Beauty; Ms Wheelchair America" this year. I have agreed to donate artwork and graphic design for their collectible poster, and they have agreed to auction off two original pieces of Paper Paintings collage art through the festival. 50% of proceeds of the poster sales and the Dove artwork will go to Cherie, and 50% will go toward Global Peace.

Ironically when I got home from the meeting today, I had a wonderful note in my email box from Kerry Trementozzi who found my art online. This is a photo of Kerry, who became a quadriplegic at the age of 16. She told me that my blog posts about Cherie really moved her and she wanted to reach out to me as a fellow artist and she wanted to reach out to Cherie to give her some support. Kerry has been a quadriplegic for 30 years.

Kerry wrote such a wonderful note about her story and how important a positive attitude can be, I wanted to take a moment to share it with you:

When I look back when I was 1st injured I always feel - wow if me or my family could have talked to other people who have already gone through this it could have made it a little bit better. 

Cheri sounds like me, positive upbeat & never give up, not that it hasn' t been hard at times - I'm still paralized from chest down w/some arm & wrist movement but no finger movement. I always say take it one day at a time. There are good days & bad, the 1st few years are hard but it sounds like her family is there for her, I know that is so important.