Meet Marjorie

LOST IN LIVING Documentary Film Newsletter

The Summer is just about over and work continues on LOST IN LIVING. Thank you to everyone who contributed, shared links, posted on Facebook and liked the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/lostinliving). I am grateful and humbled by your support and belief in this project. Editing is steadily progressing!

As part of the campaign I am introducing one of the remarkable women from the film each month. July turned out to be a crazy month for me so we move onto August and introduce, Marjorie Schlossman, mother of seven, prolific abstract painter and inspiring friend.

Meet Marjorie:
“I had something to say and it was an emotional thing. I had the strongest impulse to express it. Always had that feeling and it was wonderful to me to find painting.”

Facts about Marjorie:
•Abstract Painter.
•Lives in Fargo, North Dakota.
•Plays violin in the Fargo Moorhead Symphony.
•Mother of five daughters and two sons.
•Star of the film PLAIN ART (see trailer here)

A link to Marjorie’s website here.

Artist Marjorie Schlossman collaborated with various architects to build environments in which her paintings hang. The first, The Roberts Street Chapel in downtown Fargo, North Dakota, preceded 6 smaller, more intimate and moveable chapels she calls "chaplets." She relished the idea of painting inside each finished chapel or chaplet, responding to that specific environment and its inspirations.

These spaces, and the art within them, are designed to provide people with a moment’s respite from daily life, whether that moment is used to contemplate, pray, mourn or celebrate. Unlike a gallery, none of the artwork is for sale. Unlike a museum, there is no charge to enter.

A link to an article about The Roberts Street Chaplet Project here.

Info about LOST IN LIVING and how you can help:

LOST IN LIVING follows four remarkable women, all artists as well as mothers. Through intimate, verite scenes, and in-depth interviews, this film illuminates how the choice of being a mother can affect one’s art and approach to creativity. Further, the film explores parenting expectations and failures, issues of friendship and marriage, the monotony of domestic routines, and most importantly who we are in the world and how we all struggle with the balance of family commitment and personal work.

Tax deductible contributions to LOST IN LIVING can be made on-line by visiting the website (here) and clicking on the “donate” tab, or you can mail a check written out to my non-profit 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor: FILMMAKERS ALLIANCE, 1218 East Palm Street, Altadena, CA 91001 (with LOST IN LIVING in the subject line of the check). Tax I.D. #95-4449125

To view a ten-minute excerpt of the film, please go here or here.

Like the Facebook Page here.

Please feel free to forward this e-mail and share it with friends. Thank you again for your help and support.
All the best,
Mary

Art Toast

Although this is the last week I will be posting videos by Caren McCaleb, you can always peruse her amazing work on her youtube channel "eaglecrowowl." This week I have the pleasure of presenting her film ART TOAST. Watch it here. Caren has a way of making us aware of the delights and magic in her everyday domestic life. And this video does just that. Take a couple of minutes and brighten up your day.

I want to thank you all for your amazing support for LOST IN LIVING, for the amazing women in it and for helping me work towards completing this film. To become a generous participant in this project, please visit the website here and donate on-line or send a check written out to my non-profit 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor, FILMMAKERS ALLIANCE, and mail it to 1218 East Palm Street, Altadena, CA 91001. Filmmakers Alliance tax I.D. #95-4449125. No contribution is too small and all contributions are fully tax-deductible. In addition to a financial contribution one of the most valuable ways you can support me is to forward this blog to as many people as possible. I know many of you, like me, are also trying to raise money for your own projects and contributing will be a burden to you, as it would for me. What I hope is that we can help each other stay aware of our projects, so we can bring them up in conversation, spread the word and make sure our worthy projects get made. To see a ten minute excerpt of LOST IN LIVING, please go here or here. And to like the Facebook page, please go here.

Thank you so much,
Mary

Together and Apart

"The more specific you get the more universal it is - we're all awashed with culture but real meaning is not what's going on culturally but who we are as individual humans experiencing life and when we see someone else capturing that, that's freeing - we can all celebrate that quality and not just get all of our meaning from this huge information miasma." -Caren (talking about her vlogs)

Week three of visiting the creative mind of Caren McCaleb. Her video "Together and Apart" (here) is a perfect glimpse into what many of us will be experiencing this Summer as we set out to vacation and visit our extended families. Yes, we drive each other crazy and yes we wonder if we'd be even more crazy if we never saw each other. So we make these treks and most of the time we are glad we did.

