ArtPrize Eight is underway and this photo shows the open mesh canvas which is quickly filling up with the 50,000 orange ribbons being tied on by ArtPrize visitors.
Coloring with Kindness
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
September 21 to October 9, 2016
Vote 62626
(Located outside on the museum plaza)
Tell Us Your Story. #ColorMeKind
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum is hosting ArtPrize Top 20 Artist Pamela Alderman’s work called Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind from September 21 to October 9, 2016. The interactive work highlights anti-bullying and invites visitors to counteract bullying, whenever possible, with kindness. Alderman has prepared 50,000 orange interactive ribbons for viewers to tie onto the mesh canvas—to stand in solidarity with those who have been bullied and to empower people to prevent bullying.
While I was doing my math homework at school, I heard two girls whispering about me. When they were done, they looked at me and laughed. I felt sad like something inside of me was down a little. I tried to forget it.
I didn’t do anything wrong. During recess, all I do is solve friendship problems, and all I get back is them whispering about me. But I know I had to make friends with one of the girls, so she wouldn’t whisper.
A week later I saw her walking on the sidewalk with her hands behind her back, looking at the ground. I was an expert at making friends, so I asked, “Can I play with you?”
She said, “Yes.” We went on the swings together. And we made up this secret swing thing—we grab onto the bars and then swing a little bit and then do it all over again.
Well, we made such great friends. I could tell we were both seeing if we could get closer. I felt happy and excited to make new friends.
Me and my bother Cole were starting to fight. Then I suggested to “hug it out.” It felt better.
A special thank you to the Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore for providing the stories. For reasons of security, names have been changed.
Discover how to resolve conflict with a bully from Jeff Veley…
Coloring with Kindness
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
September 21 to October 9, 2016
Vote 62626
(Located outside on the museum plaza)
Tell Us Your Story. #ColorMeKind
D’Mario, the 5’10” bully in our sixth grade class, struggled. I get it. He had two dads. His stepdad walked out on him. And D’Mario was really close to his stepdad. Since his stepdad liked cars, D’Mario liked cars.
But I struggled too. Suicidal thoughts dogged me for months. While going to the mailbox, I thought, If I just step into middle of road, I could end it all. The situation with D’Mario wasn’t helping. D’Mario didn’t start my suicidal thoughts, but my relationship with him made my situation worse.
For our sixth grade school report, D’Mario and I were teamed up. That’s when it started. He wanted to write something about the 1963 Chevrolet Camaro car. I like cars too, and the Camaro happened to be my favorite car. The first Camaro car came out in 1967. Not in 1963—like D’Mario wrote. I wanted the facts straight because our report would be posted on the wall.
So when I corrected our school report, D’Mario got angry at me. He used the F-word and flicked me off a few times. During recess while playing sports, he started going out of his way to bump my shoulder and give me dirty looks. He used sports to get his anger out; he used sports to control.
Meanwhile, at home, I was spending too much time on video games. I got lost in them. After spending hours playing, it wasn’t easy coming back to the real world. When I got off a game, I thought about suicide, so I would go back to the game—to lose my thoughts. That’s when I realized that I needed to take a few months off and put away my video games.
Back at school, I tried to keep my distance from D’Mario. But during basketball season, D’Mario and I ended up on the same team. At basketball practice, D’Mario threatened, “You better quit, or I will hurt you.” I wasn’t afraid of him, but I was aware.
One day, at basketball practice, I noticed that D’Mario was wearing an old pair of Nikes with holes, which gave me an idea. I made $2.50 a day walking a dog, so I started saving up. After two months, I bought a decent pair of Adidas shoes for $60.00 bucks. I worked hard for that money; plus I added a nice chunk of my own Christmas money.
Then I waited for the right moment to give D’Mario the basketball shoes. When I gave him the shoes, he looked at me. His eyes got big. He immediately took off the old dirty shoes and put on the new pair. The shoes looked good on him and matched his jersey.
That moment sparked something: D’Mario realized that I wasn’t out to get him. He didn’t have to bully me anymore. He also started playing basketball with more confidence. I wasn’t buying him out as a friend, and I didn’t fix him just like that, but I showed him that I care.
I needed to think twice about suicide too. I realized that I really didn’t want to die. I started remembering all the things I had and what I would lose. I have a lot parent-wise, friend-wise, and dog-wise. Without a device controlling me or a kid at school controlling me, I could now control the way I thought.
Once I reached out to D’Mario, he realized that we weren’t competitors anymore. He started giving me compliments on the court; I gave him compliments back. Soon we became pretty good friends. I felt relieved. By taking a risk and being kind, my actions brought out D’Mario’s nice side.
For reasons of security, names have been changed.
For more information on bullying and suicide prevention, visit beniceonline.com.
Coloring with Kindness
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
September 21 to October 9, 2016
Vote 62626
(Located outside on the museum plaza)
Tell Us Your Story. #ColorMeKind
Trevor said, “Mom, I’m switching high school. Find me a new one.”
Shocked, his mother, Tammy, said, “What?!”
“Sorry, Mom, I’m not discussing it. Just find me a new high school.”
Tammy’s son was a talented soccer player. He had been pulled up to the varsity team as a 10th grader. But because of the state athletic rules, switching high schools would have direr consequences; her son would have to sit the bench for an entire athletic season. His decision, however, was final; their discussion was over.
The following year at Trevor’s new high school, Tammy watched her son sit the bench game after game. After each game, Trevor struggled to keep up his morale. Thankfully, somehow, he survived that difficult soccer season.
Trevor went on the play soccer the following year. At the last game of his senior year, Trevor’s team played his old high school—two historic rivals. After losing the game, Trevor said, “Mom, they’re still real ‘haters.’”
