Woven Voices ~ Messages from the Heart

November News

2011-11-09T08:31:00.000-08:00

Prayer flag hangs in downtown Providence RI

Gil and his peace flag in France

Here we are, one third of the way through the month of November. Mother Nature has delivered a few surprises in the past week plus including snow and now unseasonably high temperatures. The leaves on the trees outside my studio are a honey color dappled with brown and burnt orange.

Fall is characteristically a bitter sweet time for me. This fall notwithstanding, I approach the conclusion of "Woven Voices: Messages from the Heart" a project which I launched in December 2007. Over the past 4 years, we have gathered over 2,200 messages of peace and hope that have been read out loud in Market Square Portsmouth, NH. We have woven over 1200 prayer flags total with over 650 of those for the Kickstarter goal. These prayer flags fly worldwide and close to home.

prayer flag with portrait of son

prayer flags in Hiroshima Japan at the World Friendship Center

Glacier Park, Two Medicine Lake, Montana

There is much to celebrate and much to feel proud of. Thanks to each of you for your encouragement, support and effort to build and sustain this project.

The prayer flags are being sent to people and organizations from Africa, to Norway, to New Zealand, to France, to Japan and to folks close at hand that need to feel our support and love. I plan to fulfill the commitment to deliver some to Ground Zero in the late winter/early spring. I have sent some to the folks in NYC at Occupy Wall Street. The work goes on even as we draw this project to an honorable conclusion.

There are a few hundred messages still to be woven. If you are moved to come to the studio to weave, please let me know. There will not be a designated time/day for weaving, so just let me know what/when is best for you. New weavers are welcome.

Thank you for all your love and support. Blessings and Peace ~ Sarah

Language of the Love

2011-09-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

The language of love written in threads

Mom hangs a prayer flag in her crab apple tree.

Woven words of love.

Prayer flag greetings on a porch

Prayer flag in Searsport Campground Gardens


On the shores of Searsport Campground

For the first time in many posts, I feel at a loss for words. This community art project has inspired, challenged and informed much of my creative work for the past 3 plus years. Right now, however, I feel empty of text. I am keenly aware that it is all too easy to name and quantify this feeling, but right now, I simply want to just reside here in this space of lack of words. So this posting will be primarily a photo album.


Reading messages 9/11/11

Prayer flags at my brother's accident site

Market Square reading messages


writing peace messages 9/11/11

Me and the "Be Kind" guy with his bouquet of flowers

Market Square reading


Market Square Portsmouth NH


Prayer flags in town

NYC Community art project volunteer with prayer flag

On the headstone of a loved and lost son.

Peace in many languages.


Yes...breathe!


"Flags on the 48" on 9/11/11


Four friends who came to weave!

The Carter Burden Center Day Of Peace Luncheon, NYC

This is what the language of love looks like.
This has been an month filled with much love as well as grief and reflection. I am honored to be a witness as well as a participant in creating this visual language of love and peace.

Heartfelt gratitude to each of you for all your words and gestures of peace and love. The world is better for all your efforts.
~ Sarah

From the beginning

2011-09-06T09:19:00.000-07:00

Summer flowers welcoming weavers to the studio

From the very beginning this project, Woven Voices: Messages from the Heart, has been about the big lesson of life ~ letting go. My original vision was that this would be a 6- 8 month project. Well, as you know it is now almost 4 years since the first messages of Peace and Hope were solicited. This repeated lesson of letting go has confronted me time and time again.

What I am learning over and over again, is that my job is to create a vision and move towards it. My job is to accept whatever show up along this path. My job is to keep this vision pure and grounded in love, peace and hope for all beings on this planet. My job is to "keep on keeping on".

As Peter Russell says, letting go is really about accepting what is.

What is ~

Wes weaves and Sue counts flags!

