Individuals may rack up 5,847 synthetic Facebook friends in our cyber culture. But, as isolation escalates and meaningful relationships dwindle, loneliness increases. To help address these relational needs, I create spaces, as a hospitality artist, to help viewers feel cared for and validated—through art. Our participatory art focuses on the viewer and on healing. To…
Who We Are We create spaces where visitors feel personally cared for and validated. Our healing work has touched thousands of ArtPrize visitors—one person at a time (ArtPrize is a huge art event held in Grand Rapids, Michigan). Last year, 70,000 ArtPrize visitors participated with our soul healing artwork by writing Let Go notes. Your…
It’s that time of year again. Time to power down for summer. It’s been a busy year! I may check in a time or two here with brief updates on expanding The Scarlet Cord: Healing and Freedom for Sex-trafficked Children and other works. Exciting times—with my sex-trafficking work increasing. Watch for my regular posts starting…
While walking 6.3 miles to the Eiffel Tower, we accidentally discovered the Love Lock Bridge in Paris. I almost missed this Pinterest destination because I was admiring all the French architecture as we crossed this famous footbridge. Yes, I left my husband of 35 years a padlock declaring my love. But after reading about the…
Art speaks a universal language. Right? So, here’s a question to think about: How does art create community? I thought about this question as I waited in huge lines with people from all over the world. Or as I tried to squish up close to a Van Gogh work. Although I couldn’t speak the same…
Thank you to the Office of Sustainability Practices of Grand Valley State University for recognizing my interactive healing art with sex-trafficking. It’s a real honor as an artist and community member to receive the Sustainability Champion Award. Thank you so very much! This award also goes to all my volunteers—my collaborators—who work so hard to…