Woven Voices from Iraq

As promised I am including an image from my friend Peter Buotte in Iraq. He got his linguistics class to write messages about the future...and he used his pillow case to make the strips of fabric for the folks to write their messages on...now that is an act of true commitment to the project!

For those who are in the dark about this project...here is my original email invitation:

“Woven Voices: Message from the Heart”

Dear Friends, Family and Colleagues~

As the year turns from 2007 to 2008, I am charged with abundant energy and vision for a new venture. I am writing to invite you to participate in a community art project that has grown from my work as a community artist/healer.

“Woven Voices: Messages from the heart” is inspired by Tibetan prayer flags, Shinto paper prayers, and many other cultures around the world that use cloth and paper in their spiritual practices.

My vision is to collect positive messages of hope, dreams, wishes or prayers from people all over the world. These messages will be written in pieces of paper, which I will cut into strips and weave into brightly colored prayer flags.

My dream is that messages from Iraq will be woven with dreams from Iowa, and hopes from Arizona will be woven with prayers from Pakistan. The more messages I receive, the more flags I can create. As a series of flags is completed, I will send them out. These colorful woven flags will be hung outside in a variety of communities to allow the messages to be released to the universe. As the seasons go by, the flags will fade, and unravel to release the messages of hope, peace and renewal.

The details: Please send me positive messages of hope and renewal, dreams, wishes or prayers written on paper of any size, color and weight. I will cut or fold the paper as necessary to weave it. I prefer that the messages are hand written. If you need to, you can email me the messages. If you wish to pre-cut the paper into strips that is fine. Cloth or ribbon strips are fine too. Once the messages are woven into the flags, they will become unreadable. In return I will send you a flag or series of flags to hang in your yard, your town, your school, your city.

The delivery: By snail-mail: P.O. Box 452, York ME 03909

By email: sarah@sarahhaskell.com

I hope you will join this community art project. I will begin to post photos as the project grows. Thank you for your support and efforts. Let the positive messages spread! Share this email with your friends and colleagues. I hope to have many contributors to this project.

With peace, Sarah