Project Art Bridge Blog

Project Art Bridge came to me like a bolt of lightening one day. I was in a workshop geared to making our lives work, gain inspiration, and make a difference in the world. It was my job to come up with a project that would sing to me. I was coming up with some ideas that didn’t quite make it. They usually involved me doing something similar to what I had already done and already knew about. Non of those projects would push me forward in a new way or over the top in excitement.

Our workshop leader gave us examples of projects others had done. She told us how to begin to put the project down on paper in a format that was clear and simple so anyone hearing it would instantly get it . We were told to write out 5 projects, zip zap, in 15 minutes! That was only 3 minutes for thinking what is was and writing it out in the specified format! I thought I was going to start with the two I already had, one involving strangers knitting on one giant hat and talking about themselves to each other and the other one networking within my job.

But instead - boom - this new one came out:

Get Iraqi artists who are mothers and Bay Area Artists who are mothers together to share their art and make a book that would be sent to mothers in Iraq.

I wasn’t exactly sure if we, the artists, would do a group project or work on individual pieces that would be represented in the book or how and where would we find all the mothers in Iraq and all the Iraqi Artists and Bay Area Artists. But it was unfolding to be very exciting. I spoke about it with some of my friends and in doing so the project was streamlined a bit. I got rid of the “mother” specification. Possibly creating something all together got turned into getting together to share each other’s work first. The book concept is still out there and in the works, just on the back burner. At the moment I am gathering people to help make this project work. I have found some really really great people who are enthusiastic and wonderful.

I hope they as well as others who find me will feel free to write in this blog and be the conversation that this project brings forth. I hope that the “me” turns into “we” and the “we” is everyone who wants to get involved in anyway, even if it is just checking in to see what we are up to. You can look at the “get involved” link and get some ideas on how you can…. get involved. Or please email me or post a comment about something you would like to do for the project or can think of something that needs to be done.

You don’t have to be a woman or an artist to get involved. In doing so we are all going to learn something we hadn’t know before, about someone and or a culture. I already have learned a lot and taking steps to come out of my cocoon of working alone being a web designer and painting alone. I hope to see you all at some huge event someday where we celebrate the sharing of the creativity of women from two different cultures.

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