FOUR DAYS A WEEK | Musings | Travels | Stories | Treasures and Dreams

HELLO WORLD, my name is Naoko Stoop. I am a Brooklyn, New York based self-taught illustrator. I create childhood images in my loft studio.

I’m trying to bring out the five-year old in people through my artwork. Because I believe that is the last moment before children start learning how complicated the world is, and that was when I once stopped drawing. It took me decades to come back to myself. Now? Here I am drawing everyday!

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL—a beautiful book full of delight and wonder is available at Barnes & Noble. 

Congratulations, Naoko! And thanks so much for sharing your journey and moments here with us. We love your book and look forward to the next one :-)

-Mia

OUT OF THE DARKNESS from beneath the stormy skies, a New England photographer Donald Verger barely escaped the EF-5 tornado that devastated Joplin, Missouri last year in May. From that harrowing experience, he turned to peace and hope and started The Joplin Art Project, wanting to reach out to the people of Joplin. He created a series of 25,000 postcards featuring inspiring images (shown below in the photo slide). He sent them to the tornado survivors in Joplin, believing in the healing powers of art and caring.

Join us with Don and be part of the hope and help for Joplin: 

• Rebuild Joplin ~ connecting needs and resources
  
• Share your creative talents to help support the people of Joplin
  
• Lift the burden, listen to their stories 
• Spread the peace and hope
  
• Give what you can ~ making a difference
  

As we remember the children and families of Joplin, we keep our thoughts and prayers with the families who have suffered the recent storms tearing across the states, from the gulf coast to the great lakes. May your strength and courage be the light in the night that brings you a new day—when all that has been destroyed be remade.

Many thanks to Don, for sharing his photographs with us, for showing us the gentle power in art and the healing power in people caring.

-Mia

*For more on Don, continue reading below. For readers receiving this post via email, please click here (then scroll to the middle of the post) to view the photo slide of Don's Peace & Hope postcards.*

DONALD VERGER is a critically-acclaimed, award-winning photographer and Founder and President Emeritus of the world-renowned Children's Discovery Museums and Science Discovery Museum in New England. His visionary work at these discovery museums was featured in two episodes of the PBS television series "Curious George."

He has served on numerous boards including Chairperson of UNICEF's New England Advisory Board, along with members Ted Kennedy and Arnold Hiatt, as well as the board of directors for Wheelock College and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. All of Verger's philanthropic work benefits families and children.

A member of Society for East End Arts in Portland, Maine, Donald Verger's photography has earned him numerous awards and accolades including: Fryeburg Fair Best in Show 2008, Bangor Flower Show First Prize 2008, and Fort Williams Art Show First Prize 2008. In March of 2010, Verger debuted his 2011 Naturescapes Calendar Series featuring his most cherished and sought after images worldwide. This inaugural, limited edition calendar series celebrates twelve months of nature's glory, from sunrise at Acadia National Park, to the intimate elegance of a single rose.

Verger was born in Brooklyn, New York and resides in Falmouth, Maine, just footsteps from the ocean, where he captures the early moments of nature's true splendor.

*For Don's full bio, click here. Connect with Don on Twitter, Facebook, and his blog.* 

*A top story in Anita's Finding Inspiration Daily and The Becoming Daily. February and March 2012.*

AT THE HEART of a photographer's passion for the art of seeing, a moment of truth and beauty. This week, sharing Donald Verger's note and wish below, and also the place behind the photograph above ~ the whispers of love. Thank you, Don, for this moment. -Mia

"When Don Verger first took up photography seriously, he asked me to review his early work. I studied it and told him he could be the next Ansel Adams. That's a true story, and the intervening years have proven me right. This talented, award-winning photographer is one of those once-in-a-lifetime artists whose work establishes their reputation for generations to come." -Daniel Cheever President Emeritus, Simmons College Art collector

A NOTE FROM DONALD VERGER
On his birthday this past weekend, celebrating friendships, art, and love—

Thank you all, my Friends all, travelers together on our small beautiful Spaceship Earth for your kind birthday wishes and so much more! Your Friendships and Love are so important to me! I wish you all peace health joy and beautiful days.

Days before Joplin, i found little Shashoni Wyoming, almost a ghost town. I wandered down an old street and found a beautiful large mural. A tiny portion of that mural held these words that i photographed carefully to honored them and their setting.

The words and the Image say—

"Put your ear to the sky
And listen my Darling,
Everything Whispers I love You."

I love you all.
Thank you all.
don

_Donald Verger was born in Brooklyn, New York and resides in Falmouth, Maine, just footsteps from the ocean, where he captures the early moments of nature's true splendor. His 2012 Love calendar above is available on Amazon (limited quantities left). For all his 2012 calendars (each celebrated with Don's beautiful photographs), click here. Connect with Don on Twitter, Facebook, and his blog.

