Izza Kizza Press Kit
A Press Kit project that our creative team put together for Southern Hip-Hop artist Izza Kizza.
Special thanks to Sonya Ziegler of Aim to Simplify for her concept oversight and Julia (Jules) Kelly for her phenomenal, creative graphic designs and endless energy with the revision process! Both of you are beyond belief!
Healing Therapy Through Art: MONARCH SCHOOL
Originally titled
BUTTERFLY ART
(First published in Fine Magazine, August, 2009)
by
Sonya Ziegler and John Butler
Like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, the metamorphosis of the art program at Monarch School has gone from a mere crawl to spreading its wings and taking flight. This important art program for homeless and at-risk kids dates back to 1998, when Chicano Park muralist, painter and activist Mario Torero worked with a group of students from The Monarch School to create a series of murals. Drawing upon the challenges, hopes, dreams and dread of these children, the mural focuses on what it means to be homeless, from the child’s point of view. To this day, these murals greet everyone who enters the school and proudly shows that art is the heart of the school.
Dedicated to providing homeless and at-risk children with an accredited education while caring for their basic needs, Monarch School is located in downtown San Diego and is one of only two such school left in the United States. With more than 100 kids between the ages of 7 and 18 enrolled at any one time, the professionals there are making sure that these fantastic, sometimes forgotten kids, get the accredited education they need to break the cycle of their family’s pain. With the average age of a homeless person being just 9 years old, there are more than 2,200 homeless children in San Diego and more than 300,000 nationwide! Touring Monarch School, witnessing the creativity of the kids and the dedication of the staff restores hope and reminds all of us that we can help these young lives.
Through art, this diverse assortment of students express themselves in a way that is meaningful, beautiful and personal. “The arts provide such a real way for students to stay connected to their cultures and to share their cultures,” says Rachelle Jacobson, Monarch’s Expressive Arts Therapist since the evolution of the position in October 2007. Originally hired in 1998, she has witnessed the development of the art program since the mural project spurred the school into officially starting an art program; to today, when artistic expression is used as a therapeutic tool for these challenged kids. With a Masters Degree in Expressive Arts Therapy, Rachelle is pioneering this new program using an array of artistic outlets that allow the child to show, rather than tell what is going on inside of them. Helping these kids deal with the challenges that have been presented to them so early in their young lives. “When insecurity takes energy away from learning, artistic expression, such as theater, dance, painting and sandtray therapy, can restore a child’s strength by creating safe experiences to draw from.”
“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child,”
Pablo Picasso.
With no stigma attached, Rachelle says that students receiving Expressive Art Therapy are not mocked by other students, but are instead envied. “Once, a student came up to me and asked. What do I have to do to come and see you?” Rachelle replied, “You just need to be facing some challenges.” The little girl, who was just 9-years old, remarked adorably, “I’m psycho…”
“What a powerful medium the arts are in a school program. It engages the kids, nurtures them, gives them another, creative way to communicate and express themselves. In addition, homelessness is not the biggest issue. These are kids trying to figure out who they are. They want to know where they fit in. They are dealing with parent issues, kids picking on them and all of the normal issues you would expect to see at a regular school,” Rachelle goes on to add that, “The students of Monarch School are not the reason why their family is in a shelter, or on the street. They’re only kids!”
Help these kids bridge the gap that divides them from the life they know, and the one they dream of. Today, you read about these kids, what are you going to do tomorrow? Go to their website, www.monarchschools.org, and volunteer, donate art supplies, join with Fine Magazine in doing something now.
Credits
Sonya Ziegler is a Professional Organizer, Event Planner, and CEO of Aim to Simplify. John Butler is a professional Ghostwriter and Freelance Writer living in San Diego’s historic Gaslamp District. Inocente Izucar, whose art decorates these pages, was in 8th grade when she created these works of art.
JB’s office
A new client sent me some research material to read…
What? Your office doesn’t have a view?
Sent from my iPhone.
