Many window cleaners are living with mental health disorders or have a loved one with Depression, Bipolar Disorder or other mood disorders.  It’s more common then we may want to believe.  I, myself, live with Bipolar Disorder and PTSD.  Why does the window cleaning industry have more then some other jobs?  Simple, for many of us, this is a business that can work around the illness and requires less restriction…  Not to mention, it can be a cash business.  Window cleaning does attract many people from all walks of life.  Since studies say 1 and 9 people live with or have been diagnosed with a mental illness, you can understand,  we as an industry have a higher influx of those working with an mental illness.

In 2008, I started to over-lap the Window Cleaning Cartoons with my own grass roots project called, Mental Health Humor Project. It was my goal with the project to bring a little humor into the lives of my fellow peers.  The cartoons, much like the window cleaning cartoons, focus on a clean and positive message.  This past year, I’ve been honored by winning a few awards for the Mental Health Humor cartoons.  I’m particularly proud of two.  First, the 2009 national Facing Us contest.  To enter, we had to tell our mental health recovery story using a hand held camera.  Here, take a look at the video on YouTube.

Winning this allowed me to receive a sponsorship to go to the Depression Bipolar Support Alliance 25th Anniversary Conference at the end of April 2010.  At the conference, I received another award for being part of “Stand Up for Mental health.”  It was the first time I ever did stand up comedy.  I’m happy to say, I did not totally bomb!

Here is the point, no matter who you are if you are reading this, then you know some one with a mental disorder.  Could be a friend,  a loved one or even yourself.  I believe in community out reach for advocacy.  We need  to be able to talk about mental illness and help find ways toward recovery…Yes, recovery!  It’s not a cure… Mental illness can’t be cured but it can be controlled.  With medication or therapy and a network of support…Recovery is possible.

The mental health humor cartoons do not make fun of the illness.  We look for ways to laugh while living with it.  All this month of May 2010, I will be volunteering over 100 hours to draw caricatures of Heroes in the Mental Health Community.  I encourage you to come and see these heroes!  You will see, they are as normal as you.  The only difference, we have a chemical imbalance that (at times) limits what we can do.

Would you like to know more about Chato B . Stewart?

--

--

]]> http://www.windowcleaningcartoons.com/2010/05/16/we-support-people-living-with-mental-health-disorders/feed/ 3 http://www.windowcleaningcartoons.com/2010/02/16/free-window-cleaning-cartoons-and-clipart-feb-15st-2010/ http://www.windowcleaningcartoons.com/2010/02/16/free-window-cleaning-cartoons-and-clipart-feb-15st-2010/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:08:02 +0000 admin http://www.windowcleaningcartoons.com/?p=792 admin. Visit the original article at http://www.windowcleaningcartoons.com/2010/02/16/free-window-cleaning-cartoons-and-clipart-feb-15st-2010/.

I’ve been drawing window cleaning cartoons since 1999.  As time has passed, I have been able to improve my style.  I’ve gone from awful to not so bad and to just o.k.  I know, I have a log way to go, but something funny happened last week.  I got an e-mail from Jag, he owns Island Window Cleaning.  He wanted to use one of my cartoons for a logo on his van.  Well, that is not a new request.  Many of my cartoons are used throughout the window washing industry for logos, websites and even t-shirts.

Thinking, with out question, he MUST want to use one of my new cartoons.  Since they are the best art I’ve drawn EVER!  Well, to my surprise, he wanted to use a cartoon from 2001.  When he contacted me, I could not find the old high quality image file.  So, I suggested that I just draw him a caricature… NOPE, he really wanted that cartoon.  Here is what he says:

Hi Chato!
Yes, we really like that picture. I’ll attach the original picture
from your website to this email. The title is “Crouching Ladder/
Hidden squeege”. We really like the picture. If you can please
redraw just the picture as close as possible to the orginal–but,
please do not include the words.We just want the same picture.

I sat down the other day and drew a few samples of the cartoons… I was not happy with any of them till today.  So, I inked it and scanned the cartoons and colored it.  Below, you can see the finished image.  I just sent it to Jag.  I hope he likes it!  And I hope he can use it!

How much did it cost him for me to do this?  Well, I did not charge him a penny!  Instead, all I ask is that he pays me what ever he thinks it’s worth to him.  This goes for anyone that wants me to do a cartoon for them.  You can hire me to do your window cleaning project and if you like it any can donate towards my volunteer work educating people about mental health disorders.   You can also help by becoming a window cleaning sponsor for our site.  Please feel free to use this cartoon on your site or as clip art.

Chato

February 1st Window Cleaning Cartoon is FREE Clip Art

Thanks To Our Sponsors for your support of the Window Cleaning Cartoons.

Each Month more the 4000 window cleaners come to check out the cartoons. We have been able to put a smile on over 100,000 window cleaners faces since 1999. If you would like to support us contact me at about support at cartoons4wc(at)yahoo(dot)com

January 15th Window Cleaning Cartoon is FREE Clip Art

Thanks To Our Sponsors for your support of the Window Cleaning Cartoons.

Each Month more the 4000 window cleaners come to check out the cartoons.  We have been able to put a smile on over 100,000 window cleaners faces since 1999.  If you would like to support us contact me at about support at cartoons4wc(at)yahoo(dot)com

Over the years of drawing window cleaning cartoons I have always been asked to do cartoon caricatures or charters of fellow window cleaners. Today I want to share with you some of the great sports that have let me do my best to immortalize them is a cartoons.

Let start with a window cleaner Norm Winton Atlas Building Maintenance Vancouver, WA. I never met Norm in person, we’ve know each other 2000 on one the big there Window Cleaning Forums back then.  From the “chat room” and “Message board” technology  sprung up the free Yahoo Groups forum.  As a window cleaner online networking was new and interesting territory.

Norm was the god sent to one of the forums.  He’s what we call lovingly in the industry as an “Old Timer”.  Although it does not necessary mean his age but more of his experience and know-how in the window cleaning industry.

When I started drawing the cartoons he was one of my supporters and always understood the reason why I did the cartoons.  He know the value of humor, especially in the mundane of window washing.

Norm would always let me know what he thought of the cartoons… Even if he did not always get them.

Hey Chato,

That’s another great cartoon. Good work, or play, or whatever.

Norm Winton Sr.

One of his first favorites cartoons I did was about Water Fed Poles. It was his idea, and the joke was about of a guy using a waterfed pole and the caption says “10 minutes ago I couldn’t even spell window cleaner, now I ‘R’ one.” I drew this was when I was just starting out drawing and really did not have much skill but back then I just did my best.

Over the year I did Norm a few more cartoons.

This cartoon I dedicated to Norm in March 2007 I called it window cleaning Wet Rock and Dry squirrel Method.

Norm  was the kind of window cleaner that told it how is, and was happy to help other getting into the industry.  For years he offered help to assitance to many window cleaners on the Windows cleaning forum.  Even when there was only a few active members you could always count on Norm to post.  He would post news stories about the industry and chat with guys about the industry.  His last post was on June 10, 2008, Sadly not long after in September 22, 2008 his squeegee and window cleaning advocacy voice went silent.