"Little Shrew (Snowflake)" An Animation by Kate Bush

Kate Bush released a beautiful animated video today. She tells the story at her site:

"In 2022, with war breaking out in Ukraine, I decided I wanted to make an anti-war animation. In particular, I hoped to draw attention to the children caught up in war.

I based the storyboard around the song, Snowflake, which was sung by my son when he was a child. I think his performance is extremely moving and although I‘d originally written the song to capture his beautiful descant voice before he entered adolescence, it has taken on a haunting new meaning within the context of this animation.

The original track runs for over seven minutes, but as animations take a long time to make, it made a lot of sense to shorten it to three or four minutes. I was concerned that the song might lose something by being edited so intensely but actually it’s held up pretty well.

I knew I wanted the featured character to be a child caught up in war, so I made a very rough, off the cuff story board.

Although I’d initially thought to make the character a human child – a little girl – I settled on the idea of a Caucasian pygmy shrew (Ukrainian shrew): a tiny, fragile little creature. I felt that people might have more empathy for a vulnerable little animal than a human…

This little shrew would take a journey on a moonlit, winter’s night through a war-torn city, initially unaware of what was going on around her in this land of the giants. She can sense that she’s being called by a kind of spiritual presence… HOPE.

She starts to search for HOPE. Sometimes hope is all there is to hang on to."

The wonderful story of the artist and animation team continues on her site here.

Kate concludes:

"There’s not meant to be an exclusive focus on the war in Ukraine, but it was that war that instigated the making of this animation. All wars leave horrific scars: ruined lives, families ripped apart, life-changing injuries, trauma and loss on a massive scale – but it’s the children who suffer the most in so many ways. Their past, present and future melt away into fear and uncertainty.

I would like to ask that if you watch the animation, please make a donation to War Child, or to another charity that aids children in war.

Even a tiny donation will help enormously. War can be an unimaginable horror for a child.

You could be hope for that child caught up in war. You could make a real difference.

Thank you for supporting this project,

Kate"

https://www.warchild.org.uk/
https://www.katebush.com/

Banksy's Ukraine Stamp

To mark the grim first anniversary of Russia's attempted invasion and ongoing war, Ukraine has issued a postage stamp featuring an image of a Banksy mural the artist created on a demolished wall in the battered city of Borodyanka, northwest of Kyiv. The mural depicts a David and Goliath moment: a young boy uses a Judo flip on a larger, older man who resembles a certain leader...and in fact, the Cyrillic on the stamp translates as "FCK PTN."

Keep flippin' 'em Ukraine, the world stands with you, waiting for the tyrant to fall.

As far as I can understand, the stamps are available for purchase on the Ukraine postal service site. All proceeds go to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
https://www.ukrposhta.ua/en

Artists For Ukraine at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

The Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in New York and Los Angeles presents "Artists For Ukraine" from March 11 to April 8, 2022. The Gallery reps some very high profile artists who have donated works for sale on-line, with all proceeds going to organizations and charities that are helping Ukrainians refugees.

Tanya Bonakdar Gallery —its staff and artists — are shocked and appalled by the catastrophic human rights tragedy taking place in Ukraine. Our hearts go out to the innocent civilians, families, and especially children, caught in the crossfire of violent conflict. Unfortunately, empathy is not enough when confronting such challenging moments in history.

Tanya Bonakdar Gallery stands with Ukraine. With this announcement, we are launching a sale of important works by gallery artists with 100% of proceeds donated to relief organizations helping to alleviate the suffering of those seeking refuge from the conflict in Ukraine.

While we understand the limits of our influence and power in the context of this global conflict, we also believe that momentum starts with individual and local community activity. As a gallery, we have specific tools at our disposal. We have a platform. We have a certain power in communicating ideas. Even more, we are part of a community of artists, collectors and patrons who can help to raise funds so desperately needed right now.

Our gallery artists have been extremely supportive and generous in offering important work for this cause. We urge those who receive this message, and are in a position to collect, to consider one of these works for acquisition. Collectors will do so with the knowledge that the full purchase will be donated and all funds raised will be split evenly between the three organizations listed below.

For others interested in offering direct support for organizations involved in humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, we have included additional links at the bottom of the page.

Thank you in advance for your attention and support.

The image below is by Sabine Hornig. Intricate details from the cityscapes depicted in her commission for LaGuardia Airport are featured in individual photographs, digitally composed images that integrate succinct quotes from former mayor Fiorello La Guardia. Having famously described New York City’s unique image as “the entire world in microcosm,” La Guardia becomes a figure in Hornig’s work who embodies how leadership shapes our shared environment.

