Maison Chance Charity Event in Seattle

We recently had a fund raising event held in Seattle to benefit Maison Chance. Many volunteers came together and worked hard on making it all happen. It was quite an event. We had many sponsors come and pledge lots of money. The best part was the auctioning of all the paintings. I had the responsibility of preparing the paintings, by stretching the canvases and framing them. It felt good to see how everyone responded. One of the paintings sold for as high as $3,000!! Which was pretty awesome. Most of the money being raised is going towards their new project called “Village Chance”. It will be self sufficient housing facility that will be totally designed to accommodate the disabled people. Read about it here – > http://maison-chance.us/project.html

It was a real honor to meet with Tim. I’m still amazed at how much she has done for the Vietnamese people.

You can see more great photos at this cool site put together by another volunteer of Maison Chance

http://maisonchanceseattle.shutterfly.com/

Enjoy!!

Crazy Traffic in Vietnam!

Here’s a couple of clips I took of the traffic in Saigon so youi can see what I mean when i say the traffic is crazy in comparison to the U.S.

This one was taken right down the street from my hotel.

And this was taken while i was inside a taxi coming back from Maison Chance and going back to my hotel. An interesting perspective indeed.

My visit to Maison Chance in Vietnam

On Monday I set out to visit Maison Chance and meet with the people there. I took the taxi and made my way out there. On the way, I was just taking in the scenery. The ordinary everyday life of the Vietnamese people, which is far different then the American life.  They’re on the streets trying to eek out a living by selling their foods and whatever they have to sell. And so much traffic swirling about it really made my head spin. The most amazing thing is that many people will pack on a ton of stuff on their tiny little scooters, or carts.

I brought a digital camera that Kha let me borrow. I had somehow forgot to pack my brand new camera before the trip. I couldn’t believe I forgot it, thankfully she let me borrow hers. I wanted to make sure I get some pictures of my visit to Maison Chance. When I got there I met with one of the social workers, Suen who spoke fairly good English and was kind enough to show me around the place.  I met with all of the people participating in the woodworking shop, the sewing class, computer classroom, and the art studio. It was certainly great to see these disabled people working and learning new skills. They all had smiles on their faces and made me feel welcome. I also stopped by some of the classes where the young school children were. There was a lot of energy in that place and I could sense that even better things will come for these kids.

Suen with one of the artists in residence. He needed both hands to control his brush while painting. An amazing display of control and mastery of his art!

Here I am with the art instructor

Lots of great art produced by the fine folks at Maison Chance!

Arrived in Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam

After a long 20 plus hour flight I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City late in the evening. All I could think of was to get to my hotel and get some much needed rest. I had about 120 bucks in US dollars, so I exchanged it for Vietnamese Dongs (pronounced doms).  I ended up with roughly 2 million dongs, leaving me to feel like an instant millionaire. Actually 1 US dollar equals about 16,500 dongs. I got myself a taxi and headed to the Saigon Mini Hotel where I would be staying.

The next day I called my girlfriend who lives in Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City). We’ve been dating online for the past year or so and this would be my first time meeting her in person. Her name is Kha and she has been telling me all about Vietnam and wanting me to come and visit the country. Well I finally got here, and was pretty excited. She met me at the hotel in the afternoon. She looked great and was pretty much how I expected her to be. It was as if we were two distant friends away for a while and just reunited. I was glad to have her around because I would really get lost in Saigon. We both went over to the Bien Thanh market, which is a major hub for all kinds of things to buy. And we walked around and saw some of the sights in the center district. I was taken aback by all the scooters zipping by in all directions. It just seemed like a huge amount of them whirring all around, so I had to be careful where I was walking. But it seemed that the locals would just walk where ever they may and the scooters would just go around them. Interesting.

We ended the day with some real good Vietnamese food at a nice restaurarnt. I had some Vietnamese style pancake and a beef hot pot dinner. I can’t remember what Kha had, but it was all very delicious. The food was fresh and unlike anything I’ve tasted back in the US.

Ticket to Vietnam

Last week I booked my flights to visit Vietnam! Whoohoo!! I am pretty excited about this upcoming trip. Finally, I get to meet the people at Maison Chance and of course my wonderful friend who lives in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).

I am now waiting to get my visa application approved and I am all set. I will be there in two weeks from now. This will be my second overseas trip. A few years ago I went to Europe and that was an eye opening experience. I am looking forward to an even greater experience in Southeast Asia.

Inspirational Quotes that I Like

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating
yourself.”

-George Bernard Shaw

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

-Mahatma Gandhi

Pictures from the Renton Art Fair

I had a great time participating in the Renton Art Fair last Saturday. The weather was was absolutely perfect and many people came out to see the arts. It was good to meet and talk with the people that stopped by. I gave out some of my art cards and flyers. I even made an art sale! Be looking for more exciting stuff from me in the near future.

Showing My Art at Renton Art Festival

This Saturday I will be in Renton showing some of my smaller artwork. They’ll have over 100 different artists in the downtown area. There will be a lot of people, so I’m pretty pumped up about this. I plan to tell people about my involvement with Maison Chance and donate 40 percent of my sales to this great organization. And whatever is leftover will go towards my trip to Vietnam.

I’ll be set up on the sidewalk in front of the La Hacienda restaraunt on 3rd st, between and Willams and Wells. See the map here [My location is number 18]

For info on the Art Festival please go here -> artsunlimited.org

Here’s one of my latest creations which is also available as print.

Maison Chance website finally launched!

After about 2 months of working on the website for Maison Chance we have finally launched it this week. It is a great feeling knowing that it is out there for the world to see. Please visit the site at www.maison-chance.us and learn more about it. There will be some fundraising events happening here in the United States which will benefit the orphans and disabled people of Vietnam. It is a real honor to be a part of this organization.

It is my hope that more and more people will become more aware of the situation in Vietnam. I am also wanting to visit the country soon and am trying to raise funds for an overseas trip soon. Some of my art sales will help cover the cost of the trip. My latest series of art has a mix of Asian and Victorian design.

Here is one of them titled “Center Your Heart”

See more of these by clicking on Print tab at top or go directly to my RedBubble.com page

Thank you!

Volunteering for a Great Charity Organization Called Maison Chance

For the past week and a half I’ve been pretty busy being involved with Maison Chance, which is a non profit group based in Viet Nam. They are dedicated to improving the lives of the orphans and disabled because the government there isn’t doing enough or anything at all. I first learned about this through a wonderful Vietnamese woman who I’ve come to know for the past year. When I read the story of the Swiss woman who started this organization, it touched me on a very deep level and I knew right away that this is something that I want to be involved with.

Now they are starting a new chapter for the United States and I have been called on to help with their website for USA. It feels great knowing that I can help make a difference in other peoples lives. This to me is the true meaning of happiness. As I sit here and write this I have such an enormous feeling of gratitude and high hopes of things to come in the future.

Soon I will announce the new website for the USA chapter. But for now have a look at their main site www.maison-chance.org