Update from Hearts for Anna

I want to thank you -- no pun intended -- from the bottom of my heart for contributing to a most successful "Hearts for Anna" event.

I don't know if you tracked the event, but we were nearly sold out of all artist-donated pieces within the first 2 hours. Ultimately, we sold every piece, and then added additional pieces from artfulhome.com which we called the "gallery" and from which we donated all of our profit.

Between the event pieces, the gallery pieces, and 5% of all our sales throughout the event, today we sent a check to Anna for more than $14,000!

Regardless of where you stand within the healthcare debate that is raging right now, you helped an artist who is struggling through the obstacles of our current healthcare system while she battles for her life.

You didn't have to do it, but you did.

You didn't have to care, but you did.

You didn't have to give your time, energy, and materials, but you did.

Thank you so very much.

My best wishes to you,

Lisa Bayne

NOTE: Lisa Bayne was the driving force behind this Artful Home fundraiser to benefit fabric artist Anna Millea. She deserves a hearty thank you and pat on the back for a job well done!

Lisa added in an email: "In addition, we were thrilled that our site did not crash, as traffic to the site quadrupled from normal, with much of it happening in the first hour!" That gives you an idea of how many of you stepped up to help.

Let me add my thanks to all of you who stepped up and made a difference -- a $14,000 difference! And in addition, you reassured Anna that we find her, AND her life, AND her health valuable!

We love you Anna -- now get well soon! -- Dawn

Cancer. No Insurance.

While we work together to help a fellow fabric lover, let's give her a few words of encouragement. Please leave your good wishes as a comment on this blog. Anna will see them. Help comes in all forms -- even words. But read below how we can all help her beat cancer and pay her bill. (Note, if you don't want to jump through Google hoops to leave a message, just email me and I'll post it under anonymous with your name and website as the signature. derrolgoldsmith@bellsouth.net) -- Dawn

Can this really be happening to one of our artists?

Anna Millea, (shown in photo) a longtime Guild and Artful Home artist, is fighting breast cancer - again. The disease has returned aggressively and is now in her bones, requiring an extreme sixteen rounds of chemotherapy. She has no insurance, having been deemed uninsurable due to her "pre-existing condition." When we at The Guild/Artful Home learned of this we knew we needed to do something to try to help her through this situation.

What we have come up with is an event we are calling "Hearts for Anna", to which we hope you will contribute and donate a little bit of your time and talent. Artful Home will hold a 5-day online event, "Hearts for Anna", August 12-16, 2009 in which miniature artworks, no larger than 5" x 7", will be sold. The items will be sold first-come, first serve, with all items selling for $100 on Day 1, $75 on Days 2 - 4, and $50 on Day 5. All money will go to a fund that goes directly to Anna Millea to help pay for her medical bills.

Requirements for donated artwork: (Deadline: August 7)

Participation is open to all artists, both Artful Home members and non-members. The point is to get great participation, and thus give a greater hand to Anna.

The artwork can be in any medium, no larger than 5" x 7". Artists in all media are encouraged to participate and donate works.

The artwork should be one of a kind, though each artist participating can submit more than one piece.

All work should fall within the theme of "Hearts for Anna", however the artist chooses to interpret this.

Download and fill out the submission form.
Submission form and photograph must be submitted by August 7 to HeartsForAnna@artfulhome.com

Requirements for Fulfillment:

Purchases for artwork will be processed through Artful Home's system.

Please send your donated work to Artful Home by August 11 and we will send it on to the buyer.

Getting out the Word:

Artful Home will be soliciting donated work from artists around the US and Canada.

We are hoping you can help spread the word to other artists as well as potential purchasers by posting the information on any forums, blogs, Facebook pages, Tweets in which you participate.

Call and email your friends. Write a letter. However you choose to spread the word will be helpful.

Artful Home will then be promoting the actual August event through press releases, Tweets, blogs, emails - the full court press.

Again, we will ask you to pass along this information to any individuals or groups, artists and buyers, that you know who you can help support the event.

The more people who come to the site and purchase these miniatures, the more money is raised for Anna. So it's pretty simple.

Thank you so much -- Lisa Bayne (lbayne@guild.com)

One look at Anna's smile and the work she produces convinces that she lives life with a happy heart, lives joyously. And we need all of the joy and happiness we can pour into this sour old world, so lets help Anna back to good health so we can enjoy her smile -- and her art -- for years to come!!! -- Dawn