The Canary Report releases its 2010 wall calendar

Posted on Dec 11, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

The Canary Report’s 2010 Calendar is released! Fifteen women tell The Naked Truth about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

I’m thrilled to announce the release of The Canary Report’s 2010 wall calendar! Since there are 15 women participating in the project, I designed two versions: one with 12 different women, and one centered around the theme “Seeking Our Nature,” which features 10 women, all in nature settings.

This project was an extraordinary process for everyone involved. The concept of expressing life with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity through photos in the nude was inspired by a valuable member of our Canary Report community, Eva Caballe, who bared all for an online magazine in her country of Spain. Eva’s photos in that art mag were accompanied by an essay describing her life with MCS, and garnished so much interest that it’s been translated into nearly a dozen languages around the world.

But the power of such a bold statement in attracting worldwide attention was not really my motivation in wanting to do a calendar based on the same type of theme. I saw it as an opportunity to create a work of art, a way for women to express their story about living with MCS in a bold and brave way that would give voice to their struggles with and triumphs over this challenging illness in a way that all the words in the world could never do. For me, as the editor, and ultimately a participant, it was about giving these incredible women an opportunity to honor and love their bodies’ wisdom not in spite of MCS but because of it.

There have been critics of this concept along the way. A couple of people told me they weren’t sure it was a good way to promote our cause. One person said he thought it would add to the false assumptions that MCS is a psychological illness because we would all look crazy. I could not disagree more. The photos that were submitted for this project knocked my socks off. The only guidance given was for each woman to tell her story through a photo or two, expressing joy or sorrow, challenges or triumph about living with MCS. I asked that each woman think about the setting and to look at it as a work of art. And when the photos started arriving in my email box, I was stunned at the beauty and jaw-dropping naked truth that came through in every shot. Brava, Canaries, Brava!

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated:

The cover girls Judith (Spain) and Karen (Australia).
Jasmine (United States)
Silvia (Spain, Germany)
Candy (Australia)
Leslie (United States)
Linda (Canada)
Beck (Australia)
Mokihana (United States)
Missy (United States)
Anabel (Spain)
Marta (Spain)
Katrina (United States)
And our inspiration, Eva (Spain)

The wall calendars are available for purchase (Version 1 and Version 2). All profits will be donated to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit on the leading edge of fighting for toxic chemical policy reform. I’m sorry to say that I cannot guarantee that the calendars are safe for people with MCS, but over the next week or so, the photos will be published in other media forms such as videos, so everyone will be able to access and enjoy the spirit of the calendars. And of course everyone can go view the calendars at the links above. In the U.S. you are guaranteed delivery by Christmas if you order by Dec. 20. And right now there is a great discount, $9 off all calendars, look for the discount code at the top of the shop’s page. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Thanks again to everyone for all your support!

Aloha,
Susie xoxo

Link to Version 1 of the calendar The Naked Truth About Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

Link to Version 2 of the calendar The Naked Truth About Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Seeking Our Nature.

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36 Responses to “The Canary Report releases its 2010 wall calendar”

Jane

11. Dec, 2009

I’m speechless. These pictures are beyond beautiful and powerful. I had tears in my eyes.

And, gorgeous ladies!

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Connie Rae

11. Dec, 2009

I am guessing the rest of the photos are as powerful as these two samples..wow! This captures exactly how I felt most days, mask around my neck, wobbling to the shore, collapsing on the beach or rocks and gasping for air. this only worked in the winter, though, when the boats were in and the pesticides weren’t being sprayed.
Good Job!

Reply to this comment
Harry Clark

11. Dec, 2009

Congratulations on an awesome job well done!

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Jasmine

11. Dec, 2009

Congratulations, everyone. Amazing photos. Great job putting it all together, Susie!

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Franny Armstrong-ParaNovelGirl

11. Dec, 2009

AWESOME! Can’t wait to see mine! OH, middle aged, overweight women are probably not an eye catcher. Never mind. LOL

Hot firemen are! Do you think there will be a hotty guy one too?

Hugs
Franny Armstrong-ParaNovelGirl
MCS for 8 years (thatI know of)

Reply to this comment
Susan M. Silver

11. Dec, 2009

Susie, original concept, artistically impeccable, intriguing images of flawless figures. A real triumph! Bravissima!

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Julie

11. Dec, 2009

As a former (and hopefully, future) fine art photographer, I was very impressed with the caliber of photos. There are some really beautiful shots in there. Leslie’s was one of my favorites – I am a big Andy Goldsworthy fan so I loved the leaves, plus her expression and the message. I also loved both pool shots. And the interior/chair shots. And the tattoed woman, not sure who that is but beautiful photo. All of the photos were really great. Brava to all involved!! I am also very impressed that Susie was able to coordinate it in such a relatively short time. It takes me years to get anything done. Thanks for doing this Susie!