Please consider buying some art or donating to the organizations who are working to help victims of this shameful war.

https://www.tanyabonakdargallery.com/viewing-room/58-artists-for-ukraine/

Sabine Hornig's work can be seen here:
https://sabine-hornig.de/de#image-5

Citizen Brick Ukraine LEGOs

Citizen Brick, an independent LEGO retailer who creates their own fun minifigures, has created two new pieces to help Ukraine: all proceeds go to charities supporting Ukrainian refugees.

Their figure of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is $100 and worth every penny.

And the Molotv cocktail with the blue and yellow Ukraine flag is only $20.

Purchase these at the Citizen Brick website and help the victims of this insane war.

https://citizenbrick.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Bethany Williams

After winning the prestigious BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund last year, Bethany Williams (previously here) is doing even more of what she has always done: not only make responsibly sourced clothing, but contribute to the greater good of humanity. This Spring Summer 2022 collection shown during Digital London Fashion Week called "All Our Stories" continues Williams’ work with The Magpie Project. Inspired directly by the artist Melissa Kitty Jarram’s storytelling workshops with the Magpie families--women and children receiving help from the East London grassroots organization are homeless or at risk of homelessness--Williams wove intergenerational narratives and their values into the clothing, and used book cover waste from book publishers Hachette reworked into joy-giving prints through a textile collaboration with San Patrignano, an education and rehabilitation program in Italy. And as with her previous collections, Williams used Making for Change, a clothing manufacturing hub started in a women’s prison. The project aimed to increase well-being and reduce reoffending rates by equipping participants with professional skills and qualifications within a supportive environment. Through a new collaboration with Mending For Good and a social manufacturing scheme called Manusa, Williams has also pieced together old industry waste swatch samples and turned them into knitwear. Six of the "All Our Stories" looks – which also use merino wool deadstock from Lanificio Ermenegildo Zegna – formed Williams’ submission for the 2021 International Woolmark Prize.

“From now on, social enterprise is integrated in every part of our production process,” says the designer of why this season is a turning point for her brand. “I want to show people that you can do things differently and you can make it work.” Her plans to “provide a nurturing environment for people to train in fashion and encourage employment in the UK” are already well in motion.

And to top it all off, twenty per cent of the profits from Bethany Williams' "All Our Stories" will be donated to The Magpie Project via The Bethany Williams Benevolent Fund. To donate visit https://www.justgiving.com/magpieproject. That is a beautiful thing.

https://www.bethany-williams.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Bethany Williams

Hello regular readers, London Fashion Week is underway and not only has COVID seemingly destroyed any semblance of what a Fashion Week is, but the seismic shifts in how brands and houses present and do business have also contributed to this loss. And finally, the thing that has been slowly moving toward all Men's Fashion Weeks like a glacier, the blending of menswear and womenswear, has also arrived to put another nail in the coffin. Indeed, at least half of the shows at London Fashion Week are exclusively womenswear collections. Many years ago when all the major Fashion Weeks introduced stand-alone, specific Weeks for brands to only show menswear, I was very excited. For so long, an interest in clothing had been something solely for women. Men were banished to bland business suits and weekendwear, with the world assuming that was all men did: go to work at an office and then come home on the weekend to mow the lawn. It was refreshing to have the industry turn toward us men who have a genuine interest in clothing as art. And I miss that. Oh, I do applaud the collections that are genederless and the scant few that present menswear and womenswear together, but for the most part, it feels like a huge step backward. And honestly, it feels a bit sexist.

Anyhow, there were only a handful of things at London Fashion Week that stood out to me so far...with only 2 days left to go.

Bethany Williams, the British Fashion Award-winning designer has been working with the idea of sustainability and philanthropy for a while now, and to create this genderless capsule collection of only nine coats and jackets for fabled London department store Selfridges, she sourced recycled blankets from Kempton market, Bermondsey car boot sales, and a trove of online vintage dealers. Each she found tells a story from the textile and weaving techniques, to the county, town or village it was made in. “A blanket is so much more than a piece of fabric,” says Williams. “It is a feeling of comfort and shelter and I wanted that feeling to be at the heart of this capsule collection.” The idea of comfort and shelter is quite apt as 20% of the profits will be donated to The Magpie Project, a Newnham-based charity that works with homeless children and mothers living in temporary or unstable accommodations. And that is a beautiful thing.