Ghostwriting
Ghostwriting a 300 page manuscript, on average, takes 3 to 4 months to complete. And while the time and dedication needed to complete a book seems out of reach to most, turning into a recurring New Year’s resolution, there is hope: me! From the initial concept meetings, through development of the project, to a finished manuscript that is polished and ready for publication through a Print On Demand service, I help people fulfill their goal of getting their book written!
As an example, the fee for a 300 page, non-fiction project starts at $25,000.00.
Please contact me for a quote on your project and to check on my availability!
“I don’t fear the blank page…
It is but a canvas waiting to be painted with words, your words.”
-JB
An open secret throughout the ages, Ghostwriters have been used by executives, professionals, celebrities, politicians and kings to control their mythologies, their legacies, and secure their moments in history. They know that “writing” a book requires a level of dedication that they cannot afford to give lest they take their eye off their own tasks… They know that their time is too valuable or too limited for them to dedicate the weeks, months, and sometimes years needed for them to be able to finally get their book written…
They have known that which you now know; Ghostwriters are the enablers of the written word.
- 20% due on signing; 20% on delivery of detailed outline, 20% on delivery of first draft of a sample chapter, 25% on delivery of first draft of entire manuscript, 15% on delivery of revised manuscript.
- All required travel expenses (at the current, per-diem IRS Rates for food, hotel, mileage, and if required, airfare) will need to be pre-paid by the client prior to leaving San Diego. Travel time is billed at $45 an hour, and is due weekly on Fridays. Typically, pre-approved travel is needed for interviews and for research based on the client’s needs and/or requests.
- Open to discussing temporary relocation for duration of project, both nationally and internationally.
- Signing of a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is a standard business practice (and the occupational hazard of being a Ghostwriter).
“After everything is said and done,
it’s your name on the book!”
-JB
JBWrites.com – Writing Tools Tab now available
The Writing Tools page is now up and running on my website at: http://jbwrites.com/JBWrites/Writing_Tools.html.
There, you will find a handy assortment of links that every writer needs. From Creative tools and software (Mac, Windows, Adobe, Final Draft, Storyist, Visual Thesaurus), to bookshelf recommendations to stir your Muse, to Print On Demand Websites in the US and Europe, Marketing, Networking, Press Release outlets, SEO/Keyword analytics, to script writing and information on joining the Writers Guild of America!
This is my way of trying to give back to the profession I love – being a Freelance Writer!
The Obligatory Blog
Blogging is our digital voice in this electronic age. Laughing with friends on social networks or screaming from a keyboard, blogging has given the world a billion new writers. Let loose from Pandora’s Box, blogging is testing the limits of Free Speech around the world as the internet gives voice to everyone.
“Because I would burst if I couldn’t write, iblog! iPhone in hand, blogging allows me to capture a moment with words and in real time.”
-JB
Welcome
JBWrites.com is up and running!
To learn more about this San Diego based Freelance Writer, click on the logo below!
With a lifetime of dedication to the craft of creative writing, John Butler is a passionate wordsmith.
Offering over a decades worth of experience in marketing research, television ratings, business management and training, JB shifted gears in 2007 and opened shop as an Freelance Writer. Serving the needs of small business owners, professionals, and business executives, he specializes in providing award winning Ghostwriting and Copywriting services. As a sought after Ghostwriter, JB is able to accept only a select number of projects each year. Do you have a project that you would like to have considered? Or, would you simply like to learn more? Don’t put it off, again… Email him today about turning your “someday” dream into a reality.
“I don’t fear the blank page. It is but a canvas, waiting to be painted with words…”
-JB
Whether enjoying a freshly ground cup of coffee while journaling before dawn, blogging from his iPhone while out and about, or showing up at the keyboard and writing a thousand words before most people even get to work, JB is a writing workaholic (writeaholic?).
“My job as a Ghostwriter is simple,
I fill in the blanks between the covers…”
-JB
via Welcome.
leave a comment