One Busy Bee!

Well, I’ve been one busy little bee this month. I just wanted to share and update what I have been oing. Starting at the beginning of the month I shot hot new shoes for my Gina’s Shoe Gallery located in Rice Village. Here are some of the new shoes. Be sure to visit her website or store and be sure to mention that Debra sent you!

Since I’ve been in Houston I have been looking for different organizations to work with and I recently became the photographer for Houston’s Interfaith Ministires The Amazing Faiths Project. “The Amazing Faiths Project is a movement that brings together people to learn about the beliefs and faith traditions of others through exploration and dialogue; to foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding; and to stand as a witness for tolerance and justice.”

So far I have really enjoyed working with this organization. On October 13, 2008 there was a press conference with the Mayor of Houston, Bill White, in which he was encouraging Houstonians to participate in one of The Amazing Faiths Project’s most important events, Dinner Dialogues. “The Dinner Dialogues provide an opportunity for people to meet people of other faith traditions, to share experiences and listen to the sharing of others, and to converse about matters of faith and spirituality in a safe, controlled environment.”

In this annual event, people gather in groups of 8-10 in private homes to share a meal and engage in a moderated discussion about the role of faith or spirituality in their lives. To participate in the Dinner Dialogues you can either go as an attendee or you can be a host. Please click on the links to find out more information. The deadline to register to be a host is October 31, 2008. The Dinner Dialogues will take place on November 13, 2008.

A few days after the press conference, I have the opportunity to take part in the Texas Conference for Women. It was awesome! There were many great seminars and speaker as well as vendors, click the link to find out more info.

This month I was able to attend a Dove Beauty Workshop for Girls which was developed to help free the next generation from self-limiting beauty stereotypes and committed to reaching 5 million young women by the end of 2010. The young lady who gave the seminar has begun her journey on the road to becoming a motivational speaker and this was just a step along the way. The part that I got to play was to show the girls how magazines and media distort and “doctor” images that we see. The workshop sparked a great discussion concerning the media and how it makes young girls and women feel that they need to be a certain way in order to be accepted or popular. It was a great experience and I can’t wait for the next workshop.

On Mondays I volunteer at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital with the Art Cart Program. This passed Friday we held a Photography Contest open to all of the employees, staff, and volunteers of the hospitals in the Medical Center. Well, I am proud to announce that I entered two (2) images, a butterfly, which won an Honorable Mention and a black & white image which won 1st place in the black & white category! All of the winning images will be on display at St. Luke’s until the beginning of 2009 for public viewing. Here are my winning entries!

Lastly, another important event to support Interfaith Ministries The Amazing Faiths Project is Faith Tours. Faith Tours are “Monthly opportunities for the general public to explore various faith traditions and join in directed conversation about the tenets of each faith, their practice, beliefs and sites of worship or community gatherings. Participants visit two faith communities on weekends around the Greater Houston Metropolitan Area. The tours conclude at Rothko Chapel with a structured discussion and evaluation.”

This week we visited Christ Church Cathedral and the Hare Krishna Temple. Both tours were very interesting and enlightening. I would recommend them to anyone who wants to learn more about other faiths and who want to open their minds.

Christ Church Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral

Hare Krishna Temple

Hare Krishna Temple

Well, I hope that you enjoyed reading this blog. I didn’t want it to be extremely long (which it is) so I left out info that you can find by visiting the different websites. I hope that you come back soon to check the blog and I promise that I’ll try to do better to update more regularly! Enjoy!