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Cristina

11. Dec, 2009

Congratulations girls!
Specially to my friend Judith, a cover girl!
Very effective and smart! BRAVO

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Amy

11. Dec, 2009

I sure hope an autographed copy is sent to Dr. Pall :~)

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Marta

11. Dec, 2009

Hello Susie.
Thank you very much for letting me be a little part of this beautiful project. It has been an honour! Congratulations for everyone involved on this.

Hugs!
Marta

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Eva Caballé

11. Dec, 2009

Congratulations Susie and all women who have been part of these calendars!!
Thanks Susie for your kind words. I’m really glad to be the inspiration of this amazing project!
Photos are powerful and tasteful and I really love “Seeking our Nature” version! I can’t wait to see the video!!! Susie, you did a great job!
Hugs, Eva xoxo

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christi

12. Dec, 2009

Congrats on a calendar well done! Beautiful and captivating…each photo is unique Christi

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jacki

12. Dec, 2009

Ladies, you are all beautiful inside and out! Great way to express our condition..
Awareness is the key! Susie and Eva thank you for making it all possible..
love ya xooxox jj

Reply to this comment
Lou Cheese

12. Dec, 2009

With all the posts in the canary report about finding a celebrity to spread the word about MCS in the media, or trying to get on a TV show like Dr. Oz’s, the solution seems obvious. Why not let the calendar women be our spokespeople?

It seems that one of the things that TV shows really likes is naked women, or talking about naked women, like Vanessa Hudgen’s camera phone pics to whatever celebrity put out a sex tape this month. It’s salacious enough to capture someone’s attention so they make the effort to tune into the show, like a morning talk show, but the show won’t get into any trouble with FCC as long as they don’t broadcast the actual nudity involved.

I can tell you that as a man, if I had a choice of watching a celebrity talk about a chronic medical condition or a woman who posed naked talk about a chronic medical condition, it’s going to be the woman who posed naked. That’s a no-brainer (literally, we guys don’t use our brains much), and I’m confident that a majority of men think this way as well.

And here’s what I see as a big advantage of going this route: The shows would be concerned about how household chemicals are portrayed, but 1) we would have final control of the message and 2) we would gain direct experience with the media as it relates to MCS, the experience would give us knowledge and insight of how the big media machine works. That knowledge could be used to develop strategies on how to disseminate information through the media in the future, and to better understand the audience which we are normally isolated from.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude and deep appreciation for the people who posed in the calendar and those who worked behind the scenes to get it published. The fact that you are willing to make such a bold step while dealing with all of the same painful and prohibitive medical difficulties the rest of us have speaks volumes about your bravery, determination, and most honorable of intentions. I not only hope that the calendar raises awareness of MCS, but that people also recognize the amazing and beautiful qualities in a person’s character that would bring about something like this, and not just the amazing and beautiful women on the pages.

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Mokihana

12. Dec, 2009

The Calendar project is great, and Lou your sentiments are powerful affirmation for the realness behind the masks and within the souls. Thank you Calendar Women, mahalo Susie for harnassing your significant mana to create this work.

Last night was one of those cliff-dweller times, when thoughts of suicide filled me, the vardo and my whole being. That reality is part of the painful difficult that comes from an isolation that is as close as the wall outside my window. “So close, yet so very far away.” I am so glad I made it through the night and woke to see the calendar, the commentary and a spark of hope to keep believing.

Mahalo,
Mokihana

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Susie Collins

12. Dec, 2009

Aloha Canaries! Thank you so much for all your wonderful comments and support.

Aloha Lou, wowsa, that was an awesome comment. It’s funny, I’ve never thought of The Canary Report as an advocacy project, especially not on a national scale, my goals have always been to validate, give comfort to, and empower people who have MCS. I’m always open to the organic nature of things, though, and would love if this project was picked up by some larger community or entity or group who cared about our plight.

Aloha Mokihana, out of the 100+ comments that I’ve rec’d about the calendar here and on our network and on Facebook, yours is the one that means the most to me. Your experience of having a dark night of the soul, only to wake up to find the release of the calendar, which brought you “a spark of hope to keep believing”– THAT is the whole reason for this project. If the calendar project touched only you in that way, just one woman, who was brave enough to bare herself to express her life with MCS, and then was empowered by that act, the whole project is worthwhile. Mahalo for sharing so much with our Canary community. Aloha, Susie

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Mokihana

12. Dec, 2009

Mahalo Susie. It IS the reason to do good.