Amazing wonderful volunteers weavers show up and weave beautiful, love-filled prayer flags.
Sewers collect the rolls of woven flags, hem the edges and gently separate the flags.
Prayer flags are going out the door almost as fast as we make them ~
A dozen flags to the World Friendship Center, Hiroshima, Japan
Three flags will be carried up a NH Mt peak as part of The "Flags on the 48" which began as act of remembrance and a demonstration of patriotism in response to the horrific terrorist attacks that took place in the United States on September 11, 2001.
A dozen flags will go via Soldiers Helpers to Army Chaplains to distribute to soldiers in Afghanistan.
40 flags sent to Carter Burden Center for Aging for a 9/11 Memorial luncheon and later to be distributed around NYC.
Ten flags traveling to Colorado with a young woman heading back to college. These flags will be distributed along her route as she sees fit and hopefully documented with photos.
One flag heading to a school in Saipan with an American woman who is a teacher at the school.
Six flags at a Shelter for Women in NH
A dozen flags sent to Oslo, Norway to honor the victims of this summer tragic massacre.
Dozens more flags going to Spain, Washington state, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.
Anne weaves !

The events of September 11, 2001 transformed my life, as it did our nation and the world. What transformed for me was my awareness of the power of art to transform and heal. For nine months following the events of 9/11/01 I created a large woven art work called "Each One: The Button Project, a 9/11 Memorial".

Creating this work illustrated to me the act of making art in community offers individuals and communities an opportunity to grieve as well as celebrate, honor and heal. Now, ten years later, this art work is being offered to the city of Portsmouth NH as a gift from a private donor. Tonight, September 6th at 7 PM in Portsmouth City Hall the 9/11 Memorial will be presented to the City Council for acceptance. This is event is open to the public, so if you are moved and available, please come!

"Each One: The Button Project"

On Sunday 9/11/11, the tenth anniversary of 9/11, I will be in Market Square, Portsmouth, NH at noon to read over 250 messages that have been gathering all summer. I will be there rain or shine. As I move towards closure of this public art project, my intention is that this will be last public reading of these messages. I hope that you will join me to give voice to and listen to these beautiful and heartfelt words and drawings that represent the hopes and dreams of many people from many nations.

This summer swimmer Diane Nyad attempted a 103 mile swim from Cuba to Florida. This was her second attempt at this feat. Half way into her swim, Diana had to abandon her attempt. Please follow the link Diana's post swim blog to her own reflections on this journey. In this achievement oriented culture, I find it inspiring to witness someone create a vision or goal and then have the grace and humility to let go. Life really is the journey, not the destination.

In my own realm, I have had to abandon my vision of going to NYC on 9/11/11. As most of you know, unexpected life events stepped in and there has been a change of course. As I wrote at the beginning of this post, I have let go of the destination and take hold of the journey. Like Diana, I am disappointed. And like Diana, I am moving on with commitment and faith. Thank you to everyone for your continued support for my vision and this journey.

After 9/1/11 I will concentrate my efforts on fulfilling Kickstarter rewards and continuing to send prayer flags to places and people in this world that need a symbol of love, peace and hope.

Prayer flags say it all~love, peace, hope, faith

In closing here is a recent email I received from a Kickstarter backer who re-gifted her flag to a young woman. This is written by her mother who drove her daughter to her first apartment. Mom writes: "I could not drive home last night, especially when I was so tired and then came the tears. "I am not ready to be all on my own...I feel so stupid.!" We went to get dinner, came back and FIRST THING we did was hang up the prayer flag. It is now above her bedroom door so she can see it every day. She is going to blow it a kiss each day before she heads out. Mary, that was possibly the best gift she has received ~ it meant so much to her that you thought to give it to her."

With love and gratitude for all the support for this journey ~ Sarah

Impermanence

2011-08-30T09:07:00.000-07:00

My beloved brother Wes

Yes, all of life is impermanent. This is a lesson that is sometimes is simple, as in the impermanence of a lovely cut flower, or a summer day that ends at sunset, or a prayer flag that deteriorates over a period of months in the weather.

About ten days ago I had the biggest lesson I hope I ever get about the laws of impermanence. My beloved brother Weston, who was my companion on the trans-Atlantic crossing last winter, was killed on August 18th. in Searsport, Maine. He was 58. He was an amazing man, brother, son, father and uncle, who was in the happiest chapter of his life.

As you can imagine our family has been devastated by a tornado of shock, disbelief, and deep, deep grief. Following this turbulent storm has been a tsunami of love and support.

