I am honored to share that I am a part of the “100 Artists to Fight Cancer” to help Virginia Spiegel reach her overall goal of $250,000 for the American Cancer Society! She’s just $10,000 away! Mark your calendar—10:00 AM CST on February 4, 2015 is when you could win a piece of art from one of your 100 favorite fiber artists. (Details can be found here.)

If you have just a couple of minutes to read further, I’d like to tell you about the piece of art I am going to make, and why.

For 100 Artists, I am making a piece in honor of my college friend Fr. TJ Martinez, who at the age of 44 lost his battle against cancer just this past Friday.

TJ’s smiling face was was one of the very first to greet me when I arrived at Boston College. During our college days, we were both rather involved in our undergraduate government; both were a part of a two-year leadership program; both helped run a student center for activities on campus; and even dated for a short spell (but realized we were better as good friends). He was also my confirmation sponsor, and when the confirmation mass was over, he gave me a giftwrapped book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss.

And the places he went. He earned not one…not two…not three…not four…but FIVE post-graduate degrees, including a law degree from UT-Austin and a Master’s at Harvard (where, not surprisingly, he gave the commencement address).

A man of deep faith, TJ eventually became a Jesuit priest, and his most stunning feat to date: raised millions of dollars in Houston to found a college prep school for children from impoverished families—children who otherwise most likely would never have dreamed of going to college.

His school, Cristo Rey Jesuit has had two graduating classes thus far…and, wonderfully, all of the students have gone on to college!

This past January TJ invited Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer, to keynote a luncheon at his school that I was fortunate enough to attend.

The Dog Whisperer’s presence in Houston caught the attention of the local media. Here’s a video clip of TJ with Cesar: http://www.click2houston.com/news/dog-whisperer-cesar-milan-visits-local-high-school/23950332

At that luncheon TJ said something so funny, so embarrassing to my entire table. With his arm around me, he shouted, “Hey everybody, this is my friend, POKEY! We went to BOSTON COLLEGE together! We dated but she turned me DOWN…so I had to go to JESUS!”

(TJ could be cheeky too.)

That is the last time I saw my friend. In the spring, TJ was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer, a diagnosis he accepted with grace. His message to all after he was diagnosed was not to be sad, but to live joyfully.

I am choosing the joyous colors of TJ’s school (with a little pink thrown in) for my 100 Artists piece:

I don’t know what I am going to create yet, but I know what the title will be: “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”

That title feels pretty perfect, just like my perfect, always smiling friend.

Homecoming Dance, 1990. (TJ wasn’t just an incredible scholar but he could cut up the rug pretty good, too!)

I promise I’ll do right by you with my artist piece, TJ!

In loving memory,

Pokey

I was watching The Today Show yesterday morning where they were launching their “Shine a Light” program, a year-long initiative focused on service and giving back to communities in need. Each co-anchor is choosing a worthy cause to support throughout the year, and this week they’ve been unveiling those causes. Al Roker is joining a U.S.O. tour to entertain our troops overseas, Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie are building playgrounds, and Natalie Morales is running the Boston Marathon to raise money for last year’s bombing victims.

Well! Fiber artists and quilters are not to be left out of the running, so to speak. Virginia Spiegel, fundraiser extraordinaire, is yet again launching a campaign, this time a virtual race to to the finish line, a 5K-race to raise $5000 January 15th for Fiber Art For a Cause to benefit the American Cancer Society.

As this is a virtual race, you can give your knees and achy joints a break! All you need to do is mark your calendars for the 15th to be in the running for some pretty fabulous fiber and quilting prizes and donate money to the American Cancer Society.

And if you leave a comment below (by this Sunday, January 12th at midnight EST)  letting me know what other good deed(s) you are doing this year to help someone, volunteer, raise money, etc., I’ll match each comment (one per person) with a $1 donation for the American Cancer Society. So mark your calendars for January 15th, and let the comments and good deeds commence!

Virginia Spiegel’s  A Year of Art   launches tomorrow, Tuesday, February 12 and continues on Wednesday, February 13.  It’s two days of fiberlicious fundraising for the American Cancer Society. Here’s the line-up of contributing artists:

Pamela Allen
Pokey Bolton
Linda Colsh
Jane Davila
Vivika DeNegre
Jane Dunnewold
Jamie Fingal
Karen Stiehl Osborn
Yvonne Porcella
Virginia A. Spiegel
Laura Wasilowski

I am contributing this market tote I made, and filling it with lots of goodies:

I’m stuffing this tote with the last three seasons of Quilting Arts TV, an assortment of books and magazines from Interweave, a fat stack of screened and printed fabric created by Yours Truly, among other fiber treats.

Furthermore, I will match the winning bid for my tote, so that’s double the amount for ACS!

I recently had a short interview with Virginia Spiegel which can be found here.

Mark your calendars for tomorrow and bookmark this page to win some great art to benefit the American Cancer Society!