The Human Spirit.......

This week I received a lovely note from my recently found cousin in California. She praised me for my undertakings. Always nice to be appreciated but before I had time to puff up and spread my feathers, I looked upon the art work of her note folder.

The lovely cover of her folded note card depicts a peacock peering into a lush garden of many colors while the background displays a covered part of the walkway, the roof supported by doric columns. Given my appreciation of Greek pillars as well as peacocks, much less a beautiful garden, I stared into the art a few minutes,shades of lavender, purple, rose, reds, white, yellow, greens, etc.

I mused at the irony that while the peacock could strut his stuff, here is this gorgeous garden giving challenge to color display but the peacock's tail is closed! He was not competing, he was appreciating and sensing wonderment, without a doubt!

I turned to the back of this folder and much to my amazement, I discovered that the artist,Elodie Cazes, is a mouth painter! What a realization, yes a shot of reality I felt staring at her name: Elodie Cazes, Mouth Painter. Immediately I saw a survivor, one who triumphed over great odds to create works of beauty!

At the bottom of the card was the name of the group to which she belongs: The Mouth and Foot Painting Artists, their address in Georgia. I immediately googled and found myself lost in a world of artists with with brush in mouth and between toes, creating works of art!

I'll copy and paste their history for you to make your own discovery or perhaps purchase greeting cards, calendars, etc.

The Mouth and Foot Painting Artists' history

The roots of the MFPA go back to 1956, when Erich Stegmann, a polio-stricken mouth painter, gathered a small band of disabled artists from eight European countries. Their ultimate goal was to make their living through their artistic efforts, and to obtain a sense of work security that until then had eluded them.

Coupling his creative abilities with business acumen, Stegmann established the MFPA as a co-operative organization that reproduces its artists work mainly in the form of cards, calendars and books.

From the small group he gathered for the inaugural meeting of the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists, the group has now grown to represent approximately 700 members, from over 70 countries around the world.

One of the main themes of Stegmann’s credo was that the MFPA must never be regarded as a charity simply because its members are disabled. To Stegmann, the word "charity" was as abhorrent as the word "pity." The Association maintains that it is not a charity and does not qualify for charitable assistance.

To this day, the MFPA’s motto in the United States remains: “Self Help – Not Charity.”

Truly, this is an uplifting site to explore in the sense of appreciating the survival of the human spirit against some pretty tremendous odds.