Transcript

Wendy Cohen

(1:20) So without further ado, what I'm going to do start with is Miriam Persia. Am I pronouncing that (1:26) correct, Miriam?(0:11) Hello, Powerhouse Smart friends and colleagues. I am really happy to be able to have this short (0:19) little introduction podcast with two beautiful ladies who their spirits are as beautiful as they (0:26) are on the outside and on the inside. We've got Miriam from David Lawrence Centers who is going (0:32) to talk to us a little bit about the charity partner that we selected for the Naples Southwest (0:37) Florida Luxury Conference who was the benefactor of the entire raffle.And then our artist, (0:44) our in-house artist, Michelle Gorgia, who you're going to learn more during our podcast that we (0:52) have with Michelle next week. And we're going to actually have the winner of the live painting (0:57) that she did during the conference. We're going to give you a sneak peek of that in a minute.(1:01) And you'll learn more about how that all came to be next week. But I wanted to just break (1:07) off a little bit and just give a little bit of special recognition to David Lawrence Centers. (1:14) And of course, couldn't do that without Michelle here because her passion to give keeps living on.

Meriam Pereira

Pereira.

Wendy Cohen

Pereira.Much better, much more beautiful. So please tell us who you are (1:35) and just a little bit about David Lawrence Centers.

Meriam Pereira

Sure.Well, first of all, thank you both for the (1:40) invitation to chat with you today. So the David Lawrence Centers is the only community-based (1:47) behavioral health center in South in Naples. And we have been here for 56 years helping people (1:55) with behavioral health challenges.And that's just a fancy way of saying that people who have (2:00) either substance use challenges or mental health challenges, they come to us because (2:06) they're in crisis. They come to us because they are fighting through addiction and want to get (2:13) better and have a healthy, grounded life going forward. We serve approximately 9,000 children (2:22) and adults through our campus that is based here in Collier County in Naples.Of that 9,000, (2:29) 2,000 are children and the remaining 7,000 are adults. And they're adults and people of all (2:36) walks of life. We have young adults, we have seniors, we have veterans, moms and dads, (2:43) your neighbors, your co-workers who are struggling with life problems, life challenges, whether it's (2:51) just trying to make ends meet or you have anxiety or depression or you have some serious mental (2:57) health challenges and you need support, whether it's inpatient services or whether they're (3:04) outpatient-based or community-based, we're here to help people however we can, regardless of their (3:10) ability to pay.We just want to make sure that they're well and that we're providing them services (3:14) that are helping to transform their lives.

Wendy Cohen

Wow, Miriam, that's amazing. And actually, (3:20) that's one of the things that struck us and we were so excited to find you as our non-profit (3:26) partner for Powerhouse Smart.And our luxury conference is our pinnacle event we have every (3:31) year. Every event that we have, we partner with a non-profit and we hope this is just the beginning (3:37) with you. So during the week,

Meriam Pereira

we really appreciate that.We're looking forward to a long relationship (3:43) with you guys.

Wendy Cohen

Exactly. So we had this fabulous raffle.We had seven or eight different raffle (3:50) items, but the pinnacle piece was this live artist, Michelle Gorgia, who was painting from (3:57) the moment that the conference opened at noon until the end of the evening when we actually (4:03) did the final raffle selection. And the piece that she painted was 60 inches by 48 inches, a huge (4:10) canvas that was plain white canvas in the beginning and at the end was this incredible (4:17) painting. So Michelle, introduce yourself and then I'm going to share with everybody the screen of (4:23) what the end result was, please.

Michelle Gorga

Thank you, Wendy and Miriam. Thank you for being here. So my name (4:31) is Michelle Gorgia and I paint peace and possibility on large scale canvas.I was really inspired when (4:40) Wendy invited me to be the live artist at the event for many different reasons. And when I (4:48) arrived to the event, I was struggling with what exactly I was going to do. At first I was (4:57) excited, but I went from enthusiasm to fear.I'll just name it. Fear of, you know, even Picasso and (5:06) Monet did not produce masterpieces every single time. And so, so that was going, that was going (5:15) through my head and I had heard that people channeled them, the masters.So I found myself (5:22) in my car saying, okay, Monet and Picasso, help me out here. Yeah.

Wendy Cohen

They did.They did, Michelle, (5:32) because when we turned around what you had been painting all day and showed the audience, there (5:37) was this, ah, and can I show it? Can I share? Yeah. Okay. And then here we go.This is it, (5:46) everybody. So tell us the name of it and what your inspiration, what Picasso and Monet gave to you, (5:54) channeled through you.

