ArtPrize 2021: The Yellow Ribbon Story

Behind the Artwork

Veteran workshop for creating Yellow Ribbon for ArtPrize

The initial concept for Yellow Ribbon took root, in partnership with Kent County Veterans Services, as we set our sights on ArtPrize 2020. Over the next few months, this community-based work involved ten veteran art workshops across West Michigan. We initially planned six workshops, but the interest level kept growing; veterans and their families felt excited to be part of this ArtPrize project.

In early 2020, the first workshop, sponsored by 92 for 22, swelled to capacity with eager vets and their loved ones. At the American Legion in Caledonia, Michigan, Vietnam veterans, along with their grandchildren, produced some beautiful art pieces. Female veterans gathered in Greenville, and aging vets from Grand Rapids Veterans Home also participated. The following month, more than 70 enthusiastic vets, along with their spouses, parents, siblings, and children, crammed into the historic American Legion in Marne to create art.

Veteran workshop for creating Yellow Ribbon for ArtPrize

As the pandemic emerged, the workshops came to a halt. But later in the summer, when the spread of COVID-19 slowed, we met outside with Veterans Upward Bound and WINC (For All Women Veterans), for the next phase of the work. In keeping with social distance protocols, each veteran or family group worked at a separate table and helped paint the background of the large wooden panels. Meanwhile, at Breton Woods of Holland Home, the elderly veterans received personal art kits to create their art pieces within the safety of their own rooms.

Veteran workshop for creating Yellow Ribbon for ArtPrize

Although we faced a pandemic, national political unrest, and the cancellation of ArtPrize 2020, we continued to find alternative ways to safely engage veterans. Everyone appreciated the camaraderie and the chance to be part of something bigger than themselves. As ArtPrize regrouped for 2021, the Yellow Ribbon project proved to be an important opportunity to help galvanize the West Michigan veteran community—especially during such extraordinary times.

Veteran workshop for creating Yellow Ribbon for ArtPrize

We would like to express hearty appreciation to the following organizations for their collaborative involvement in the Yellow Ribbon art workshops:

Girls Up Club – Zoom Art Workshop

Behind the Artwork

Girls Up interactive project

For the Girls Up motivational talk with Healing in Arts, I began by sharing how, as a 22-year-old, I was considering an art graduate program on the West coast. But I decided to reset my values and goals, changing directions. Instead, I went to Japan, to teach Japanese people how to speak English. After my talk, the girls colored wooden tiles with colorful patterns and completed the art mystery by building the wooden puzzle that formed a large butterfly. To end our session, I gave this challenge and encouragement: “When we give our lives to others, through whatever career choices we make, one day we will be able to look back and see the vibrant pattern of hope and healing.”

Girls Up Zoom meeting

Color Me Orange Collaboration

Behind the Artwork

Color Me Orange collaborative project

We shared one of our community projects and the corresponding lesson about swimming against the flow of culture with artist Dawn Baker from Alert Ministries. Alert creatively services incarcerated teenage boys at a Dallas juvenile detention center. Due to increased restrictions because of the pandemic, we encouraged Alert to actively seek permission to get the colorful artwork installed inside the boys’ living space—healing art lifts the heart. Previously, no artwork had been allowed, so we felt thrilled to see the finished wooden tiles, painted by thirteen teens, hanging in their common area.

Stories: A Healing in Arts Collaboration

Behind the Artwork

Stories project plan and completion

We are honored to create Stories, a collaboration with Youth For Christ and MDV Housing, located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. For this collective project, students within YFC’s program painted their own unique story on a wooden tile to include in the collage. The work emphasizes the importance of our personal stories and how our narratives define us. We also discussed how, if we need to make changes in our lives, we can rewrite our stories.

Collage of images from Stories collaborative workshop

Stories collaborative/interactive workshop

The Next Season of Growth

Behind the Artwork

Yellow Ribbon around tree

Military families tie yellow ribbons around trees to welcome soldiers returning home. Continuing this tradition as a veteran’s wife, a military mom, and an artist, I designed the art exhibit Yellow Ribbon, which expanded into additional veteran art workshops for artists and non-artists, sponsored by Kent County Veterans Services.