Emily and Grandma Betty

Within this surge of complete love has been the community weavers. Weavers with experience have stepped in to teach those inexperienced who want to come and weave.I have surrendered to the love and healing that has flowed like a steady river.

We are sending out prayer flags weekly. Dozens have gone to Norway, to India, to Portland Oregon.


Prayer flag flies over Puget Sound

Corner of Kidder Pt. Rd. and Rte1 Searsport, Maine. Prayer flag on left.

Dozens more prayer flags are hand delivered to those who help weave and those who are in pain, suffering or grief. Some people have even sent some back to me! One such prayer flag arrived back to me in the mail on the day my family visited the site where my brother was killed. We made a little shrine with flowers and I hung this prayer flag on the telephone pole. I will be back up in Searsport next week teaching at Fiber College, and plan to bring more prayer flags.

My intention to hand deliver hundreds of prayer flags to NYC and Ground Zero has changed due to this traumatic turn of events. My efforts will be closer to home.


Prayer flags entwined with flowers in NH private garden

On Sunday, September 11th at noon I will be reading about 250 messages of hope and peace that have been accumulating all summer. Please join me for this event in honor of those who lost their lives ten years ago on 9/11/01. You are welcome to send messages to be read on this day until 9/10/11.

I will be shipping prayer flags to NYC to at least one site, The Carter Burden Center that has welcomed them with open arms. If you have contact information for additional sites, I am still seeking locations.

Wes adjust Mom's helmet. July 9th, 2011

Prayer flags will continue to be woven until we have fulfilled all Kickstarter goals. Flags will be flying in locations world wide, from the humble to the lofty, from the quiet of a private garden, to a busy roadside intersection. All flags bring peace and goodwill. All flags woven with love.

Here is one last photo of my brother, as he adjusts a helmet so he can take our 90 year old mother for a ride on his antique Triumph. Ride on Wes...we love you!!

Thank you to all who have sent love and prayers. We are surrounded by your healing love.

In Peace, in love ~ Sarah

News Flash...radio interview

2011-07-31T17:57:00.000-07:00

This is the way the prayer flags come off the loom~ one long strip

About two or three years ago (specifics elude me) I was interviewed by Gabriele Bartholomew from Everett, Washington who has a show called "The Power of Peace" on WKSER. She just emailed that my interview, with a brief update and invitation to participate in the grand finale, will be re-airing on Monday, August 1st at 6:00 Pacific Daylight Time, which you can hear streaming live on the web at www.kser.org (also at 90.7 FM in Washington state). Check it out!! Listen live! Set your alarm...that's 9 PM east coast folks!

The prayer flags get zig-zagged and cut apart.

Here in the studio, the weaving proceeds with love, prayer and beauty. Thanks to all the amazing weavers who give of their time and effort to bring these small works of art and love to life.


Joanne's waste basket is filled with a riot of threaded colors.

Julie helps her grand daughter weave.

Joanne is one of my sewers. She takes a roll of flags and sews at home. The odd threads and bits of yarns that came off the flags as she trimmed them created a beautiful Jackson Pollock thrum-painting!

Thanks to everyone for all the support, the encouragement and the donations to help fund this project through the summer. I will be sending out more flags to donors this week...watch your mail box...and PLEASE send me photos of where you hang them!!

Peace and Love ~ Sarah
P.S. Remember to listen ~ Monday, August 1st at 6:00 Pacific Daylight Time, streaming live on the web at www.kser.org

St Helena, Mid-Atlantic Pilling School

Conversation over threads

2011-07-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

Stephen rode his bike over to weave!

Almost every day now, I have weavers (more truthfully folks who come are not weavers but willing to give it a try!) come to the studio to help create prayer flags for hope, goodwill and peace for all beings.

Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, said that "the antidote to violence is conversation". I also recall Pete Seeger said something similar (to paraphrase)"when people have conversations, they break down barriers and create community".

A genuine message of love from a young weaver!

Sometimes I think that my community art work is simply to offer opportunities for people to talk with each other.

The simple act of sharing words, of speaking from one's heart, listening to the thoughts and concerns of another, slowly, thoughtfully, word by word....this makes a better world for us all.

Thus I witness the time spent here in the studio, weaving, chatting, listening, builds a healthier planet for all beings.

