Ford Presidential Museum Showcases Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind

Behind the Artwork

Closeup detail of koy fish art on Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind

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.

Coloring with Kindness

Christy, 7

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.

Amber, 6

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…

Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind

ArtPrize Eight (2016) Artist

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

Watch the Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind video…

Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind: The Inspiration

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A Chevy Camaro and Nike’s

Nathan, 12

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.

Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind installation at ArtPrize Eight

For more information on bullying and suicide prevention, visit beniceonline.com.

Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind

ArtPrize Eight (2016) Artist

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

Bullied Turned Bully

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By guest writer Brittany Costantini

Maxie’s Story

Maxie Noznesky was diagnosed with ADHD in second grade and has gone to five schools. But that has been the least of his struggles. At his first school, he struggled with getting along with other kids. But when he changed schools in sixth grade, the bullying really started.

Maxie was not only the victim of bullying at this new school, but a bully himself. He wanted to be popular, so he made comments about a girl at the school. Rumors then started to be spread about him. The bullying escalated quickly. He thought it was normal for this to happen, so he started bullying other kids to the point of almost getting expelled.

Unfortunately, just when it seemed like it was coming to an end, every new school year the cycle would start all over again. Maxie started hanging out with the wrong people who took advantage of him. At the end of last year, he was tricked into getting into a fight on Facebook. He claimed, “One thing led to another, and I was being tricked into fighting back—just being pounded with insults.”

He says that his experience of being on both sides of the bullying issue has taught him to pay more attention to what he says and realize who his true friends are. He also sought out his faith more because of these challenges and continues to pursue this path as a leader within his youth group. Maxie continues to look for ways to help others who are experiencing what he went through.

For reasons of security, names have been changed.

Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind

ArtPrize Eight (2016) Artist

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

Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind: Bullying? An Unlikely Target

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Pamela working with metal artisan Steve Umstead on Color Me Orange—Color Me KindTrevor 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

Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind

ArtPrize Eight (2016) Artist

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

ArtPrize 8: Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind

Behind the Artwork

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can…Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can… Martin Luther King, Jr.

Painting of fish on acrylic panelKindness 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.

More information on bullying…

Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind

ArtPrize Eight (2016) Artist

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

Standing Up for Others

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By guest writer Brittany Costantini

Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind

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.

Jack’s Story

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.

Color Me Orange—Color Me Kind

ArtPrize Eight (2016) Artist

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