Caren is one of the four incredible women in LOST IN LIVING. She has shared her intimate thoughts, ideas and creative process with me and in the film. All four women live lives of deep passion and intensity, contantly moving between the exterior world and their interior visions. LOST IN LIVING captures the domestic complexities and the introspective creative process that inspires these women to make art and be mothers. And while this is one of the focal points of the film, the women have also allowed me to follow them through story arcs that challenge friendships and parenting styles, confront age and rejection and force them to redefine their place in their families as well as the ambivalence they feel about feminism.

If you haven't yet had a chance to see the 10 minute fundraising trailer for LOST IN LIVING, please go here or here. And if you still need to like the facebook page, go here. To follow me on twitter, please go here. To become a generous participant in this project, please visit the website here and donate on-line or send a check written out to my non-profit 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor, FILMMAKERS ALLIANCE, and mail it to 1218 East Palm Street, Altadena, CA 91001. All contributions are tax deductible. Filmmakers Alliance tax I.D. #95-4449125. Your support and participation in this project is hugely appreciated. Because of your generosity I will be working full-time on the editing of this film and interviewing editors to work alongside me. And with your continued support I will be able to hire an editor to shape this project into the compelling and moving story it is meant to be.

Many, many thanks,
Mary

Caren's Second Video

"If you're dealing on a soul level it's also about people helping you grow. That's not something you can fully understand when it's happening to you." -Caren

The next Eaglecrowowl video I am sharing, created by Caren McCaleb, is WORMHOLE. This video was created in 2010 and has already had 878 views. In Caren's own words: "Wormhole is about transition, change and death. It's more like a poem than a short story. It's creepy because death is creepy. Where do we go? The girl in the video is my daughter at age 5. Her words were not scripted. They are her own original thoughts."

Caren has posted many, many videos on her youtube channel. She now has 1583 subscribers and continues to enlighten, confuse, inspire and challenge her viewers. Take some time to explore her channel, subscribe too! You can also see more of Caren's work on her website: www.carenmccaleb.com. Caren has always inspired me and I know she will inspire you.

A quote from Caren's youtube channel: "Reality can destroy the dream; why shouldn't the dream destroy reality." -George Moore.

Info about LOST IN LIVING and how you can help:
LOST IN LIVING follows four remarkable women, all artists as well as mothers. Through intimate, verite scenes, and in-depth interviews, this film illuminates how the choice of being a mother can affect one’s art and approach to creativity. Further, the film explores parenting expectations and failures, issues of friendship and marriage, the monotony of domestic routines, and most importantly who we are in the world and how we all struggle with the balance of family commitment and personal work.

Tax deductible contributions to LOST IN LIVING can be made on-line by visiting the website (here) and clicking on the “donate” tab or you can mail a check written out to: Filmmakers Alliance, 1218 East Palm Street, Altadena, CA 91001 (with LOST IN LIVING in the subject line of the check). Tax I.D. #95-4449125

To view a ten-minute excerpt of the film, please go here
or
here.

Like the Facebook Page here.
Follow me on twitter here.

Please feel free to forward this blog and share it with friends. Thank you again for your help and support.

All the best,
Mary
www.maandpafilms.com
www.thewatershedproject.com
626-590-1803

LOST IN LIVING Documentary Film Newsletter #3

In just a few months I have reached close to half of my funding goal! Thank you to everyone who contributed, shared links, posted on Facebook and liked the Facebook page. I am grateful and humbled by your support and belief in this project. Post-production is underway!

As part of the campaign I will be introducing one of the remarkable women from the film each month. To celebrate the beginning of Summer here’s your chance to meet CAREN MCCALEB, amazing friend, mother, editor, and all around inspiring artist! If you've already liked the Lost In Living Facebook page or we are already friends on Facebook or you follow me on twitter, please look for new postings and films by Caren each week for the month of June. (See below for the Facebook and twitter links.)