Reading messages in Market Square, Portsmouth is another opportunity for conversation, for touching to lives of others, for engagement between people and for creating healthy connections. I will be reading this last batch of peaceful messages sometime in late August. Stay tuned for the date and time.

As this message here suggests "Do what you can". What I can do is create opportunities for conversation, for one person to listen and another to speak.

I believe that this world will be a better place when we talk and when we listen. Woven voices become one voice, one heart.

Thank you to everyone for your generosity in supporting this project and your kind words to encourage this work. In closing here is a link to an old video I just rediscovered that tells about the project. Enjoy!

Peace and Love ~ Sarah

Old friends ~ weaving and sharing.

Roll Call

2011-07-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

Lauren and Dallas aboard their boat in South Africa

Here it is...my list of sweet amazing, beautiful glorious backers for the Woven Voices Grand Finale ! Love love love you all!

Elizabeth Carroll-Horrocks, Kay Crouch, Linda George, Julie Steedman, Argy Nestor, Clare Rogers, Paula Nordwell, Deborah DeCicco, Brad Sherman, Barbara Patton, Carla Kaatz, Janet Langlois, Mary Krempels, Helen Reid, The Island Women 2011, Cynthia and Robert Cobb, Cheryl Emery, Kitty Davis, Pauli Rines, Gretchen Hunsberger, Arlene Brewster, Antoinette, Critser, Christina Ouimet, Kimberly Cloutier-Green, Nancy Webb, Elaine Krasker, Steve Barndollar, Nancy Winterbottom

Peace Weavers

Julie Townsend, Patricia Lennon, Christina Sabella, Angie Arndt, Susan Tesar, Katherine Walker, Peter Vandermark, Chris Nolan, Tim Gadreau, Lisa Buell, Sherrill Fawcett, Helen Weigel, Lisa Rockenmacher, Elizabeth Knowlton, Al Bragalone, Susan Hoff, Diane Brandon, Holly Zurer, Jan Hubbell, Chris Kelly, Joanne Holman, Jane Malik, Karen Traversy, Teresa Penbrooke, Sally Fleming, Jewel Beth Davis, Cindy Luce, Anne Knight, Ashley Bush, Tricia Frey, Barbara Mcintyre, Catherine Grace, JoAnn Souza

Messages and flags in Market Square, Portsmouth, NH

Rosanne Adams, Gini Fitzgerald, Mary Louise Haskell, Susan Treleaven, Sally McCue, Susan Morris, Carter Siegel, Darcy Scott, Paula Roy, Phyllis Detwiler, Margaret Carol Dreyfus, Kate Kirkwood, Sally Jones, Anne Cram, Francesca Loren, Katie Moody, Janet Prince, Dawn Pepe, Laurel Stutsman, Sandra Bisset, Mara Khavari, Nancy Frederick, Julianna Donofrio, Kate, Agnes Charlesworth, Cynthia Limauro, Janice Tooker, Joan Dougherty, Daria Tansey, Monica Stone, Sue Pollock, Leslie Aisner Novak, Nancy Hiatt,

Messages of love and peace come from all over the globe.

Jessica Garfield-Kabbara, Jayne Winsor, Andrea Ouellette, Lee Roberts, Steven A. Holt, Leaf Seligman, Pobble, Kate Clark, Pam Bourgeois, Mary Bencks, Anne Fowler, Elizabeth Shapiro, Anne Bencks, Andrea Fox, Myra Weiss, Gil Williams, Lucia McBee, Berri Kramer, Sally Allen, John Wilson, Peter Leibert, Cindy Heath, Adair Rowland, Jennifer Stevens, Kate Zamarchi, Thomas Bilodeau, Susan Kaufmann

Prayer flags add grace and beauty ~ Emily agrees!

Grace Lessner, Jennifer Lawson, Magi Leland, Becky May, Lois Howlett, Tannye Wold, Jane Bernhardt, Nathaniel Warren-White, Jane Morris, Maura Khan, Bonnie Jo Radasch, Martha W. Nichols, KelLee Larson, Gabriele Bartholomew, Earlene, Elizabeth Dennison, Rosemary T Clough, Mary Lou Bagley, Jill Peek, Pete Greider, Bill Lord, Nancy, Mary Krause

I thank you and bow to you. Love, Sarah

In the Groove!

