Life at Open Heart Publishing

Posts Tagged ‘nonprofit’

Open Heart Publishing announces the premiere of “The Cave of Colors,” an Open Heart Opportunity Project. The focus of the event is “The Cave of Colors,” a children’s book with accompanying audio that was conceived and written by children. 100% of the profits from sales of “The Cave of Colors” will benefit a charity of the childrens’ choosing.

The story of “The Cave of Colors” revolves around a magical place called The Cave of Colors, wherein everything you say and do happens.

Sunday February 28, 2010. Doors open at 12:45 pm at the Center for Spiritual Living facility at 4801 Spring Valley Rd (at International Pkwy.), Dallas, Texas 75244.

Meet some of “The Cave of Colors” children, buy your own copies of this charming book, and get more information on this and other Opportunity Projects.

Also featured at the Premiere will be “An Honest Lie, Volume 1: Encouraging the Delinquency of your Inner Child,” a short story anthology, and “A Children’s Book of Necromancy,” a spell-binding book by Debrin Case.

We’re talking with Dorayne Breedlove, Youth and Family Ministry Director at the Center for Spiritual Living in Dallas, TX. Open Heart Publishing worked with Dorayne and the children at the Center for Spiritual Living to create “The Cave of Colors,” the first release of the Opportunity Project. The Opportunity Project works hand in hand with youth organizations to instruct future generations about the positive changes they can make in the world around them, as well as the limitless opportunity their lives will offer them so long as they are willing to look for those opportunities. Through the crafts of writing, art, editing, marketing, and publishing, these groups create a book the children sell, and 100% of the profits benefit a charity of the children’s choosing.

Thanks for joining us, Dorayne. Tell me about what you do at the Center for Spiritual Living.

I am the Youth and Family Ministry Director. I am responsible for all children, youth, and parenting programs, which include our Sunday school classes, spiritual parenting classes, and special family events through out the year.

What would you say is the most rewarding thing about your life’s work, and what is the hardest thing?

The most rewarding thing about my life’s work is that I am with children every single day. I learn how to be a better teacher, better parent, and better person when I am with children. They are my greatest teacher. The hardest thing is to remember that I do not have all the answers and am willing to to seek help.

You said the children are your greatest teacher. What is the most important thing we can learn from children?

When we are most aware of the gifts children bring to our lives, we learn the importance of “allowing”. So often we, as teachers, caregivers, and parents, tend to direct, manipulate, and coerce our will on children. By allowing the multiplicity of ideas to flow, to be as inclusive as possible, to work together as a team, we create a synergy that would not have otherwise existed if we were only set on our own agenda. Allowing children to express their creativity, thoughts, and ideas helps to bring a higher level of relationship between children and the adults who care for them.

The children you work with had an chance to express their creativity in the Opportunity Project. Tell me about the story the kids wrote, “The Cave of Colors.”

The Cave of Colors is a story written by our children in grades 1-3. During the past year, they worked together to create an original story based on their ideas and input. The Cave of Colors is the magical world that resides inside of everyone. In this place we decide, through our thoughts, to live in light and beauty.

That’s a very valuable message. How do the kids feel about writing their own book?

The best word is “pride”. During the months of developing the story, the gathering of ideas, the unfolding of characters and plot, the children were part of a process that developed many skills like listening, including, creating, and deciding. After all that, they have a final product that they can own as theirs and feel a sense of pride in their accomplishment.

It sounds like it was a lot of fun. Tell me about the writing/publishing workshops that the Opportunity Project did?

The Opportunity Project was an amazing experience for the kids of Jr. Church. Debrin began the Opportunity Project as a way to help kids have a creative voice in the world at large. Over the past year, Debrin inspired the kids with interactive lessons tailored to the age group that touched on story craft, writing, publishing, art, and creative teamwork.

Do you know what charity the children have chosen to benefit from “The Cave of Colors” sales? Why was this one chosen?

The children have chosen 3 charities so we can touch the world globally, locally, and also within our own community. In order to touch the world globally, we chose “Pennies for Peace.” To impact our world locally, we decided to donate to a program here in Dallas known as “Preventing Violence in Children,” a program dedicated to teaching alternative solutions to violence to kids in Dallas area schools, and of course the kids also wanted to help build our own resources here at the YFM program at CSL.

If you had the opportunity to speak to yourself as a child, what would you say? Do you think your child self would listen?

I would simply say, “I love you dearly. You are a magnificent child of God, and I adore you.” I would hope that my child self would listen and know this to be the absolute truth.

Dorayne Breedlove is the Youth and Family Ministry Director for the Center for Spiritual Living in Dallas, a professional storyteller, and a music and drama teacher. She offers multicultural stories, educational programs, and training for teachers through her company “A Slice of Rainbow“, and has performed her arts and education programs for more 15 years in many states including Texas, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Georgia, Maryland and even Delaware. A product of a military family, she learned at a young age how diverse, interesting, and fun cultures can be and incorporates that into her stories, music and drama classes. You can visit Dorayne’s website at www.alsliceofrainbow.com.

