Category Archives: Pixabay.com Photography Volunteers

Gems 5.51

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I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s another light-filled ¤ Gem ¤

5.51

Yesterday I learned that Netflix has one of my favorite movies available, I Am Legend.  I hadn’t seen it in a very long time, and it was just as powerful this viewing.  If you know the movie, you know that Will Smith is a virologist trying to solve a world pandemic in New York City, ground zero.  It is an incredible, terrifying movie, and Smith is, as always, masterful.

As he said these words later in the movie, I felt something shift in me.

He (Bob Marley) had this idea, it was kind of a virologist idea, he believed he could cure racism and hate, literally cure it by injecting music and love into people’s lives.

One day he was scheduled to perform at a peace concert, gunmen came to his house and shot him down.

Two days later he walked out on the stage and sang.  Somebody asked him why.  He said the people who were trying to make this world worse are not taking a day off.  How can I?

Light up the darkness.

This site, under1000skies, started as a place to store my photos.  Then it became the answer to a challenge to “do something about (homelessness)” from an author on Twitter.  It was a small thing, but I envisioned a place to spotlight the beautiful creations of homeless creatives.  I had hoped to bring homeless artists together from all over the world.  In the five years since we began, we have had two contributors, Johnny O., and Cord X.  Happily, both now have homes.  I’m very grateful for their photos and poetry contributions.

But lately, I felt as if I had failed.  I hadn’t found more creatives, so for the past year or so, I was finding photos on Pixabay or sharing my own and combining these with quotes I loved.  It just seemed like I was propping up something that was winding down.  But I was wrong.

When I made it my life aspiration to create 10,000 graphics, it was for exactly this reason.  I wanted to pour love into the world, one beautiful tiny gem at a time.  These are small things but done with great love.  Even a candle can be a brilliant light in the darkness.  Somewhere along the way, I forgot that.

So now, under1000skies has changed again.  It’s about pouring love, one day, one little quote at a time, into the world.  Forgive me for losing my way and forgetting.  I’m back.

Light up the darkness.

JULY 2017 GALLERY SHOW

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I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Welcome to our third ¤ Gallery Show ¤

 

Edited with PicMonkey

Created using a PicMonkey template.  Artist unknown.

Thank you so much to all the contributing artists and creatives who have helped under1000skies every day since we began in 2015.

  1. BEN ARCHER
  2. DR. RALPH BELL
  3. CONTESSA BROWN
  4. CREATIVE THEMES
  5. DAVID COLEMAN
  6. MIKE DOWNS
  7. NIKI FLOW
  8. FREE IMAGES.COM
  9. J.J. GARCIA
  10. JOHN HACK
  11. CHIP HALDANE
  12. AL HANDA & IVY
  13. NICOLE HUGUENIN
  14. JONATHAN KENDRICK
  15. STEPHANI PUI-MUN LAW
  16. M.J.
  17. STEVE MANN
  18. MARVEL COMICS
  19. CARLOS MENDEZ
  20. MELISSA M. MORRIS
  21. NOTHINGTOSEE MOVEALONGNOW
  22. CHRISTIAN NITU
  23. JOHN “JOHNNY O” OLANDER
  24. PHOTOS-PUBLIC-DOMAIN.COM
  25. PIXABAY PHOTOGRAPHY VOLUNTEERS
  26. JOE RALEY
  27. ALISA REAGAN
  28. THE REAGAN FAMILY
  29. PAUL ANTHONY SCHMITZ
  30. SHELTERING GRACE
  31. SHOWER-UP NASHVILLE
  32. SOLIVAN C. SZUPKA
  33. STOCKPHOTOS.COM
  34. WILD DREAM WALKS

 

2013

In 2013, under1000skies was just a site Niki Flow created for random poems, photos and sketches.

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2014

She didn’t do much with it in 2014.  Then on November 14, 2014, Niki’s whole life changed.  She wrote a story about it here:  It Begins with Me.

