Paint, brushes, and volunteers clean up graffiti and build communities

Twenty-six years ago, Jane Golden took to the streets of Philadelphia armed with paint, brushes, simple designs, and a small contingent of helpers. Her goal? Wipe out the city's ugly graffiti. Her weapon of choice? Murals.

Since 1984 she has put paintbrushes in the hands of more than 35,000 city kids. The program has brought art to prison inmates and drug addicts, as well as wary stoop sitters. The waiting list for murals to be painted here is 2,000 walls long. Artists far beyond Philly want in on the design work.

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Portraits of the Fallen

This week, if you only have time to visit one link from my blog and watch one video, this is the one. Get the kleenex.

Kaziah Hancock is a Utah artist who paints portraits of fallen American heroes at no cost.  She was driving home in early 2003 and heard the story on the radio of a fallen soldier from Utah.  It was at that point she decided she would do a portrait of every fallen soldier. 

Linda's 2 cents:
One of the purposes of this blog is to find stories that give folks hope. Another is to find areas on which we agree regardless of our politics. I believe Liberals and Conservatives alike feel that loosing a child is a parent's worst nightmare. This artist brings comfort to families who are hurting and she has my deepest admiration and support. I hope she also has yours and that you will take the time to comment on this article in the comment section below.

If you or someone you know has lost a loved one in the war, I encourage you to contact this program.

Video of artist and one family she has helped:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it7NQBN-lO0

Another video - Mom is there as Artists paints her son's portrait:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZMqzEKSTNI&feature=fvw

Article about the Artist:
http://www.defense.gov/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=2392

Another program providing a similar service
http://www.fallenheroesproject.org/ 

Special Thanks to Butch D"Amico who sent me this story

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