Meet Caren:
“You can’t want an outcome to be the starting point of why you’re being creative.”

Facts about Caren:
•Lives in Los Angeles, CA.
•Married to the King of Toast.
•Mother of one daughter.
•Nationally exhibited Surrealist Painter.
•Video Editor and Filmmaker.
•On Youtube since the beginning with over 1500 subscribers (who knew there were 1500 people interested in personal art/documentary hybrid films on fear, dance, family and transcendence).
•Most recent (editing) work screened on PBS in May 2011.
•Short film “Creation” screened at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.
•Graduate of Cornell University.

A link to Caren’s film “The Ineffable”: http://bit.ly/lo0IUG

“What interests me is the ineffable. I’m not interested in culture, I’m interested in something very fundamental to the act of being alive.”

Info about LOST IN LIVING and how you can help:
LOST IN LIVING follows four remarkable women, all artists as well as mothers. Through intimate, verite scenes, and in-depth interviews, this film illuminates how the choice of being a mother can affect one’s art and approach to creativity. Further, the film explores parenting expectations and failures, issues of friendship and marriage, the monotony of domestic routines, and most importantly who we are in the world and how we all struggle with the balance of family commitment and personal work.

Tax deductible contributions to LOST IN LIVING can be made on-line by visiting the website (here) and clicking on the “donate” tab or you can mail a check written out to: Filmmakers Alliance, 1218 East Palm Street, Altadena, CA 91001 (with LOST IN LIVING in the subject line of the check). Tax I.D. #95-4449125

To view a ten-minute excerpt of the film, please go here
or
here.

Like the Facebook Page here.
Follow me on twitter here.

Please feel free to forward this blog and share it with friends. Thank you again for your help and support.

All the best,
Mary
www.maandpafilms.com
www.thewatershedproject.com
626-590-1803

Addendum to Newsletter #2

"When I was a kid I just wanted to be a student and world traveler my whole life. Doc making is probably the closest you can get to that." -Kristina

May is the month I have been introducing you to the lovely Kristina Robbins. This week I've provided a link to a wonderful award-winning short film (here) she and her husband, Nick, directed and produced. This film is called THE MCCOMBIE WAY. Ann McCombie is 81, built the road to her house herself and clears the Mojave Desert one rusty can at a time. This is a touching portrait of a woman who lives more in the moment than anyone I know.

If you've missed the links to Kristina's newest film, click here. Kristina's company The Department of Expansion created an outreach film for Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY) an organization that helps at risk youth avoid the criminal justice system. And if you have some time, please take a look at some of the other fantastic films Kristina and the D of E have produced by perusing The Department of Expansion website (here).

Info about LOST IN LIVING and how you can help:
LOST IN LIVING follows four remarkable women, all artists as well as mothers. Through intimate, verite scenes, and in-depth interviews, this film illuminates how the choice of being a mother can affect one’s art and approach to creativity. Further, the film explores parenting expectations and failures, issues of friendship and marriage, the monotony of domestic routines, and most importantly who we are in the world and how we all struggle with the balance of family commitment and personal work.

Tax deductible contributions to LOST IN LIVING can be made on-line by visiting the website (here) and clicking on the “donate” tab, or you can mail a check written out to: Filmmakers Alliance, 1218 East Palm Street, Altadena, CA 91001 (with LOST IN LIVING in the subject line of the check). Tax ID #95-4449125

To view a ten-minute excerpt of the film, please go here

Like the Facebook page here.

Thank you so much for your amazing continued support. Yours, Mary

LOST IN LIVING Documentary Film Newsletter #2

LOST IN LIVING Documentary Film Newsletter #2

"I guess I'm more of a mother than I thought I was." -Kristina

In less than two months I have reached close to half of my funding goal. Thank you to everyone who supports this film. I am so grateful and humbled by your belief in this project and in me!

