My HEART and My ART: A DECADE as an ArtPrize Artist

From the Heart

Butterfly art

So MANY of you have LOVED our past exhibits. Broken Wings promises to be just as powerful and encouraging. But we can’t do these gigantic exhibits by ourselves. Well, we can. But then YOU would miss out on the blessings and excitement of being part of our powerful work during ArtPrize. So, we invite your partnership. We offer you the opportunity to take part in our art and stand with us—as collaborators.

The Purpose

Art touches deep places in the human spirit. When the viewers encounter the work, significant conversations result. Usually the tears start to flow too. Many seek us out just to talk. Some even return just to talk again.

Your Part

You can be part of our sidewalk ART ministry. We invite you to partner with us in joy of giving—the pouring out of ourselves and our resources for others. We invite you into our circle of giving—giving away all our strength and energy during ArtPrize—for the benefit of others. So many leave our exhibit changed and renewed!! Then, in turn, some of them end up pouring out their lives for others as well. The circle of giving is a beautiful model. Isn’t this what Divine sacrifice is all about?!

Crazy Numbers!

We had 70,000 people interact with our work last year. So perhaps around 150,000 visitors actually came to our work. But only 70,000 (maybe 50%) wrote notes. We can count the interactions because we know the amount of supplies that we purchase. Last year every box contained 1,000 sheets of paper, and we went through seventy boxes!! That equals 70,000 interactions!! I don’t even have to struggle with MATH on that one!

The UPS Guy

The UPS GUY probably knows me by name!! I mean, how many ladies buy 5,000 golf pencils? I can just hear the UPS guys, “Yeah, that lady where I delivered the 5,000 golf pencils…” I didn’t actually want to buy 5,000 pencils. But IF I’m going to continue to serve the ArtPrize audience then I NEED to buy 5,000 golf pencils!!

A Decade!!

This is our 10th (last??) year of ArtPrize! Join us and fasten your seatbelt! Every day is an action packed adventure!! Every day is a chance to see the POWER of healing. The power of compassion. THE POWER OF ART!

Will you join our team and help us bring a message of hope to ArtPrize? Click here…

More from an American in Paris

From the Heart

Omaha Beach in France

Of all the places to visit in France, Omaha Beach was on our Top 3 list. Seeing thousands of white crosses, a few crumbling bunkers, and the uneven terrain from World War II bombers pelting the shoreline left an indelible mark on our hearts.

Over nine thousand American military members are buried above the beach. The loss of life for the allied troops and enemy forces was enormous. Looking down at the beach from the bunkers, you could almost hear the Saving Private Ryan battle cries. Conflict is costly.

Vet writing hero message on Hometown HeroWhile on Omaha Beach, I thought of the veteran soldiers who visited my ArtPrize 2015 Hometown Hero installation. These veterans soldiers, who honored the World War II, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan fallen, made a deep impression on us—the ArtPrize visitors, my volunteers, and me, the artist. Their story of sacrifice and loss, even decades later, was profoundly visible. We all felt their grief.

Many tears fell. Both the soldiers’ tears. And the onlookers’ tears. Our tears gathered and fell as the soldiers recorded the names of their fallen heroes on the painting and, then, silently saluted their comrades. One soldier even crawled up to the painting on his abdomen in the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Marine style, to write the name of his fallen “brother.”

Heroes written in beach sand

As a military wife, grandmother, and artist, it is my mission to seek hope and healing wherever my work leads. A work that focuses on viewers and their story. A work that offers a healing space.

Decades from now, what will be your story? Or my story? Will we be the ones who laid down our lives for freedom? Or will we be the survivors, passing on a hope-filled story to our grandchildren?

A Paint Brush That Speaks

Behind the Artwork

Courage Ablaze

My definition of being a human who cares about her world began to change in 2011, when I collided with Josephine and other Congolese refugees living in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At the time, my knowledge of Congo didn’t extend beyond a country located on the map.

For the next year, I began to research Congo’s horrific story—eight million people slaughtered in Congo’s holocaust and two million women raped. Why? Because of Congo’s vast natural resources, such as gold, coltan—used in our cell phones and laptops, and diamonds.

