Rebuild the Double Rainbow Halo Carriage of Dreams
Donation protected
Download the Ghost Writer albums Keeping the Flame Alive Part 1 and 2 for free here Hey, Noah Church here. Some of y’all may know I’m a muralist, portraitist, float painter, event planner, street performer and part time carnival clown living and working in the city of New Orleans. In the past two years I have made a big leap in my career as a full-time public artist by building out my dream carriage. Not only has the carriage become my main source of income by means of making a living, it has also become a major part of the entire community.
Custom built, by yours truly, on the base of a hundred year old chassis with wooden wheels, the carriage was finished two days before Mardi Gras 2020. Just two weeks later the world went into a state of 'lockdown'. The carriage instantly became activated as a relief vehicle delivering food, water and supplies to the homeless and hungry. For the first three months of 'lockdown' I worked with a close friend who would prepare food that I would deliver to those who needed it. I also worked with a restaurant to deliver white boxes to the streets. I raised over $9000 in donations online with the support of a wide community of friends across the country to bring nourishment to those who needed a helping hand.
I was humbled by this chance to serve and have carried on with direct-action charitable causes through the whole of 'lockdown', hurricane Zeta, hurricane Ida and the ongoing economic collapse using the carriage as the centerpiece for my mission.
Not only that but the carriage became a hallmark staple of our DIY community parades during the tail end of 'lockdown'. Coming out of a time of great isolation the carriage rolled in several of our Moveable Feast parades keeping up with the theme of sustainability, sharing, and feeding the community at large. These events and parades seem to rotate around us having a carriage to work with, filling it with food, band equipment, and circus props. The bonds and friendships made during this time were profound. They continue to carry forth into new collaborative inspirations. It has been amazing to watch what has sprouted from the small seeds of intentions we put forth during a time of great uncertainty. Now the future is looking a lot brighter thanks to that good ol’ carriage!
The past year and a half has allowed me to manifest my dreams of becoming a full-time public artist. I found my niche painting portraits in Jackson Square within the very heart of the French Quarter. I jokingly call it Portrait Therapy as I laugh, share stories, and have deep conversations with complete strangers from all across the world. Even the portrait painting is a continuation of the mission to use my gifts and talents to serve the general public and nourish them with love. Love and laughter, after all, are the greatest of medicines.
The carriage is a culmination of all my dreams, gifts, and talents manifesting into one place. This wonder wagon is a multifaceted dream machine! Throughout its adventures the chariot has operated as a parade float, a puppet theater, a tea house cafe, a truth booth, a painting studio, a circus on wheels, a music venue, a free food diner, and once it was even used as a newlywed’s carriage in a wedding parade!
On Sunday, May 22 2022 at around 2AM, the carriage along with my dreams, burned down. For the first 24 hours neighbors and friend’s tried to piece together how it happened. After surveilling security cameras of close by houses and discovering an Instagram account with postings of the fire, we decided the event was most likely a freak accident caused by a battery explosion. Although seemingly impossible, it looks like a metal basket fell off one of the inside walls due to dry-rot in the foundation and the screws lost their grip. The basket fell onto the positive and negative charges of the solar battery used to light the carriage at night and recharge the electric tricycle wheel. The metal basket was found magnetized and welded to the burnt out battery.
The initial shock of seeing your dreams burn down is devastating. Every emotion and thought passes through your head including a sense of running away and giving up on your dreams--- but over the course of the last few weeks I have decided to not give up on my mission but instead use this disaster as an excuse to push forward full steam ahead! I am learning that every seemingly negative situation can be flipped and seen in a positive light. I will rebuild better than ever! This isn’t the end of my dreams- its just the end of a chapter and the beginning of an even better one! Now my mission will be even more fully realized. I will use this opportunity to share the story of the carriage and the journey it has allowed me and others to go on. I'll use this opportunity to extend my artistic abilities to the world and remind everyone I am a committed hard working artist who will never give up on their dreams. I usually shy away from self-promotion and the internet but perhaps this carriage burning episode will help me make amends with that by extending myself further out into the unknown reaches of cyberspace to cultivate a positive influence in the world.
In return for any donations I may receive to build back the carriage, I offer two free Ghost Writer albums I recorded during 'lockdown'. I complied these albums specifically for this cause and I'm ready to share them with the world. Go to iminlovewithaghostwriter.bandcamp.com and name your price at $0. Or you can follow the link in the social media postings.
