Books: The Art Cure Diaries

After considerable thought, I’ve decided to make the Ipad ebook format of “The Art Cure Diaries” free for anyone to enjoy.  The same applies to the Kindle/Ebook formats I’m working on completing for you.

You can also choose to purchase a print copy or, if you don’t have an Ipad and want to view it, it is available in its entirety also for free.

Enjoy and pass it on!

~ Tatiana

(*shortlink to post: http://wp.me/p3f9L-1DQ)

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Breast Cancer, Art and Awareness

In the U.S., today marks the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness month. One in 8 women develop breast cancer. Chances are you know someone right now dealing with it. If you walk into an American store in October, virtually everything is pink or has upon it a pink ribbon. Women have done this; they’ve created such huge impact on breast cancer awareness wherein, the entire damn country turns pink! (One must stop to wonder why the hell men are running the world but that’s another post.)

Two years ago I had the greatest pleasure of working with a group of women in Savannah, Georgia to create The Art Cure project. Its basis was to collaborate with local organizations to bring art into the local breast cancer awareness efforts. My intent wasn’t specifically for the organizational benefits by charitable dollars raised through the art action of the survivors’ artworks created for this event, but for the survivors’ and patients’ themselves for whom the artistic process could offer so much more than yet another fundraiser, respectfully. Art was introduced as a coping and emotional expressionistic mechanism.

Sure, there’s a lot of events out there to raise awareness, but I wondered at that time, how many existed which focused on providing benefits to the patients and survivors through means that provided teaching something they could hold on through various times in life. For some of these women, their first introduction to art has brought a new avenue of expression, understanding and learning about oneself and/or breast cancer.

Conception to completion took three months and at our end we raised about $2300, all of which went to two organizations in Savannah. I specifically contacted Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and the Young Survival Coalition, local chapters, and requested the funds stay within the community.

This is important: I don’t much care for charitable organizations but my time is my heart when I can reach people themselves. That’s where the differences stick. That’s where the memories, imprints and deep etchings are created. There’s a permanence there I like better than a check.

So, I salute the wonderful women of The Art Cure. I created The Art Cure Diaries to document their artistic process. In spirit, they’ve helped me along quite a bit over the course of my international relocation and discovery of an autoimmune disease myself. Funny how life works. Give a heart somewhere, find a hand to help out of quicksand when you need it. That’s the exchange in life. Karma maybe. Each time I draw or paint, I think of my experience with The Art Cure ladies, my good friend who inspired the project and I give thanks. If they survived cancer, well… we can all survive life, then.

xoxo,

Tatiana

Help support breast cancer awareness. Buy The Art Cure Diaries for $3.99 now and I’ll donate $1 from each sale to charity.

This month, $1.00 from each sale of The Art Cure Diaries Ipad version book goes to the community which helped make it all happen. Purchase your copy here right now and make a small difference. They add up.

View the official website which has The Art Cure’s full history, survivors’ stories and artwork. Pass it on to others touched by breast cancer.

**I’ll have the Kindle and print versions out shortly. Contact me if you need further information.

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THE ART CURE DIARIES available on Ipad

Help support breast cancer awareness. Buy The Art Cure Diaries for $3.99 now and I’ll donate $1 from each sale to charity.

Almost two years since my charity work with The Art Cure project and I’m excited to be back into it again. I’ve set up an IPAD version of The Art Cure Diaries for a phenomenal price of 3.99!

After unexpectedly dealing with an overseas move just shortly after the completion of this project in October 2012, I fell into some difficult personal times. The women from The Art Cure have served as a great inspiration to me to move forward and survive my own ordeals. If they could survive their life battles, so could I and for this inspiration I’m deeply thankful to “the art cure ladies” as I call them.

One dollar for each sale from now until October 31, 2012 will be donated to breast cancer support organizations as to continue the spirit of inspiring the lives of those who are still working on their “survivor” status. I’m so proud of this book and of the wonderful women who participated. I think of them daily to inspire me out of my own challenges and you could do no better than to support this fantastic collection of survivors’ stories and the artwork their inner artist created by purchasing the ebook!

To learn about the project that’s raised awareness, money for charity and many inspirations, please visit the official site here.

To purchase an IPAD version of The Art Cure Diaries, click here.

For print versions…I’m taking names for pre-orders so contact me or join my newsletter where I’ll announce its availability. Currently the print edition is unavailable but if you want a hard copy, please let me know so I can ensure you’re aware when it is available!

Finally, I’m also working to bring you a Kindle version of The Art Cure Diaries. I’m about a technologically capable as a baby driving a car so pardon while I figure it all out!

A few paintings from breast cancer survivors

For the price of a coffee you can purchase a wonderful gift for someone or yourself AND I’ll donate $1.00 per sale to breast cancer charity. For a preview of what’s inside, view The Art Cure blog or click here to learn more about the book.