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Fred sam

12. Dec, 2009

Where’s the truth? all I see are some half naked ladies that look drunk. How about a calender showing people living in their cars or on the streets because of their MCS.

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Susie Collins

12. Dec, 2009

Fred, there are several women who participated in this project who have either been homeless or are on the verge of becoming homeless because of their MCS. One woman had to walk away from absolutely everything she owned– home, clothing, furnishings, mementos– because her home had been completely contaminated by an ozone treatment; she’d also miscarried and was experiencing seizures. One lived in her car until she finally left her home state to find refuge elsewhere. One is on the verge of being evicted and at the moment has no where safe to go. The settings these brave women chose for their photos are the way that they decided to express their life with MCS. One of them has a photo showing isolation and restriction, two of them show defiance and resolve. This is a pictorial essay of the truth of MCS the way these women have chosen to express it.

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Missy

12. Dec, 2009

Fred – I’m sorry that you didn’t “get it” with this calendar. We each expressed how MCS impacts us. As you can see, we are a resilient group of women and will not let MCS completely rule our lives, although at times it feels that way. I left a full time job and was supported for nearly a year by my boyfriend while I was desperately sick and fighting my ex employer in Worker’s comp court ( I won). The biggest challenge, still for me, with MCS is people saying “you don’t look sick”. So I chose to show half of my face with my mask in my photo (feb) to illustrate that my people don’t see ALL of me, nor do I get to live my WHOLE life as I used to. And I threw on a little bit of sparkly non-toxic eye makeup to remind people that there is a lot happening behind my eyes that you cannot see bc my face is hidden when my mask is on – so you have to look closely to get to know me beyond that mask. I hope that with each month you see that this is not meant to be some fluffy photo shoot – this was empowering for me as a participant, and when I hand it to my Dr who never had dealt with a mold patient before, it will EMPOWER him to act when the next person with MCS walks in the door and not just shove another person to an allergy doctor.
I hope that helps you to see that this calendar is incredibly important to MCS – I didn’t have to be homeless to need help, support and understanding from my family, friends, employers, neighbors, community, doctors, etc – I needed someone to pay attention.
Peace,
Missy

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Tammy

13. Dec, 2009

WOW!!!!!!!!!
Words cannot express how wonderful this calendar is!!

You have collectively captured the essence of what living with MCS is (for me anyway…) I see beautiful beings dealing with the “hand they’ve been dealt” in the most wondrous way. I see lovely songbirds trying to get their “SONG” heard by the masses while caring for the souls of the the “birds of their feather” (and their own).

THANK YOU to everyone that had a part in this and I wish you all success in this continued venture as I am very excited to see what it will accomplish!!

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Julie

13. Dec, 2009

Hi Susie,
I just wanted to suggest that some or all of the proceeds goes to someone with MCS who is struggling to stay alive this winter, like Linda Sepp or Maha Laxmi. I just read some info on Linda’s struggle and I can relate, as I also require bottled water to live and don’t have enough clothes to stay warm. I feel powerless to help people in such desperate circumstances. It seems that this calendar may generate a lot of funds and I, for one, would love to know the money is at least partially going to help keep someone with severe MCS alive one more season. There are so few sources of funding for people like us, it seems a shame to pass up a chance to help in such a practical way. Of course, I respect your decision to direct funding to the group of your choosing but I wanted to suggest this in case you had not thought of it. Best, Julie

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Lou Cheese

13. Dec, 2009

As I’ve said before, I think the calendar is a beautiful thing, and I think it shows the women’s inner beauty as well.

In the bible it says in Matthew 25:40 “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me”. Well, if confronting a debilitating illness and bravely posing for a calendar to help the others with the same illness doesn’t count, I don’t know what does. Thank you ladies, from the bottom of my lead, antimony, and cadmium-tainted heart.

I knew of a professional photographer a while back who did a stark black & white series of people with chronic illness, it was meant as a serious study. She might be willing to put together part II of the series and I’m sure her treatment of the subject would be closer visually to what Fred was expecting, but let’s not let that take away from the calendar here.

It’s an apples & oranges issue as far as I’m concerned. One type of photo will work in the studio and museums, another type of photo works better in a calendar, and that’s what we have here. And I believe the calendar idea was built upon Eva’s work, which was basically the same theme. We as a community can always do a second photo essay to try and capture the extensive range of issues that MCS creates, but right now let’s appreciate the courage and creativity of these wonderful women.