Thank you so much for helping keep the flame alive!
Yours truly,
All the love
Noah Church
Custom built, by yours truly, on the base of a hundred year old chassis with wooden wheels, the carriage was finished two days before Mardi Gras 2020. Just two weeks later the world went into a state of 'lockdown'. The carriage instantly became activated as a relief vehicle delivering food, water and supplies to the homeless and hungry. For the first three months of 'lockdown' I worked with a close friend who would prepare food that I would deliver to those who needed it. I also worked with a restaurant to deliver white boxes to the streets. I raised over $9000 in donations online with the support of a wide community of friends across the country to bring nourishment to those who needed a helping hand.
I was humbled by this chance to serve and have carried on with direct-action charitable causes through the whole of 'lockdown', hurricane Zeta, hurricane Ida and the ongoing economic collapse using the carriage as the centerpiece for my mission.
Not only that but the carriage became a hallmark staple of our DIY community parades during the tail end of 'lockdown'. Coming out of a time of great isolation the carriage rolled in several of our Moveable Feast parades keeping up with the theme of sustainability, sharing, and feeding the community at large. These events and parades seem to rotate around us having a carriage to work with, filling it with food, band equipment, and circus props. The bonds and friendships made during this time were profound. They continue to carry forth into new collaborative inspirations. It has been amazing to watch what has sprouted from the small seeds of intentions we put forth during a time of great uncertainty. Now the future is looking a lot brighter thanks to that good ol’ carriage!
The past year and a half has allowed me to manifest my dreams of becoming a full-time public artist. I found my niche painting portraits in Jackson Square within the very heart of the French Quarter. I jokingly call it Portrait Therapy as I laugh, share stories, and have deep conversations with complete strangers from all across the world. Even the portrait painting is a continuation of the mission to use my gifts and talents to serve the general public and nourish them with love. Love and laughter, after all, are the greatest of medicines.
The carriage is a culmination of all my dreams, gifts, and talents manifesting into one place. This wonder wagon is a multifaceted dream machine! Throughout its adventures the chariot has operated as a parade float, a puppet theater, a tea house cafe, a truth booth, a painting studio, a circus on wheels, a music venue, a free food diner, and once it was even used as a newlywed’s carriage in a wedding parade!
On Sunday, May 22 2022 at around 2AM, the carriage along with my dreams, burned down. For the first 24 hours neighbors and friend’s tried to piece together how it happened. After surveilling security cameras of close by houses and discovering an Instagram account with postings of the fire, we decided the event was most likely a freak accident caused by a battery explosion. Although seemingly impossible, it looks like a metal basket fell off one of the inside walls due to dry-rot in the foundation and the screws lost their grip. The basket fell onto the positive and negative charges of the solar battery used to light the carriage at night and recharge the electric tricycle wheel. The metal basket was found magnetized and welded to the burnt out battery.
The initial shock of seeing your dreams burn down is devastating. Every emotion and thought passes through your head including a sense of running away and giving up on your dreams--- but over the course of the last few weeks I have decided to not give up on my mission but instead use this disaster as an excuse to push forward full steam ahead! I am learning that every seemingly negative situation can be flipped and seen in a positive light. I will rebuild better than ever! This isn’t the end of my dreams- its just the end of a chapter and the beginning of an even better one! Now my mission will be even more fully realized. I will use this opportunity to share the story of the carriage and the journey it has allowed me and others to go on. I'll use this opportunity to extend my artistic abilities to the world and remind everyone I am a committed hard working artist who will never give up on their dreams. I usually shy away from self-promotion and the internet but perhaps this carriage burning episode will help me make amends with that by extending myself further out into the unknown reaches of cyberspace to cultivate a positive influence in the world.
In return for any donations I may receive to build back the carriage, I offer two free Ghost Writer albums I recorded during 'lockdown'. I complied these albums specifically for this cause and I'm ready to share them with the world. Go to iminlovewithaghostwriter.bandcamp.com and name your price at $0. Or you can follow the link in the social media postings.
Thank you so much for helping keep the flame alive!
Yours truly,
All the love
Noah Church
Organizer
Noah Church
Organizer
New Orleans, LA