*Join us here next week on March 5, 2012 for more beautiful photographs by Donald Verger celebrating peace and hope, his Joplin Art Project. Until then, put your ear to the sky ...*

*A top story in Anita's Finding Inspiration Daily and The Becoming Daily. February and March 2012.*

SOMETHING SPECIAL arrived last week—the beautiful handmade card above (created by Christina Vizcarra of My Paper, Scissors, Rocks!). It was tucked inside my mailbox, an unexpected treasure celebrating the moments from my friend, Rachel Gellman. She wrote inside: keep writing and smiling! Her note brightened the evening and brought a smile to my face.

The spirit of the moment continued a few days later when another friend, Stan Stewart, was celebrating feeling alive. From that joy, Stan tweeted to Ivette López, Elizabeth Jackson, Donald Verger, Anita Bondi and me: What do you celebrate, today?

A conversation began. We tweeted to each other our celebrations of the day:

We hope you'll join us in the comments or on Twitter and share with us (and each other) what you are celebrating. Together let's remember the moments.

-Mia

*If you love the handmade card above by Christina Vizcarra of My Paper, Scissors, Rocks! as much as we do, we'd be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to families and friends, or sharing it on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and everywhere you go. Thanks so much.*

*A top story in Anita's Finding Inspiration Daily and The Becoming Daily. February 2012.*

ART INSPIRED ABOVE:
Custom artwork by Rachel Awes, who draws from Mia T. Starr's words.

Join in the dance for a chance to win
a print of the featured drawing above, plus a surprise gift from Mia.
A raffle ~ giveaway below (through December 26, 2011).
Connecting and sharing our journeys through the moments,
travels, stories, treasures and dreams.
 
♪♫ ✶ Happy Holidays. ✶ ♪♫

_
I had just returned from an immersion into writing, bliss, and the artful life in Tuscany when I saw a new follower, Rachel Awes, in my Twitter stream. As with all my new followers, I read Rachel's bio and recent tweets. Later I went to check out her blog and learned she was a psychologist, art playgroundist, writer, wife, mother, and friend, who loved listening to the beauty in people. She also sold art for your heart at her Etsy shop. At her blog, she shared her awe and inspiration from the gold she kept finding. On that day, Rachel was also having a Word Giveaway at the Wish Studio. She wrote:

Feeling inspired from my writing immersion in Tuscany, I accepted Rachel's invitation to play in her Word Giveaway contest and submitted my words and joy:

We danced in the delight of inspiration all around.

My submission was a line from a story and photo journal I had just finished writing and putting together: Embracing the Sun in Tuscany (which was also recently posted here at my blog).

On August 4, 2011 I received an email from Rachel and learned I was the winner of words :-) I was both thrilled and honored. It marked the first time my words inspired someone to *draw* from them. Celebrating that moment and the spirit of sharing in a circle of joy and inspiration, I am sponsoring a raffle for a chance to win a print of the featured custom artwork above (drawing by Rachel Awes and words and inspiration by yours truly). There will also be a surprise gift from me.

_
♪♫♪♫
You're almost there.
Scroll and see below for the various ways
to enter the raffle for a chance to win:
post a comment, share, subscribe, follow, like, or tweet.

Come. Join us in a circle of joy and be inspired.
Be part of the magic. Dance in the delight of inspiration all around.
♪♫♪♫

_
Thanks so much for being here. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and happy holidays. We wish you a glorious New Year. May it be blessed, joyous, and inspiring. May it be full of creativity and discoveries, following and trusting your bliss.

Let's do. Dream. Believe.

-Mia

ENTER THE RAFFLE BELOW.

✶Leaving a comment on this blog post is worth 4 entries.
Sharing your dreams under *aspiring and inspiring* is also worth 4 entries.
All other options are worth one entry each. Enter below for your chances to win.✶

✶Twitter followers of Four Days A Week
will be automatically entered in the raffle
(up to 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on December 27, 2011).✶

♪♫ Thanks so much for being part of the fun, raffle, and inspiration. ♪♫

✶For readers viewing this post via email or a feed reader,
please click through the blog post title or here to enter the raffle,
which ends at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on December 27, 2011.✶

✶The winner will be randomly selected and announced at the blog
on January 2, 2012 when we return from the holidays with a new post.✶

✶If you wish to share this raffle at your blogs,
please contact us for the widget, or if you have any questions.✶

✶Thanks so much for joining us in the circle of joy
and inspiration all around.✶

✶A top story in Anita's Finding Inspiration Daily and
The Becoming Daily. November 2011.✶

✶ A top story in Anita's Finding Inspiration Daily and other online papers. 2011. ✶