Wing and a Prayer on The Morning Show with Shelley Irwin
Yesterday I was interviewed with Joe from Hope Network on the Shelley Irwin Morning Show about the Wing and a Prayer exhibit at ArtPrize 2013.
Thirty Volunteers Help Wing and a Prayer Take Flight
Last winter after Christmas, I bought up all the Christmas ornament hooks in Grandville; after I purchased 20,000 ornament hooks, Target, Meijer, and Michaels were cleaned out.
Meanwhile, several high school students from Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo started folding the paper birds. I even mailed supplies to one student in Fresno, California. While at a restaurant, one of my girlfriends started talking to her waiter about my ArtPrize work. Surprisingly, the waiter offered to help fold paper cranes too. A few weeks later my girlfriend delivered 250 paper birds.
Although most of the birds were finished by July, the tedious work of hanging the birds on the nets still lay ahead. Time was bearing down; I wondered if I was going to be able to finish hanging all the paper birds before ArtPrize. Several girlfriends, their children, and friends of friends—people I didn’t even know—volunteered to help.
Without wasting any time, several friends gathered at my home. Some moms worked at a table stringing hundreds of birds; other moms and children hand tied the paper birds to nets.
A few hours later, we had to stop and form a back rub train to help ease our aching muscles. After about six hours of non-stop working, we all realized that a lot more effort was needed to fill all ten sections of netting. So we decided to meet again.
Another friend gathered a group of children to string several hundred birds to double up our efforts at her house. One dad ended up sitting down with his kids to help. A grandmother even offered to babysit to help the process flow more smoothly.
Several days later when all the birds were finally hung on the nets, exhausted moms and kids cheered. Though tired, we all felt a strong sense of community like the old quilting bees or Amish barn-raising events.
The children may have worked harder than the adults, but better yet, the intergenerational bonds of friendship had strengthened. Everyone felt excited to be a part of ArtPrize. That my friends wanted to help me succeed and be a part of the artistic process moved me deeply. In the end, thirty volunteers worked 630 hours to help Wing and a Prayer take flight.
Healing Power of Art at the Grand Rapids Public Museum
Silent, Oil on canvas, 6 ft x 10 ft, 2013
Since 2011, I have worked with Toni and other Congolese refugees now living in West Michigan. My life collided with these Congolese women when at an event their native dresses trimmed in cowry shells captivated my artistic eye. But I didn’t realize then that these new friendships would lead me on a path into the heart of Africa: a place unsafe to be a woman.
Though the flames of adversity blazed through each of their stories—leaving massive damage—these women are rising out of the ashes and rebuilding a new future for their families and their nation. My presentation, Healing Power of Art, gives a glimpse into the fierce determination of these remarkable women.
The Grand Rapids Public Museum is featuring Courage Ablaze through my presentation in their ArtPrize speaker series on Tuesday, September 17, 2013. Join us for lunch and learn more about the Healing Power of Art.
Purchase tickets online on the Grand Rapids Public Museum event page or contact the museum at 616.456.3977.
Courage Ablaze Selected Exhibition and Collections:
- Regional Art Exhibition (LOMA award); Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Women’s Works (First place), Old Court House Arts Center; Woodstock, Illinois
- Permanent Collection at Grand Valley State University
- ArtPrize (Voted Top 100); Grand Rapids, Michigan
Presentation: The Gift of Watercolor
I don’t just paint watercolors; I also build healing environments.
Over the last four years, ArtPrize has not only given me an opportunity to exhibit my work on a larger scale—with 70,000 people viewing my work in 2011—but it has also revealed a hidden gift.
Come and hear about how I discovered this unexplored talent.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Southwest Michigan Watercolor Society
Art Center of Battle Creek
Battle Creek, MI 49017
Courage Ablaze at West Michigan Women’s Expo
The charred frames symbolize the family members slaughtered in the African holocaust. Since the beginning of the genocide, an estimated five million Congolese people—fathers, mothers, sons, daughters—have been savagely killed.
Photo:
The Flame Tree (part of 2012 ArtPrize Courage Ablaze), Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Free Watercolor Lessons
Do your watercolor paintings get muddy? Do your colors lose their brilliance? Join me this weekend at Women’s Expo for a free watercolor lesson.
Looking for some pointers? Bring in your painting for a free critique.
Feeling a bit shy? Come and watch me paint and pick up some pointers.
What to bring? Watercolor paints, brushes, easel, water container, paper towel, and paper.
West Michigan Women’s Expo at DeVos Place
March 8, 2013 Friday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
March 9, 2013 Saturday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
March 10, 2013 Sunday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
At the Heart of Watercolor by Pamela
After 16 difficult days in the cardiac unit of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, our first son finally came home. Seven years later, we battled for 23 days for our second son’s life in Denver where he was treated at Swedish Hospital and Children’s Hospital. And our third son spent two days in the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.
Although all three of our sons experienced traumatic births, each one enjoys health today. But I know the tears and pain of mothers pacing hospital halls. Since with each son’s birth, I, too, had to walk the path of suffering.
In gratitude for the care our sons received, I want to enhance a healing environment through my paintings and to encourage other families with sick children. The following children’s hospitals are currently showcasing my artwork:
- Children’s Hospital of Denver, Colorado
- Children’s Hospital of Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Children’s Hospital of St. Paul, Minnesota
- C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital of Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital of Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Illinois
- Rady Children’s Hospital of San Diego, California
- Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital of Cleveland, Ohio
- Seattle Children’s Hospital of Seattle, Washington