Musician Lisa Umbarger, of The Toadies and Tile, is here to talk about the soundtrack she and Jennifer Mayes developed for Open Heart Publishing’s book The Cave of Colors, a product of the Opportunity Project.

Welcome, Lisa! How did you become involved with Open Heart Publishing and The Opportunity Project?

Debrin Case had talked to me about Open Heart Publishing and his many projects. I was really intrigued with “The Cave of Colors” because of the co-creation with the brilliant minds of children. I love the idea of allowing a space for their minds to run free.

And you ended up developing a soundtrack for the book. Musically, what were your influences for the soundtrack?

I really didn’t think about or intend a musical influence for this project. I had the pleasure of watching the children in the creative process and I just tapped into that. The music strayed pretty far away from my rock background. We started with a normal rock bassline and it turned into something quite different.

What is your writing process normally like when you’re going to work on a song?

Jennifer or myself will usually have an idea for a melody or a “riff,” and we play around with it until it becomes a song. We work well off of each other. She adds a dimension to a song that I would never think of and I believe that I do the same for her. That is the beauty of working with another person … their energy coupled with mine takes the idea to unexplored places.

Tell me about your past in the music industry.

My first band, The Toadies, was signed to Interscope Records. We released two full length albums and an EP. We contributed music to many sountracks, including The Crow II and Cable Guy. Our first CD, Rubberneck, went platinum and was very successful.

And what’s all this about you being an ewok?

There is a wonderful story about how I used the money I was paid for playing an Ewok in Return of the Jedi to purchase my first bass. So, George Lucas may or may not have been my musical benefactor. I have been invited to attend many conventions and I have declined them all. Although I have participated in the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I could not turn down a sweet kid who wanted a signed picture of an Ewok. Oh, and I still love Star Wars as much as I did when I was a kid.

I understand the soundtrack to “The Cave of Colors” includes guided meditations for adults and children. Is meditation a big part of your life?

Meditation is very important to me. I have experimented with many types of meditation for years, and oddly enough, one of my favorite places to go during meditaion is to my cave.

In addition to making music, what other areas of the arts do you pursue?

I paint and sketch. I did alot of artistic work for The Toadies as far as t-shirt design and band bio art. I also designed The Toadies logo. I was in the fourth grade when my first painting was displayed in a museum. I was so excited when my paerents took me to see it.

I would have been excited too! Some of your Dallas fans are wondering about the show that was to be the Toadies’ last, at Trees. The show was delayed for several hours and you ended up not playing with the band, to fans’ disappointment. Would you like to share that story?

I was in Scotland at the time. It was a trip that was planned for a few months before the show. The show was scheduled with the knowing that I would not be able to attend. My parents, however, were there because they were the band’s biggest fans. I would have really liked to have played!

How did you and Jennifer Mayes meet, and what other musical projects are you two affiliated with?

Jennifer and I were introduced to one another through a mutual friend. We hit it off right away and are really comfortable writing and playing together. I have a great respect for Jennifer and her talents. I have tried to start a few other projects after the Toadies, and none of them felt as artistically freeing as with TILE (the project Jennifer and I started). Jennifer moved to Portland in August, so we are redifining the collaboration and playing with distance.

Who or what has been most instrumental to your development as a musician?

Definitely, Todd Lewis. He taught me how to play bass. I did not play before I joined the Toadies. I learned as we went along.

That’s amazing. What advice would you give to others who want to be professional musicians?

Follow YOUR dreams. There are always people who will tell you what you should and should not do, and they have no insight into your inner workings. Only YOU know what is right for you. This sometimes means that you will go “against the system.”

What was your favorite part of working on “The Cave of Colors” soundtrack? What was the hardest part?

I really loved doing something different from the usual music I write. It was a great stretching exercise. The hardest part was making sure that we stuck to the children’s vision.

Here’s a hard question for any artist. If you had to choose just one of your five senses to keep for the rest of your life, which would you choose and why?

I would choose the sense of touch, because I could still create art and music with this sense. I would still be able to “hear” the music through vibration and I would be able to create art through feel.

Good choice! Did you get to read “The Cave of Colors“? What did you think of it?

I think that the kids have done a brilliant job.

Finally, if you could talk to yourself when you were a child, what would you say? Do you think you would listen?

I talk to my child self all of the time! I love re-connecting to the innocent free idealistic part of me. I would tell myself that all of the dreams you have been dreaming will come true. I would listen to that!

Hear Lisa Umbarger and Jennifer Mayes’ band TILE here: http://www.myspace.com/tilemusic and read about The Cave of Colors here: http://debrincase.com/blog3/2009/03