The other terribly exciting thing that has happened for me is a development involving my line of rose-themed jewelry. While I was participating in the craft show in Great Falls, I met a woman named Kat, who introduced me to her daughter Mayley. Mayley, I should mention, is 3 years old, cute as I've ever seen in my life, and she introduced herself by saying "Hello, Caitie, my name is Mayley. I'm pleased to meet you!" That comment just about floored me! She's so quick! The heart-wrenching part is that Mayley has cystic fibrosis. If you are like me, and know very little about the disease, check out the wikipedia entry here, it will fill you in. CF is generally regarded as a childhood disease, most cases are diagnosed between birth and age 3, and because cystic fibrosis is almost impossible for a new-talker to say, children are directed to say "I have a disease called sixty-five-roses." So there's where the rose theme comes in.
Kat is a mover and a shaker! She used to own a business in downtown Bozeman, MT for organic baby and mother products. She also developed her own line of organic baby slings, etc, stressing the importance of knowing what the things you buy are made out of, and who it is that's making them. Visit her website: Bella Madre Organics to see just how dedicated to artistic integrity and quality craftsmanship it is! It's a beautiful site, even if you don't need baby stuff. Kat had to give up the businesses when Mayley was diagnosed, and now she says she can't imagine doing anything that's not to help her "little peanut." So she is setting up her own charitable foundation for CF research! She is calling it the Blooming Rose Foundation, and she will be developing lines of Made in Montana products to be sold in boutiques, online, and retail stores, and all proceeds go to the foundation. She asked if I would be interested in dedicating my line of rose jewelry, and the design associated with it, to the foundation, and I have whole-heartedly decided to do it.
So my line of roses will be temporarily taken off the shelves, given a makeover, and will come out on the other side as a vehicle to help little Mayley and her peers. I couldn't be happier to do it. The same graphic designer that developed bellamadreorganics.com is working on the website now (pro-bono!) and when it's all set up, I will be plugging that link like crazy!
Being an artist has the potential to become such a self-absorbed way of life. The way I make art, and the reason I make it, is to help myself and figure myself out, but I'm always dismayed by the bigger picture and how I make such a small impact on it. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to do what I love to help someone else.
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