Because of the veteran’s invisible battles with PTSD, military sexual trauma, or suicide—along with prolonged isolation during a pandemic—the projects promote hands-on involvement and a sense of community. Years ago, while living on a remote military base, I struggled with a debilitating sense of loneliness. Veterans also experience isolation when re-entering civilian life and encountering a disconnected public. The spirit of Yellow Ribbon continues by encircling each veteran with creative care, by exploring new aesthetic opportunities, and by providing a friendly space to experience positive social support.

Kent County veterans welcome: No artistic talent required.
Bring your smile and your unique perspective. Swearing allowed.

May Art Workshop – Tissue Paper Leaf Collage

Trees adapt to their environment incredibly well. With the change of seasons, trees let go of their dead leaves instead of clinging to them. In doing this, they make way for the new leaves to form and eventually grow. As humans, we tend to hold on to our dead leaves–toxic thoughts, adverse relationships, or bad habits. Our tendency to rehearse negative experiences again and again inhibits our growth and limits our potential.

For the May healing art workshop, we will create abstract leaf collages with Japanese rice paper and tissue paper. The project focuses on form and use of space, while creating colorful abstract leaf shapes that depict beauty and hope. Throughout life, as we learn to adapt and let go of dead leaves like the trees, we promote emotional resilience and make space for the next season of growth.

Tissue paper leaf collage

June Art Workshop – Plexiglas Tree Reflections

As trees grow, their lower branches often die from the lack of sunshine. When the branches fall off, new cells grow around the wound, creating a knot. Though the knot looks like an imperfection or scar, it provides new pathways to sustain the rest of the tree with nutrients and water. When facing adversity, we also need to find new ways to adapt and move forward.

For the June healing art workshop, we will paint abstract trees with acrylics on plexiglass panels. The project focuses on line, shape, and color to create harmony and balance. If we embrace our imperfections and scars, these important life markers, like the tree knots, signify strength and regeneration.

June Art Workshop - Plexiglas Tree Reflections

Note: Workshop participants will have the option to display their artwork at our August veteran art exhibition.

Broken Wings Virtual Workshop – Part 2

Behind the Artwork

Broken Wings Virtual Workshop

Monarch butterflies contribute to the health of our planet by pollinating many types of wildflowers. But in order to survive the harsh winters, the monarch butterflies migrate from Canada to Mexico and back to Canada; it may take up to six generations for butterflies to complete the 6000 mile round trip.

Once the butterflies reach Mexico, they cluster on trees to stay warm. As the temperatures drop, the butterflies huddle more tightly. By banding together, they create an environment of safety.

Difficult events—like 9/11, the current pandemic, or when a loved one gets cancer—can cause us to cluster together. These challenging times teach us that we need each other to survive. We can’t endure hardship alone.

However, devastating events can cause divisions, too. Sometimes individuals start pulling apart and isolating themselves to cope. But these times of separation may make matters worse, and lessen our chances of survival.

Recently, Wedgewood’s Manasseh Project sponsored a couple of Healing in Arts virtual workshops for their residents recovering from sex trafficking. Most of the teens participated willingly. A few, however, refused to join the hands-on activity. But once they saw everyone else enjoying the creative fun, they decided to participate. One of the girls even affectionately called me, “Grammie.”

The monarch butterflies show us the importance of unity. The next time we experience adversity with someone, let’s set aside differences and cluster like the monarchs. When we come together—with healthy and safe people—we contribute to the welfare of our planet, making it a healing place.

Contact Pamela at Healing in Arts to book your next in-person or virtual event.

Broken Wings Virtual Workshop

Broken Wings Virtual Workshop – Part 1

General

Broken Wings Virtual Workshop

Every year, monarch butterflies embark on a dangerous, 3000 mile journey from Canada to Mexico. Somehow, millions of delicate butterflies successfully complete the dangerous trip in spite of severe weather, pesticides, and habitat loss. The butterflies ride the air currents about 50 to 100 miles a day on the two month trip in order to escape northern winters.

While working virtually with a group of sex trafficked teens in recovery at Wedgewood’s Manasseh Project, through Healing in Arts creative care workshops, we discussed the importance of pushing through obstacles while navigating life’s storms. As we develop stronger emotional immunity, our increased capacity for resilience helps us traverse overwhelming odds—like the monarchs.

Broken Wings Virtual Workshop