May is the month I have introduced, Kristina Robbins, one of the remarkable subjects of the film. This week I have provided a link (here) to a film Kristina wrote, directed and produced called “Life As You Know It.” Commissioned by Audi, this award-winning short asks whether you can raise kids and continue with your passions. Can you have it all? I think this film is a wonderful companion piece to “Lost In Living” because it introduces entire families who have figured out how to continue their creativity after having children.

Kristina is one of the partners and co-founders of the Department of Expansion. You can see their short films at this link (www.departmentofexpansion.com). The Department of Expansion is a team of talented filmmakers and producers who ask the question, “What good is a film if it doesn’t inspire action?’ They are a production company that delivers lean beautiful films about evolution, agression, the relationship of peace and violence in humans, rehabilitation of incarcerated youths, how blind children learn, Veterans for Peace, nurses, Jane Goodall and many other topics.

Kristina is also a wonderful mother of two young children who are as smart, insightful and creative as she is.

Enjoy getting to know Kristina a little more by visiting the Department of Expansion website and watching “Life As You Know It.”

Info about LOST IN LIVING and how you can help:
LOST IN LIVING follows four remarkable women, all artists as well as mothers. Through intimate, verite scenes, and in-depth interviews, this film illuminates how the choice of being a mother can affect one’s art and approach to creativity. Further, the film explores parenting expectations and failures, issues of friendship and marriage, the monotony of domestic routines, and most importantly who we are in the world and how we all struggle with the balance of family commitment and personal work.

Tax deductible contributions to LOST IN LIVING can be made on-line by visiting the website (here) and clicking on the “donate” tab: www.maandpafilms.com/lostinliving/ or you can send a check written out to: Filmmakers Alliance, 1218 East Palm Street, Altadena, CA 91001 (with LOST IN LIVING in the subject line of the check). Tax ID #95-4449125

To view a ten-minute excerpt of the film, please go here or to www.maandpafilms.com/lostinliving/about-the-film/index.html

Like the Facebook page here.

Please feel free to forward this to friends. Thank you again for your help and support.
Yours,
Mary



http://bit.ly/loyIOK

Meet Kristina

LOST IN LIVING Documentary Film Newsletter

In just over a month I have reached 1/3 of my funding goal! Thank you to everyone who contributed, shared links, posted on Facebook and liked the Facebook page. I am grateful and humbled by your support and belief in this project. Post-production is underway!

As part of the campaign I will be introducing one of the remarkable women from the film each month. To celebrate Mother’s Day here’s your chance to meet Kristina Robbins, mother extraordinaire! And Happy Mother’s Day!

Meet Kristina:
“When I was Five I remember saying to my mother I wanted to be an actress. My mother said, ‘Oh, Kristina, people like us don’t do things like that.'”

Facts about Kristina:
•Lives in Los Angeles, CA.
•Married to Nick Higgins.
•From Lancaster, PA.
•Mother of two children.
•Award Winning Documentary Filmmaker.
•Founding Partner of The Department of Expansion (film production company that delivers lean beautiful films).
•Founder of Juice.
•Screenwriter.
•Improvisational Theatre Performer and Teacher
•Graduate of Cornell Univeristy.

Check out Kristina’s newest film: : FLY

Info about LOST IN LIVING and how you can help:
LOST IN LIVING follows four remarkable women, all artists as well as mothers. Through intimate, verite scenes, and in-depth interviews, this film illuminates how the choice of being a mother can affect one’s art and approach to creativity. Further, the film explores parenting expectations and failures, issues of friendship and marriage, the monotony of domestic routines, and most importantly who we are in the world and how we all struggle with the balance of family commitment and personal work.

Tax deductible contributions to LOST IN LIVING can be made on-line by visiting the website and clicking on the “donate” tab: www.maandpafilms.com/lostinliving/ or you can mail a check written out to: Filmmakers Alliance, 12228 Venice Blvd., Suite 406, Los Angeles, CA 90066 (with LOST IN LIVING in the subject line of the check). Tax I.D. #95-4449125

To view a ten-minute excerpt of the film, please go to: www.maandpafilms.com/lostinliving/about-the-film/index.html

Like the Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lost-In-Living/196021470416175

Please feel free to forward this to friends. Thank you again for your help and support.
All the best,
Mary