The Charter for Compassion from TED Prize on Vimeo.

Compassion for all beings is a cornerstone, or more accurately, the keystone, of veganism…at least in my book. This message should be spread far and wide. If you are able (and agree) please pass it on.

Hi Everyone at Illustration Friday!

It’s Kelly Light from the “Ripple” blog. I wanted to stop back and say a huge “THANKS!” to all of the Illustration Friday contributors who came to Ripple and donated their talent and time to help the Gulf Oil Spill animal victims. In one week Ripple went from having 100 cards to having 600 cards. We went from raising $1,000.00 to help clean oiled animals to more than $5,000.00 (as of 6/22). That figure keeps growing and the art keeps coming everyday. Artist from all over the globe showed up to throw their pebbles in. The messages they shared were of care and concern, anger and frustration and even hope for an end to this catastrophe. From across the United States the message was clear — whether near a beach or not — we need to do what we can to help. Small sketches, small donations that add up not only in dollars but in heart.

As a result of Ripple, I get personal updates from a woman cleaning birds in Florida with the IBRRC (one of the non profits Ripple helps). She said it takes 3 bottles of Dawn Dish Detergent to wash one bird. One $10 sketch card buys three bottles. So we have raised enough money to clean roughly 570 birds. I made a deal with myself to run this blog as long as the oil spills. I want the oil to stop now. But as long as it’s flowing I’ll be here and will welcome any new art submissions.

Thanks again to Penelope and Brianna for the support, the huge hook up – and the inspiration!

-Kelly

Some of the pieces I made are still available if you’re interested in donating to the cause!

Happily, I can report that the first painting has already sold to a donor…let’s keep our fingers crossed that the next five go just as quickly!

If you’re wondering about the subjects of these paintings, the first four are all found in the Gulf, the last two (the fish) are from my imagination – although I’ll bet you can find fish that look pretty similar in salty water somewhere!

I Will Fly Again: One | 3″ x 4″ | Watercolor, Pen and India Ink on Watercolor Paper – SOLD

I Will Fly Again: Two | 3″ x 4″ | Watercolor, Pen and India Ink on Watercolor Paper – SOLD

I Will Fly Again: Three | 3″ x 4″ | Watercolor, Pen and India Ink on Watercolor Paper

I Will Swim Again: One | 3″ x 4″ | Watercolor, Pen and India Ink on Watercolor Paper

I Will Swim Again: Two | 3″ x 4″ | Watercolor, Pen and India Ink on Watercolor Paper

I Will Swim Again: Three | 3″ x 4″ | Watercolor, Pen and India Ink on Watercolor Paper

It’s hard to make ripples in oil soaked water. But throw enough stones and you will!

It’s not about the politics or the corporation. It’s about the animals. It’s about not feeling helpless in the face of an overwhelming disaster. We’re illustrators. We don’t lose touch with that kid inside who marvels at the creatures who swim below and fly above the sea. We draw them. We are inspired by them. We need to help them.

The Ripple blog was started on the 45th day of the Deepwater Horizon Catastrophe. The oil spill in the Gulf is now over 50 days old with no sign of stopping. We may be too small as individuals to do some grand gesture- but together our small gestures can be grand.

This week’s Illustration Friday topic is “Ripple” and I ask you to consider creating your work this week as a small 2.5″ x 3.5″ sketchcard. The subject should pertain somehow to the Gulf – the oil spill – the oceans and the creatures that live in it and around it. The cards can be submitted to Ripple Sketches as a jpeg along with your links and a few sentences about you (ie: where you live, etc).

These will be made available for a small donation of $10.00 to either The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies or The International Bird Rescue Research Center. I have no affiliation with them. Every penny will go. When the cards sell, we ask for a donation confirmation and you will be asked to sign the back with a thank you. Then mail them to the address you are sent. If we all do small acts together – we can cause a ripple – and it can grow. We can DO SOMETHING. Thank you, thank you for checking this out and thinking about it.

Kelly Light

So, in light of this weeks topic and the special cause behind it, I went digging in my closet and brought out my favorite little set of watercolors. Here is my contribution:

I Will Fly Again: One | 3″ x 4″ | Watercolor, Pen and India Ink on Watercolor Paper

This really got me back on the watercolor wagon…I’m thinking of doing a small series. Helping the rescue effort will be one of the best motivators I’ve had in a while.

You can see this and other artist’s donated illustrations at Ripple Sketches.

We missed it again! Every year we say we’re going to encourage vegetarianism during The Great American (and International) Meatout and every year it passes by. Better late than never – especially when lives hang in the balance! Hey, at least this counts toward Meatout Monday.

On (or around) March 20 — the first day of spring — thousands of caring people in all 50 U.S. states and two dozen other countries get active to host educational Meatout events. Activities include colorful festivals, lectures, public dinners, feed-ins, cooking demos, food samplings, leafleting, information tables and more.

The occasion is Meatout, the world’s largest and oldest annual grassroots diet education campaign. Meatout 2010 is the 25th Anniversary! Every spring, thousands of caring Meatout supporters educate their communities and ask their friends, families, and neighbors to pledge to “kick the meat habit (at least for a day) and explore a wholesome, compassionate diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.”

Source: Meatout.org

Avoiding meat has a bigger impact than you might think…

U.S. Slaughter Totals 2008

Cattle: 34,369,000
Chickens: 9,069,382,000
Ducks: 24,165,000
Pigs: 116,458,000
Sheep/Lambs: 2,555,000
Turkeys: 271,625,000
TOTAL: 9.5 billion

Source: The Humane Society of the United States and The National Agricultural Statistics Service

You CAN make a difference! Need a little help going meatless in the kitchen? Try the Post Punk Kitchen & Recipe Zaar!

As a child I used to see circus tents and get all excited about the elephants, tigers and bears that I might see inside. Even then, I remember feeling sad that they were trapped in tiny cages and kept shackled up like prisoners. Now, as an adult, I see the true suffering that occurs far too often under the guise of entertainment, some say “the Greatest Show on Earth.”

If your life wouldn’t be the same without the circus, go to see an animal free circus. They are every bit as entertaining (more so in my opinion) and don’t cause animal suffering.

Learn about the lives of circus animals from the Humane Society…

People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it’s safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs. Anonymous

Personally, we don’t care who’s wearing it. The bottom line is: NOBODY should. It’s the animal’s – not ours. Learn more at FurIsDead.com!

Harrisburg, PA (AP) – Sammy, a Shetland sheepdog, wouldn’t touch his food, retreating to a corner of the yard and devouring mouthfuls of dirt – behavioral oddities his owner later learned came from a lifetime of abuse as a “stud” in a large puppy mill.

The 10 years of caged confinement Sammy endured would have been illegal under a bill signed late Thursday by Gov. Ed Rendell. The governor, who owns two rescued golden retrievers, and other dog advocates hope the new law will help Pennsylvania shed its reputation as the puppy mill capital of the East.

Read the full article…