September 5, 2006

Mississippi’s Message

The Mississippi magazine arrived at my home on the one year anniversary date that Hurricane Katrina inflicted so much pain and suffering on every single community on the Gulf Coast. One of the many articles about Katrina’s devastation featured artist and native Mississippian, H.C. Porter. Ms. Porter has a passion to document the story of the effect this monumental event in American History has had on the people of Mississippi. With her camera she has spent the last year making over 8,000 photographs of people in their effort to survive, to rebuild and to restore their lives. Most importantly, she has recorded their feelings and the stories these people had to tell of their experience.

Ms. Porter is creating an exhibit, “Backyards and Beyond, Mississippians and their Stories”, which will tour the United States. When completed in late 2007, it will consist of 80 original paintings from her photographs and will be accompanied by the voice recording of the person or persons in the painting expressing what it is they want the world to know. Ms. Porter hopes America will hear Mississippi’s Message: the destruction Hurricane Katrina left in her wake, and the continued need for help.

Her skill as an artist and her love of Mississippi have given her the diligence to spend this past year in preparation and the next year in creating this great work that will open the eyes of people everywhere to images of a hurricane’s powerful, furious passage.

• Do you have a passion for a project that excites you?
  
  
• What sort of perseverance will it take to complete it?
  
  
• Will your project make a difference?
  
  
• Let’s talk about it and strategize your action steps.

With warm regards,

Susan Sadler Hayman
International Life Transitions Coach
Call me at 662-238-7754
www.susanhayman.com

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Katrina Before and After