Michelle Gorga

So, so for me, I, my, my way of painting, um, is letting go and trusting (6:05) the process and sitting with not knowing.Um, and it's very, it's a very powerful experience. (6:14) It's easier to do alone than when you're in front of 150 people or the number of people that were (6:19) there. But, but, um, I had to choose to do that.And I think that's a powerful tool that (6:25) I have learned and still continue to learn in life, just the power of letting go and trusting (6:32) that and knowing that no matter what, everything is going to be okay. Um, so I, I, I, I was aware (6:41) of the penthouse, um, that was, was from the keynote speaker. And by the way, I haven't had (6:50) a chance to say this to her yet, but absolutely the most gorgeous penthouse I've seen ever.I was (6:56) so inspired by it. So I looked at the colors in the penthouse. Um, they, there was a lot of gold (7:03) and cream or off white, just stunning.But the other colors that were, that were used with the (7:09) art that really popped. And then I looked at the colors of the year. And then I asked myself, (7:15) how am I going to do what I normally do, which I was thinking I was going to create this quiet (7:21) meditation, peaceful seascape paintings that literally people have just taken a deep breath (7:27) and as if to unshackle all the stress in the world.That's what I thought I was going to do, (7:32) sort of, but I wasn't sure because I knew that the colors might not work for me for that. (7:39) So again, I had to let go. And at the conference, I heard this, the sisters of Walter E. Smith, (7:49) I heard him talking about the great grandfather and how he was the founder of the company.And I (7:56) had, when I heard that, I looked at my blocks of wood that I brought with me. I sometimes I (8:04) paint with blocks of wood and my great grandfather is, I didn't realize it until (8:10) just recently, a few years back that my great grandfather who was a master stone mason and built (8:16) absolutely stunning homes and monuments in Maryland. But I use those blocks of wood as he did (8:24) when he was building the stern homes with the mud and, and not in different ways, but that (8:30) came through me without me even realizing it.So when I heard the great grandfathers, I decided, (8:36) I usually paint ladies wearing hats too. And sometimes men, but this time I wanted to, (8:43) I wanted to celebrate the great grandfathers and the grandfathers and those people who have (8:49) come before us that give us the opportunity to be where we are today.

Wendy Cohen

Wow.Well, Michelle, (8:54) you outdid yourself and the lucky raffle winner, you and I, and she, Diane are going to be having (9:02) a podcast next week. And we're going to delve a little bit further into your inspiration and (9:08) all about it. And we're going to hear from her, what is she going to do with that painting? (9:12) So, but in the meantime, your generosity continues and you contacted Miriam and told her that you've (9:19) had such a huge, overwhelming response.Then people have asked how can they get, (9:25) because the original was worth almost $7,000. That's large canvas, an original piece. So you're (9:31) going to do limited edition prints on demand and they're numbered and the prices are 500 to 250.(9:38) And you're giving 20% of those proceeds to David Lawrence Center. So you're giving continues on. (9:44) Thank you.My heart is just overflowing with joy. Miriam, I'm going to stop sharing. I just know that (9:51) Marcy from your team was there the night of the raffle.What did she tell you about the experience?

Meriam Pereira

(9:59) Well, Marcy had mentioned that she had a great time, that the event went really well and that (10:04) she really appreciated being there that night just to watch everybody who was there and watch the (10:10) whole experience. And I can't thank you enough for letting us participate and be involved.

Wendy Cohen

(10:16) Of course.

Meriam Pereira

With everything that you're going to be doing down here.

Wendy Cohen

Yeah. And so Marcy, (10:21) we were all hugging each other.There's photos and all of that in the continuing session. And (10:27) it was, it was a love fest, Miriam. So next time you'll be there for the love fest.And of course (10:33) we were all in awe, you know, bowing down to Michelle Gorga. And so more to come. And thank (10:40) you ladies for your time.This is just a sneak peek. We wanted to get the word out there. If (10:45) anybody would like to order a limited print, it's absolutely magnificent and probably going to (10:50) continue to grow in value.And Miriam, more to come with David Lawrence Center. I took a tour (10:55) with my husband. We saw your 10 acre property.We learned all about it. There's, we could do a (11:01) podcast just on David Lawrence and we will.

Meriam Pereira

We would love that opportunity.And if you don't (11:07) mind my saying that the artwork, it ties into some of the services we offer because one of our big (11:13) programs is holistic wellness and we do art therapy with clients. So there's the magic to art. (11:20) There's a therapeutic value to art.So your, your prayers to Picasso and Manet and Monet and all (11:28) seem to work.

Wendy Cohen

They resonate with all of us. We're all on that.We all realize that we're (11:34) souls having a human experience and it's all about living every day with an attitude of (11:39) gratitude and joy and helping humanity. And Miriam, please tell everybody on the team, (11:46) it's a big team that we're just so in awe of what you're doing for mankind. So thank you so much.

Meriam Pereira

(11:53) Thank you. I'll pass that along. Thank you very much.I appreciate it.

Wendy Cohen Michelle Gorga Meriam Pereira

(11:57) Okay, ladies. Namaste, Michelle.Love you. Okay.