After learning about Josephine’s suffering and the millions of other Congolese people like her, this question burned: “Pamela, do you care enough about the women and children of Congo to do something?” I responded with my paintbrush to give viewers a glimpse into the fierce determination of these remarkable individuals by creating a healing space called Courage Ablaze. After viewing the work, several American visitors confided their own rape stories; Josephine’s pain ignited courage.

Does Josephine’s story also kindle your compassion? When others are in need, like our sisters from Congo, what can the rest of us do to help them? When one woman supports another, our lives interconnect—setting hope and healing ablaze.

Josephine’s story is a composite story that has been shared in the news or reports. Her real name and some of the details have been changed.

Instagram @ Pamela Alderman

#paint4healing
#artistcitizenwork

A New Test of Courage

Behind the Artwork

Faith (detail), Pamela Alderman, Watercolor on paper, 12x16 inches, 2018

After posting Sabina’s story and image a few months ago, my friend Laurie asked me to paint another Congolese work. But Laurie’s request posed two challenges for me. The first challenge was to paint a watercolor painting. Four years ago, I had tucked away my watercolor paints—partly in frustration with my watercolor work at the time and partly because it was time to expand my art into new areas. I worried that the painting might flop due to a lack of practice.

Secondly, I had made up my mind to retire my Congolese artwork. But with that announcement, Laurie’s challenge came. This posed another dilemma: Would I stick to my plan and keep the work retired? Or would I allow my passion for the Congolese people to be rekindled? In the end, I decided to haul out my watercolors, face my insecurities, and paint.

It was also amazing to discover that the same emotional response to painting the Congolese work back in 2012 was still active. Throughout the entire painting process, my soul bled—through my paint brush onto the canvas—for Congo’s pain. So now I wonder: Is my Congolese work finished?

Instagram @ Pamela Alderman

#paint4healing
#artistcitizenwork

A 17 Mile Journey

Behind the Artwork

Getting trace drawing of hands in NYC

While walking seventeen miles through New York City, I invited individuals to respond to my interactive art as I stopped on sidewalks, waited in line at famous tourist attractions, or sat in Starbucks. I challenged others to live generously and be part of the solution to healing our broken world. My artwork spoke of compassion and living large hearted. But do I actually live that way myself?

Hand trace sketches from NYC

At the end of one day after challenging others on the streets of New York to help impact our broken world, I missed a valuable chance to connect with a stranger. After a woman who was drinking alone at the bar saw my husband pull out my chair at the table, she said, “Aren’t you lucky.”

We chatted for a quick moment. But I kept thinking of her as I ate my meal. When she pulled out twenty dollars to pay her tab, I had an urge to offer to pay for her drink. But I didn’t act.

I did say goodbye, though, and wished her well. This restarted another small conversation. But as I watched her leave the restaurant, I felt an emptiness—a lost opportunity. I didn’t have any more maps left to invite her to interact with my art. But this woman probably needed something deeper than an interactive art experience. This woman may have needed the artist, herself, to live out her art message.

Today I’ll look for another moment to connect. This time I hope to respond like Babette and offer the next stranger an opportunity to experience infinite grace. Then my artwork will actually have an impact across generations because the artist will have learned to live with an open hand.

Babette’s Feast is now playing at the Theatre at St. Clements located at 423 West 46th Street, New York, NY 10036

#BabettesFeast
@babetteonstage

The Scarlet Cord: Mentoring Students

Behind the Artwork

Students from Saugatuck High School created their own sex-trafficking installation

“I was raped,” a student revealed during a recent phone interview. Each year several students contact me requesting an interview or mentoring. Although the purpose of each interview is to discuss my work, the conversations often turn personal.

This past year, students from Colorado and southern California asked for coaching with their sex-trafficking projects. I also worked with students from Saugatuck High School via email, text messaging, Skype, and a visit to my garage studio. Because of generous donations from art supporters, I gave the Saugatuck students most of the supplies needed to develop their own sex-trafficking installation.

When the student shared during our phone interview that she was raped, I had the opportunity to talk about my healing art and how her school assignment about human trafficking could be therapeutic for her. Amazingly, at such a young age, this student already understands how her own wounds have the potential to help other victims find freedom’s path.

DONATE NOW and join The Scarlet Cord’s mission:
Freedom and healing for sex-trafficked children

Image (above): Students from Saugatuck High School created their own sex-trafficking installation

Instagram @ Pamela Alderman

#paint4healing
#artistcitizenwork