2011-07-12T07:19:00.000-07:00

summer in Maine!

Steamy summer weather has finally seeped into the bones of southern coastal Maine. I LOVE this time of year, and am grateful for the LONG days so that I can pack as much into them as possible. These days I am packing a lot in!!

The flags are woven in one long continuous strip

Nearly every day I have weavers here to help. So far we have woven and sewn nearly 200 prayer flags thanks to the Peace Weavers!

Please let me know if you would like to help with this part of the Woven Voices project.
As most of you know our Kickstarter fund drive was very successful!! Thanks to all my sweet amazing backers!! If you missed the boat to jump on board as a backer...it's not too late! Several people have been moved to send a contribution with a check via snail mail. All support is gratefully accepted!! Thank you!!

Nurses at Bridgewell Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio holding prayer flags

There are a few other ways to you support this project from afar ~~

Donations of ribbon and yarns for weaving. Send them to my studio address: P.O. Box 452, York, ME 03909
Installation suggestions for the prayer flags, especially near Ground Zero. Contact information is most helpful. International locations.connections especially appreciated!

I am continuing to send out prayer flags to folks who have contributed messages and will start sending flags to my sweet backers soon.

Thanks to everyone for all the support for this project.
Woven Voices is Peace made visible.

Jette beams with her prayer flag!

With deep gratitude and Love ~ Sarah

Lift Off!!

2011-07-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

Peace weavers quartet !

Yesterday at about 3 PM EST, the Kickstarter pledge drive came to a finish. Pledges were still coming in up to the last hour. THANK YOU to ALL YOU BEAUTIFUL BACKERS!! I am so honored and amazed to have the support and backing of each of you who contributed on-line as well as those who sent me checks and even those who reached directly into their pockets and gave me cash. The Grand Finale for Woven Voices is now a reality...and in full swing!!

flags on the loom

gorgeous pile of peace flags!

So now we weave, and weave and weave!! Thus far we have woven about 200 prayer flags. They go quickly and easily with no prior weaving experience is necessary. Please email me to find out the schedule. I can accommodate up to 4 weavers at a time. Many weavers come more than once. I look forward to welcoming all ages and abilities to the studio to help us weave Peace together.

There are a few other ways you can lend support to this project.

The long continuous strip of flags

Sewing the flags ~ the prayer flags are woven in one long continuous strip on the loom. We can get about 20 woven, then we have to cut off the flags and sew the edges by machine so that they don't unravel. We are looking for folks who might like to sew, either here in the studio or at home.

Sewing the flags


Mother/Daughter Peace Weavers

Materials ~ we are gathering yarns and ribbons to use in the weaving. Clean out that closet and send us your donations!!
Ideas ~ where shall we send and install these 1000 prayer flags?? I am open to your ideas and suggestions, preferably with names and contact info. I am currently researching Ground Zero contacts. All ideas welcome.
Messages are still welcome until August 15th. Please see the blog side bar for more info.

Postcard Underground words of encouragement!

And finally ....there have been multiple lessons that I have learned over the past three and a half years that I have been guiding this global Peace project. The biggest lesson is one that is continuously repeated, just because I guess I need it!!

The lesson is to keep doing this work, even in the face of obstacles. And then when I least expect it, there is an affirmation that what I am doing makes a difference. This week I have been the recipient of a post card campaign of Anonymous Love from the Postcard Underground. So far I have received about 6 postcards from strangers with words of encouragement and admiration. Wow!! These lift me up and make me smile!! Thanks Postcard Underground !!

So with a full heart and a happy spirit I return to the loom. Thank you all for the Kickstarter backing, for the words of encouragement, for the weaving/sewing/materials and message of Peace and hope. Thread by thread, we are making a difference!
Love ~ Sarah

Happy Peace-filled Independence day!!

What I do best.......

2011-06-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

prayer flags in NH garden

As a weaver, my work is all about building webs, creating connections. I use threads to create visual works that nurture, support and inspire connections between people, animals, nature and the invisible mysteries of this world. This is what I do best.