Apparently, the other players targeted Trevor with abusive attacks throughout the game. Tammy tried to asked Trevor what happened. But Trevor answered, “Sorry, Mom, like I said, I’m not discussing it.”
Tammy’s son didn’t fit the mold for the usual reasons for bullying—religion, status, nationality, physical or mental disabilities. Bullying doesn’t always fit a pattern or make sense. But bullying hurts and its victims are the ones who pay the price.
According to the CyberBully Hotline, three million kids are absent from school each month due to bullying. No student is exempt. Bullying can affect anyone. Tammy’s son switched high schools because of bullying. But what about the students who can’t move or switch schools. How do they cope?
For reasons of security, names have been changed.
…People cut other people down out of jealousy, because of something broken inside them, or for no reason at all…
Taylor Swift
Photo: Pamela and metal artisan Steve Umstead working on Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind
Coloring with Kindness
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
September 21 to October 9, 2016
Vote 62626
(Located outside on the museum plaza)
Tell Us Your Story. #ColorMeKind
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can…Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can… Martin Luther King, Jr.
Kindness matters. The paintings of the koi fish swimming against the strong currents in Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind depicts our struggles with difficult relationships. No one is immune from hate. The words “Stop bullying” don’t cause change. But words like “Be kind” empower us to bring out the best in others. Deliberate small acts of kindness—like encouragement, forgiveness, and love—display strength.
Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind invites visitors to tie an orange ribbon on a mesh canvas representing our commitment to live by the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” If we choose to treat others with kindness—even those hard to like or who are different—we are swimming upstream. When kindness colors over hate, we can impact our culture with the message of love and healing.
I would like to thank Macy’s at the Woodland Mall for showcasing one of the Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind paintings during ArtPrize 8.
Coloring with Kindness
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
September 21 to October 9, 2016
Vote 62626
(Located outside on the museum plaza)
Tell Us Your Story. #ColorMeKind
By guest writer Brittany Costantini
ArtPrize Eight has presented Pamela Alderman with an opportunity to feature a piece on bullying with the Girl Scouts of Michigan Shore to Shore playing a volunteer support role. In this interactive art piece, the center painting shows koi fish swimming against the current just as Pamela is encouraging the ArtPrize viewers to do when it comes to treating others with kindness—even when it is not easy. By choosing kindness over hate, we can impact our culture; that is the promise the viewers will be making as they tie an orange ribbon onto the mesh structure.
In second grade, you work on your handwriting and multiplication. But for Jack Peterson, he had to learn how to fight on the playground.
Jack was targeted by bullies at school who would shove wood chips up his nose. Then they would push him into a play house and tie a jump rope around the door to ensure he could not escape. They also punched him over and over again.
This bullying continued into fifth grade until he was able to stand up for himself by fighting one of the leaders of the group. He claimed, “I did not win, but neither did he. And after that, they left me alone.”
Jack is now 18 and is looking forward to his future as a doctor. He recognizes that his experience with bullying has impacted who he is today. He started wrestling and even became a state champion. But he also learned that it is important to stand up for those who cannot fight for themselves.
For reasons of security, names have been changed.
Coloring with Kindness
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
September 21 to October 9, 2016
Vote 62626
(Located outside on the museum plaza)
Tell Us Your Story. #ColorMeKind
After the suicide of Zoe Johnson, a West Michigan thirteen year old, a fellow student wrote on the victim’s Facebook page: “Good ur gone.”
I don’t know all the details involved. But after listening to the news report on bullying, I felt compassion for Zoe’s mother and what must be her complete devastation by her daughter’s death and the tragic outcome, in this case, of school bullying.
Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind shines a spotlight on bullying. The installation is specifically tailored for middle school students—often the most vulnerable. Some students like Zoe suffer so intensely from bullying that they believe that suicide is the way to end it all.
Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind is a 16 x 4 x 6-foot wooden structure enclosed by orange mesh walls. The work also supports an eight-foot focal art piece, weighing approximately 140 pounds, which shows Koi fish struggling to swim upstream; this struggle represents our challenging relationships.
The two top layers of the artwork are made up of painted Plexiglas fish and splashes. The placement of these fish and splashes creates a sense of energy and tension. The following side view shows the multi-layer artwork.
The Plexiglas panel located below the fish represents the river water. The following photos show the back side of the Plexiglas panel that is painted with several layers of acrylic paint. From the front view, each layer creates texture and the sense of depth. Some of the current has been left unpainted to give a glimpse of the riverbed. This multi-layered art piece rests on an eight-foot stainless steel base etched with current marks that portrays river bottom movement.
Plexi panel (back view): Layer one
Plexi panel (back view): Layer two
Plexi panel (back view): Layer three
Viewing the artwork from the front, visitors can see through the splashes and river current, enhancing a multi-dimension visual experience. The installation is situated next to the pond and waterfalls of the Ford Presidential Museum, giving water sounds, and, if the wind is just right, the spray of water.
Fifty thousand orange ribbons have been prepared for visitors to interact with the work. As ArtPrize viewers tie orange ribbons on the canvas, the see-through orange mesh fencing will become opaque with color. Thus, as a community, we will be symbolically coloring with kindness.
By choosing to be deliberately kind, our actions have the potential to brighten someone’s world.
Maybe kindness, love, and understanding would have helped Zoe’s school situation and resulted in a different outcome. Life-affirming creativity that invites reflection and flourishing can heal.
Coloring with Kindness
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
September 21 to October 9, 2016
Vote 62626
(Located outside on the museum plaza)
Tell Us Your Story. #ColorMeKind