Bravo, ladies. If any of the models find your way to Madison, you get a free home-cooked organic meal from me, and I’ll even make you some of my special lemonade for you to take on the road with you (search my blog for Lemon Explosion, it’s about 3 posts from the top). And Mokihana, there’s even a place nearby for you & Pete to park the Vardo if you want to camp out a while.

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Fred sam

13. Dec, 2009

I apologize for my drunk comment.

Thanks Missy, for your explanation.

Does the calendar include a story written by each model that explains their pose or maybe some kind of background story, for people like me that don’t get it?

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Susie Collins

14. Dec, 2009

Thanks for your kinds words, Tammy.

Julie, I picked the Environmental Working Group because our whole environmental illness community will benefit from the toxic chemical policy reform that EWG is fighting so hard for.

Lou, Thank you so much for all your support, it means the world to me and all the other calendar canaries, I’m sure. I’m working on the video…

Fred, it’s nice of you to come back. At this point I’m trying to give the women some anonymity and privacy if that’s possible, so not too much will be revealed, at least not by me. A couple of the women are bloggers and do share quite a bit about their lives with MCS.

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jen

14. Dec, 2009

Wow those are gorgeous photos. Back to nature where toxic chemicals don’t abound. Great idea for a calendar. Good job Susie.

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Susie Collins

14. Dec, 2009

Thanks, Jen!

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Susie Collins

14. Dec, 2009

UPDATE: Zazzle has pulled our calendars off the home page of The Canary Report’s online shop. I’m not going to bother appealing this decision they’ve made, which I’m sure they are justifying due to the nude photos and use of the word “fuck” in Version 2. Zazzle did, however, leave the pages up for the individual calendars. Here are those links:

Link to Version 1 of the calendar The Naked Truth About Multiple Chemical Sensitivity http://www.zazzle.com/tcr_2010_calendar_version_1-158183424197480230

Link to Version 2 of the calendar The Naked Truth About Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Seeking Our Nature http://www.zazzle.com/tcr_2010_calendar_version_2-158044223010814047

Of course I can’t guarantee how long those pages will be up. Meanwhile, I’m going to find another publisher that doesn’t have a problem with our artistic expression!

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Lourdes Salvador

14. Dec, 2009

Thanks for the update Susie. Great work on this everyone! The calendars came out beautiful!

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Connie Rae

14. Dec, 2009

I don’t normally stand on the side of swearing and bathroom language, but MCS has brought me to places where I hear myself saying words like the ‘F’ word and others that would usually never enter my head let alone come out of my mouth. I don’t choose them when reacting to organosphates and if a church is sprayed with chems, I react like a drunk that curses.The photos are well done and beautiful. It is tragic that somedays we can’t wear clothes cause our skin hurts or we can’t find them without fragrance. It is also tragic that we can’t find fresh air even at the beach or in a forest. If the nudity and swearing offends our society (right have you see the flashing ads on the commuications home pages) then maybe they will get a grip and stop using harmful, toxic, poisonous (am I redundant) chemicals everywhere! That is offensive. Our governments, businesses, churches, schools and society in general says it is okay for some of us to hurt this way, to be intoxicated but not by our own choice. WE are allowed risk factors.
The calendar says how I hurt!

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jen

16. Dec, 2009

Sheesh. All the nudity was very tasteful. The only thing I’m wondering is were any pics of men in there? They get MCS too and they can look like hunks in the buff too . LOL.

I’m sure you’ll find a better publisher.

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Mokihana

17. Dec, 2009

Lou! What a guy. Thanks again for your thoughtful look at the way an image can be viewed. And, if we ever get close to the mid-west and Madison Pete and I’d love to park awhile. Thanks for that, really~~

Reply to this comment
Amy

19. Dec, 2009

Susie and girls,

You did an amazing job! Congrats! I am awed by how good all your pictures turned out. There sure is a talented crew here at The Canary Report!

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Stephen Tvedten

26. Dec, 2009

Thank you for your efforts to create an awareness of MCS! All the best, Steve

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Siegfried Fischer

15. Apr, 2010

Ladies, you have done a great job to draw attention on what is officially called an ” irreversible pathological belief ” here in Germany, which leads to legal incapacitation for the victims with this ailment. After 18 years of legally and scientifically proven organosphosphate intoxication , I can only admire your
courageous activities as the work of “unsung heros”. The time has come: Enough is enough. ! Thank you all for your creative and invaluable effort. Siegfried (Fred) Fischer

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Environmental Medicine Matters » How to become an MCS activist in less than 365 days? Have look to Spain - Mar. 20, 2010
[...] also participated in the fabulous Canary Report 2010 wall calendar, with 14 other women from all around the world. The idea was inspired by my nude photos published [...]