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2015

Year 1:  Gems 1.1 to 1.81.  It took almost a year to solidify a plan to keep the promise made in the November 14, 2014 blog.  On September 2, 2015, the first “light-filled gem” was published:  Gems 1.1

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2016

Year 2:  Gems 2.1 to 2.82  On March 2, 2016, Niki’s oldest son Ben Archer, disappeared.  Ben was one of the main contributing photographers and one of Niki’s staunchest supporters.   As of this writing (1 year, 3 months later) none of his family nor any of his friends have seen or heard from him since.  Many of the posts on under1000skies were about Ben that year, but the family decided to take most of those posts down.  They thought Ben might be embarrassed at all the fuss and would come home when it died down.  So we took down all the blogs, waited and never gave up hope.  We never will. Ben’s case is also now on the Federal Database here:   Ben Archer:  NamUs MP # 33696   All updates about Ben are being kept here:  Niki Flow.   In October of 2016 we started an Instgram Account for under1000skies and in November of 2016 we started a Twitter Account. We’re also on Tumbler, G+, Pinterest and Facebook.

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2017

Year 3:  Gems 3.1 to 3.65 (so far).  In 2017 we began a brand new year with new photographers, artists and, for the first time, our first contribution from one of our homeless creatives, “Johnny O.”  We also began our first Spotlight Saturday and hope to continue these at least every other week in the years go come.  We also finally designed a signature logo and a website logo.

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JULY – DECEMBER, 2017

There’s a lot more coming in the next six months of 2017.

Website and Stationary Story

We’ll be getting under1000.org up and running as well as our stationary store under1000skies.com.

On the Road under1000skies

On or about August 1, 2017 Niki Flow will be begin a USA tour which has three objectives:  (1) to meet volunteers and supporters of under1000skies around the United States; (2) to get the word out about under1000skies with road shows, poetry slams, music shows, and on-the-road gallery shows.  We’ll have a table set up with information about us as well as boxes of stationary, volunteer packets, and artist packs; and (3) to follow in the footsteps of Niki’s son, Ben Archer who was a traveling artist.  He visited 25 states in 2015 from one coast to the other and went to dozens of artist shows.  This is where Niki will set up her under1000skies table with the Gallery Show and Ben’s photo prominently displayed.  If anyone has seen Ben, it would be these creative folks he loved to spend so much time with.  If you would like Niki to stop in your city; if you’d like to support this road trip with materials, a bed for a night, supplies, a meal or even a few hours of company, please write to us at Gems@gmail.com.

 

thank you

To all our artists, photographers, writers and advocates, quote suppliers, cheerleaders and especially to our homeless creatives and those who love and support them too, with all our hearts, thank you.

With deep thanks and lots of love,

under1000skies logo 1
☼ A “Giftivism” Initiative ☼
We are photographers,
writers, artists & advocates
serving and connecting
homeless creatives.

Gems 1st Biannual Gallery Show

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I hope you’re having a beautiful day. ♡
Here’s some exciting news about our light-filled ¤ Gems! ¤

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OUR FIRST BIANNUAL GALLERY SHOW

You can view the Gems (and all artists) in reverse order in our new

Gallery Carousel

Thank you to everyone who has supported, followed, liked and commented our blog since our first Gems last fall.  It is with great pleasure that we announce our first Gallery Show in support of The Gems Project.

OUR PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ARTISTS

You can also view our Gems by specific contributing artist.  Special thanks and a big shout-out to these talented artists who have so generously shared their inspirations with us:

Ben Archer

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Chip Haldane

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Contessa Brown

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Michael Downs

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Nicole Huguenin

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Niki Flow

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Nothingtosee Movealongnow

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If you would donate photos, art, time or currency to The Gems Project, please see our About “The Gems Project” Page. We need photographers, artists, volunteers, art and photography lovers to spread the word and, of course, donations for the Artist Packs.

☼ Gems 1.28 ☼

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Gems 1.28

Bag End to Rivendell

Miles 194-211*

*Milestones based on The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien and The Atlas of Middle Earth by Karen Fonstad

The 1st Annual KindSpring Eowyn Challenge
September 23-October 6th on KindSpring.org

MTFMR (Movement-to-Forward-Movement Ratios) on Middle Earth. Translate ALL movement to Middle Earth miles!

 

Bag End to Rivendell
Oct. 4 – Day 12 (5th from Bree): 17 miles

“It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo, — the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were…But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers

Weather Foothills, 12th Day from the Shire
Tonight we camp by a proper stream and trees.  Well, the trees are stunted alders but they sure beat the Marsh.  The moon is turning her face away and in a week or so the night will be too dark to see much at all.  (from The Journal of Samwise Gamgee*)

*Based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and The Atlas of Middle Earth by Karen Fonstad

The 1st Annual KindSpring Eowyn Challenge
http://www.kindspring.org/challenge/join/716/