Each piece, cut for nearly one-size-fits-all, comes with a 100% organic cotton lining, sourced from Wales and handmade wooden buttons made by craftsman Spencer Martin from London Green Wood, a not for profit cooperative, using Hackney grown wood or waste wood from local tree surgeons. And as of this writing, there are only 3 pieces left at the on-line site for Selfridges...

https://www.bethany-williams.com/

'Twas The Night Before Christmas with HRH the Prince of Wales and Special Guests

The classic holiday poem "'Twas The Night Before Christmas" was recorded this season in support of the Actors’ Benevolent Fund, of which The Prince of Wales has been Patron for over 20 years taking over the role from Her Majesty The Queen in 2000. The charity fund was started in 1882 by Henry Irving, one of the foremost actors of his generation and supports actors and stage managers who are unable to work due to illness, injury, or old age and those experiencing financial hardship particularly during the Coronavirus pandemic. This year has been particularly difficult for those working in the industry and in April the charity launched an Emergency Grant Fund to support those in their profession who are experiencing financial hardship owing to the pandemic.

Led by HRH Prince Charles, this group of actors give a lovely reading this Christmas Eve. But #1 for dedication and enthusiasm geos to the enchanting Joanna Lumley, aka Patsy Stone. And surprisingly, #2 goes to HRH the Prince of Wales who was committed to the narrative as well!

 

As an actor, I can attest that the industry has been flatlined. If you can, seek out a theatre near you and consider making a donation to support these hard-hit arts institutions so they are not gone from your community for good.

Home

Greetings regular readers,

I am happy to report that after eight days of evacuation, being away from our home and neighborhood, not knowing if we would have either to return to, we are safely back home. We owe an eternal debt of gratitude to our friends who took us in during this terrifying time full of anxiety and worry. And thanks to all who reached out to check in on us. We appreciate your concern and good wishes.

And most of all, an enormous thank you to the men and women of Cal Fire who worked tirelessly, back to back shifts at the start of the fires, for their bravery and dedication.

Finally, my heart goes out to all those in our neighboring areas who have lost their homes and all their possessions.

If you can, consider donating to these institutions that are helping those who have lost homes.

--California Community Foundation Wildfire Relief Fund
--California Wildfire Relief Fund sponsored by Go Fund Me (they organize the donations into grants to individuals, organizations, and communities that have either been impacted themselves or are dedicated to helping those affected by the California wildfires)
--Monterey County Community Resilience Program
--North Valley Community Foundation Wildfire Relief and Recovery Fund

JEF

Fashion Santa

Mature and supremely handsome editorial and runway fashion model Paul Mason is a new kind of "mall Santa" at the Yorkdale Mall in Toronto, Canada. And for every selfie with Mason/Santa that gets posted on social media using the hashtag #YorkdaleFashionSanta, the Mall will donate a dollar to the SickKids Foundation. If you're in Toronto, drop in and snap a picture with this gorgeous man...it's for a good cause! He only has a few more appearances scheduled: December 18th and 19th from noon to 8PM, December 20th from 11AM to 7PM, and December 23rd from noon to 8PM. And if you do, tell me how he smells... I am hoping for a Dolce and Gabbana cologne mixed with a delicious beard pomade...

Mason as Santa at the Yorkdale Mall: instead of a bright red velvet coat, it's a slim-cut burgundy velvet Ferragamo jacket; instead of fur trim, it's a Tartan cashmere wrap. I love his style sensibility since I dress exactly like this in the winter! If I grow my beard, we could be twins (almost).

And check out the Mr. Claus campaign he did for the exclusive Mexican department store El Palacio de Hierro!

Please say NO to the Salvation Army

Just a friendly reminder to not put your change in the red buckets this year!

Why? Read the shocking information below.

“The Salvation Army doesn’t believe that gays and lesbians should ever know the intimacy of any loving relationship, instead teaching that ‘Christians whose sexual orientation is primarily or exclusively same-sex are called upon to embrace celibacy as a way of life.’" - (source)

“Salvation Army Major: LGBT People Should Be Put to Death" - (source)

“The Salvation Army openly says that ‘practicing homosexuals’ aren’t welcome in their organization and they have lobbyists in D.C. and abroad who work to prevent gay rights legislation from being enacted." - (source)

“The Salvation Army does not only discriminate against gay and lesbian people, it also works politically against LGBT rights all over the world." - (source)

So while some of your nickels and pennies are going to hunger relief or “Christmas Assistance” just know that a large portion of your donation is going toward lobbying governments worldwide for anti-gay policies - including an attempt to make consensual gay sex illegal.

There are so many other ways you can help this Christmas season, without supporting harmful, destructive practices and ideas:
Consider donating to:
*Goodwill
*Red Cross
*Doctors Without Borders
*Habitat for Humanity

Information about the Salvation Army from the Human Rights Campaign:
http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-salvation-army


via Science Is A Candle In The Dark