Schonda S

Schonda S; Steven, Daniella, Holly; Chester

Email: GrpGirl4@msn.com, ssweeney@mcleancopy.com

Location:
I’m from Waveland, Mississippi and lived there for over 13 years prior to Hurricane Katrina, our home is about two city blocks from the Gulf of Mexico.

My youngest daughter and step- son and I were in Tallahassee, Florida when Hurricane Katrina hit. It took us two days to return to Mississippi after the storm due to flooding and road outages and bridges blocked or destroyed.

Currently living in Virginia for the past year (while our home is being rebuilt).

We are not selling it - we have decided to stay on the Gulf Coast. We are letting it run the course of wait and see.

Number in Household:
There are four plus our dog in our household, Steven my husband (with dog Chester by his side); Daniella, our 17 year old who lives on campus at MS School of Math and Science; Myself and Holly (13 years old) living in Northern Virginia.

Situation:
Although we left the Mississippi Gulf Coast and headed east prior to Katrina coming ashore, my husband Steve choose to stay further in land at our other property on Easterbrook Street in Bay St. Louis with the family dog in tow. Our home actually survived the storm and was the only home still standing after the hurricane hit. The bottom half of our home and all our possessions flooded out, but the frame of our home and most of the windows survived.
After the storm and a week of waiting for assistance, my husband told me to leave Mississippi with our youngest daughter Holly and go to Northern Virginia where I have family. Our oldest child Daniella is living on the college campus in Columbus, MS so she already had a place where she was safe. I am currently in Arlington, Virginia and continuing to paint fulltime, while freelancing as a Graphic Designer on the side. I’m trying desperately to find galleries or art studios that will showcase my artwork, I m having no luck with that. I tried hiring an agent only to find I was paying way too much and had to release that agent. I am spending money I don’t have for supplies and travel time trying to locate places to show my work. I could use some studio space but the cost of that is as much as I pay in rent. I’m looking for Grant money or assistance with purchasing art supplies and a space to work at what I love. We may even be home by spring 2007 in time for my oldest daughters’ graduation from MSMS

Needs
Art Supplies
I do a variety of art styles but my biggest request at this time are acrylics brushes, clear gloss varnish (Liquitex brand). I m looking to continue painting and showcasing my work but am finding it hard to get supplies at reasonable prices. I m not choosey about the canvas but I do prefer the gallery style they are easier to frame and look good if I do not frame them
Store I shop at:Online at Dick Blick - http://www.dickblick.com/

We are pretty well set with the home items, we currently have an apartment - G H and Associates have provided that for us. We have furniture, clothing and food items, again thanks to the generousity of the community we live in.

4/17 http://www.schweeney.com/Home.html
my site is currently under construciton, I will have it up I hope by this weekend, I am also sending out my services as a web designer and graphic designer. I have a few sites under my belt such as The Arts, Hancock county, Mombo Graphix and a few here in Northern VA. my site address is http://www.schweeney.com and I will have it finished by this weekend.

Thanks for that,Schonda

12/28
Thanks for the end of the year letter, having those blogs keeps me informed on the goings on down south.
I see we are no longer the focal point for Washington, D.C news we are a thing of the past to date 12/28.
This natural disaster was all the thing in 2005 to early 2006, now we are lucky if the Washington Post puts a story in the papers Metro section. I'm trying to sell artwork to get back on track and am finding it difficult with no real connections in the area, but with lots of leg work and networking I pray 2006 will bring better days.