1 in 8 get breast cancer. Together we can change that.

Remember, 1 out of 8 women contract breast cancer. That’s astonishing. Please contribute right now show your support and purchase The Art Cure Diaries on Ipad for only $3.99 right here. Thank you!

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Life is… change

The decision is final: we’re returning to the States.

My European adventure has been satisfied and I’m expated out!  All it took was achieving the American Dream and then ditching it for the Euro roots I thought had the ooze to make life rich like molasses.  Yes, well, the Euro dream turned out to not work and the American Dream turned out to have been the ticket.  Who would have known though, had both not been lived for comparison?  It was a risk and with it came sacrifice but the way in which the year and a half in Europe thus far has transformed my family and me has been enormous and so the best way to look at seeming mistakes is merely additional sidenote to life that must be taken in order one may tweak the road map ahead.

“Life is difficult”, said M. Scott Peck in “The Road Less Traveled”. As a previous bookseller, I’ve sold that book hundreds of times and never picked it up. Figures my psychologist quotes it all the time. I figured I could make headway if I just bought the damn book and read it. Fifteen years past my bookstore days,  I confront the reality of that road less traveled I consciously embarked on many years ago and I understand everything differently now. There’s clarity in a way but the truth always seems to hurt and so the clarity is a slow process of acceptance – with a lot of profanity before it.

Certainly, the most difficult aspect of facing truth is realizing that Truth does in fact point to “Life is difficult”.  This is true as well when we look in the natural world at animals, bugs, and plants, all pushing for survival. The most delicate flower must come up from the depths of the earth. As human beings our cognitive abilities place us higher than mere animals but have we become smarter or just better at the illusion and fooling ourselves?

Anyway, my thyroid medication hasn’t been balanced quite right yet and I’ve slipped – again. My dosage was increased a couple days ago and I wrote this while I had the energy for it. There’s a lot to say but none of it will expel itself. Sure, there’s a little me trying hold up the floodgates of words. The wise one in my head knows very well the potential of the verbal flood.

And so I paint and  I’m generally silent because I’m working on personal healing or I’m not good to anyone.

Some good news linked below is I’ve completed THE ART CURE DIARIES Ebook and I’ve been titled a “world changer” in an upcoming new book by Renée Phillips .  I’ve also nailed a “yes” for art workshops in the military community, the one the USO turned me down for.  It’s through a different organization and since I’ve learned so much I haven’t yet shared (sorry!) about the “becoming an artist” process, I’m looking forward to doing some of that through my art workshops – and probably here in the future.

Somewhere out there I have an audience who still peeks in to see what’s going on. Thank you. I know this only because of WordPress stats and so since someone’s still interested and so long as that’s the case, I’ll push myself to write something, though pictures serve me best at this time in my life.

I’ve changed and I’m not quite thrilled just yet to break the cocoon.

WEBSITE UPDATES:

1. I’ve managed some updates and changes for my website. Check it out at http://www.vontauber.com.  What’s mainly new is I’ve finally registered The Art Cure Diaries with an official ISBN status, created an Ebook and rather hesitantly, a print on demand press book until I make further decisions about future publishing.

Also, for breast cancer patients in mind, I’ve left the book on full preview so if money is tight but depth of soul needs a lifeline of inspiration, you can view it online free. I think everyone should have free access to lifelines and inspiration.

View The Art Cure Diaries here.

2. I’ve completed The Art Cure page on my website. Please pass along to Breast Cancer patients or survivors!!

3. I’ve been honored by a mention as a “world changer” in Renée Phillips wonderful new book, “Vision, Passion & Purpose: ARTISTS AS World Changers”!  Check it out here for ideas on how art creates positive change.

4. Plus, if you’ve not visited in a while, I have some beautiful new artwork available. I’m now working on my 4th Archangel painting. I hope to finish & post this weekend.

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Working on 2nd annual charity project

Yes I only arrived 4 months ago and everything has been crazy but I find I’m going more nuts not being involved in some way especially since I placed my private boudoir photography practice on “relocation hold”.  Basically it means I’m not pursing its business ends.  Instead I’m gravitating towards creating a 2nd annual production of The Art Cure.   So, I’m going to see what I can do again and what I’ll have to modify but I really, really want to do The Art Cure project in Wiesbaden. 

On the home front, I’m still waiting for closets but thus far have a new rug in the bedroom to help absorb the echoes if you know what I mean and we got the curtains up.  The apartment suddenly began to feel like home and I’m ready to feel balanced again.   That means only good things for the future.

For more on The Art Cure, a breast cancer awareness art project I dreamed up, click the link.  Stay tuned for updates as they develop.

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