Kickstarter

                               Thank you so much to everyone!! 

                                                 All 53 of you!! 

                           And to those who increased their pledges!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While the goal has been met, if you are new to this page and are moved to pledge towards this project, it will go towards the final $10,000 necessary for printing the book and CD.  Thank you.

Passion for Place: Community Reflections on the Carmel River Watershed  is a book and CD project for and by the community and serves as a prototype for people in other communities.  

Wherever we live, from rural areas to the city streets and all the land in between, we all live in a watershed. Sharing stories of our connection to rivers and land connect us to each other and remind us of what is important in our lives. We are reminded of the beauty, wonder, and spirit of the natural world. 

In the big picture, this project is about creativity and the possibility of cultural change, understanding what ecological integrity means, and knowing that we are a part of that integrity. 

Creativity, in its greatest depths of the human psyche and genetic coding, emerges from the wildness of the natural world. When we allow wildness, our own spirit, to flourish within, we can also respect and allow nature’s spirit, the wild outside, to exist. 

The stories, poems, and essays in the book are written by thirty-six community members. They are organized from the headwaters and source of the Carmel River, through the valley, and out to the lagoon and ocean. In addition, a CD of natural sounds combined with excerpts from interviews of eight community members will complete the anthology, taking the reader on a virtual experience of the Carmel River Watershed. 

The Foreword is written by Freeman House, author of Totem Salmon: Life Lessons from Another Species. Internationally recognized authors Terry Tempest Williams and Peter Forbes have granted use of quotes for the book. Dr. Barbara Mossberg has written the Introduction that will appear on the cover front flap.

Copies of Passion for Place will be given to local libraries, schools and public officials as well as to the writers and interviewees. I will do talks about the watershed and my paintings, read stories on my own and with other contributors to the book, have live music with readings, hold readings along the trails and river among other avenues of sharing.

Given Carmel Valley is a destination location, known around the country and world, this book will be a useful, informative, beautiful resource and anthology for people to get to know the community and land from various perspectives.

The goal is to have the book come out by April 22, 2012 or, if necessary, June 5, 2012.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

When we live together with a watershed consciousness, we come to understand more clearly how our actions affect the greater whole. Imagine how life and business could be different if more and more people around the world became immersed in their home watershed in this way!

 Rivers are the connecting force in all our lives.

 You can read a cover article printed April 21, 2011 in the Monterey County Weekly by going to this link:http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/2011/apr/21/Down-to-the-River/

How I will do it

I have been working on this project since 2007 beginning with painting vistas (on site) of the Carmel River watershed. Since then I have painted over 50 paintings of the watershed and river. I began reaching out to community members in 2010 inviting them to write their stories, poems and essays for the book. In 2011 the stories, poems, and essays were reviewed and prepared for the book with the generous volunteer editing expertise of published authors Laura Bayless and John Dotson. This book would not be where it is without all those who have contributed their writings and the help of Laura and John. 

Currently, I am completing the design phase of the book and working on the creation of the CD with Charlie Steves, a professional in the field of audio editing.  My goal is to have 1,000 copies of Passion for Place printed on the west coast (rather than overseas) using 100% recycled paper thus keeping jobs on this continent and lowering the environmental footprint of the project. The book is 190 pages with approximately 90 pages in color.

How funds will be used

Printing is the biggest cost of this project at approximately $36,000. ( My time is volunteer.) Funds raised on Kickstarter will be put towards the printing. Currently $22,570 has been raised from various fundraising efforts initiated in 2011. (This represents 54 donors and  $5,000 matching funds from RisingLeaf Watershed Arts.)  

 What would be wonderful is to surpass the $4000 goal on Kickstarter thus  bringing the funds raised even closer to the ultimate goal! 

If you are new to Kickstarter, funds pledged here will be realized only if the goal of $4000 or more is reached by the due date noted in the gray box on the right top of this page.

Identities of people involved with Passion for Place

While I am the sole person on the "team" in directing Passion for Place, this project is not an independent enterprise. There are the 44 people who have written and granted interviews for the project along with Pamela Takigawa and Anne Greene who have created beautiful drawings for the book; coeditors John Dotson and Laura Bayless; Jules Hart who creatively filmed and edited the informational video; and Charlie Steves who is helping in a big way with the CD.  Others who have been or are involved as volunteers helping with the book content and CD are Ty Griffin, Deborah Whittlesey Sharp, Melissa Taylor, Susan Davis, Pamela Takigawa, Pam Krone Davis (maps and co-creator of purpose of book and questions used to engage writers and interviewees), Michael Houston, Linda Yamane, John Castagna, Canyon Haverfield, Steve Zmak, Kevan Urquhart, Carol Reeb, and Thomas Christensen. Ty is also generously printing/donating the cards that are being given for the $50 pledge.

I am sincerely grateful to all who are making this project possible through their generosity, support, and expertise.