Gifting prayer flags to Kopang

Last night I had a very sweet surprise when I opened my email box. There I found a note and photos from an Phaphama, organization in Johannesburg, South Africa. This winter I sent several prayer flags to them while I was in Cape Town. The big surprise was that I thought that the flags had been lost in the mail and I had given up hope of locating them.

Little did I know that the ripple of love and peace that began months ago with the gathering of these messages was weaving magic thousands of miles across the globe.

In this photo, two of the prayer flags are being gifted to a women's project called Kopanang, an embroidery project run by women who are infected by HIV/AIDS. I am so moved that these flags are being used for such powerful and healing work.
This is peace, hope, love and community in action. This is the Woven Voices project at its best.

Garden door prayer flag

Jack and Jean London at Topsail House Simonstown, South Africa
http://www.topsailhouse.co.za/

As noted in previous a previous blog I am creating a Grand Finale for this global community art project.

In order to make this happen I need your support. Please check out the Kickstarter website. There is a two minute video that explains everything.

Loraine in Simonstown, South Africa

~ Peace ~

Please share the opportunity to support this project . This is what I do best......use my skills as a weaver to build community, foster positive energy and build a stronger web of love for this planet for all beings.
I am grateful for your support and affirmation of this work.

Namaste ~ Sarah

1000 prayer flags for Peace ~ The Grand Finale !

2011-06-03T13:08:00.000-07:00

Positive message from around the globe

Today is Friday June 3, 2011. Nearly three and a half years ago I began "Woven Voices: Messages from the Heart".

Messages from Iraq

My original thought was that this would be a 6-8 month project. Little did I know that I would receive over 800 messages in the first month, and over the next few years, the messages have kept coming, and coming. Heartfelt, eloquent, simple and artistic. Messages from schools, book groups, individuals and communities. Each message has been read out loud in Market Square. Each message has been spoken and released to the breezes. Each message has been given voice by someone other than the creator. Each message has been heard and honored.

The looms have traveled to bring the weaving out to the greater community

These messages have been woven by community volunteers into over 500 prayer flags. Many messages are still waiting to be woven.

Reading messages in Market Square Portsmouth, NH

Prayer flags hang all over the world

Dispersed over all over the world are over 500 prayer flags. Some hang in private homes and gardens. Some are in very public locations and some are installed in secret venues.

These prayer flags unravel, fade and release the messages of peace, hope and renewal to all beings.
One of the founding principles of this project has been the Buddhist concept of impermanence. Nothing lasts forever. And so it is with this project. I have decided to bring this project to an honorable and fitting conclusion.

Bringing the project to closure by weaving 1000 prayer flags.

My plan is to weave 1000 prayer flags by September 11th, 2011. Between the dates of September 11th (the 10th anniversary) and the 21st (International Day of Peace) I will disperse these prayer flags to a variety of international locations, including dozens to Ground Zero in NYC.

Please help ~ Today I launched a Kickstarter fund drive to help fund this grand closure to "Woven Voices". You can help by making a pledge here. Every dollar will help fund studio overhead, weaving materials, postage to send these prayer flags and for travel costs to NYC on 9/11/11. Plus there are rewards for donors...check it out!

I have self funded this project from the start, but I now need your support. Please go to the Kickstarter site and make a pledge to help bring "Woven Voices" to a grand culmination.

I am SO grateful to everyone for your continued support for this project. And I look forward to your help to fund this final phase of "Woven Voices: Messages from the Heart".

Prayer flags in Nepal

Thank you. Peace, Sarah

P.S. I will be continuing to accept your messages to be read and woven into prayer flags until August 15th.

The Surprise

2011-05-12T07:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at noon, I showed up in Market Square, downtown Portsmouth, NH. I arrived a couple of minutes before noon, and sat quietly on a near by park bench. I had two canvas bags with over 150 messages of hope and peace the were gathered from all corners of the globe. My mind and heart were racing. The words in my head were "This doesn't get any easier." That was one big surprise. You would think that after three years of showing up in public to read these messages, that I would feel more confident and at ease with this public performance.

But no, it in fact does not get easier. The part that has changed for me is that I am confident that something unique will happen. And even though I am feeling like I either want to vomit or cry from anxiety, I am compelled to show up. I have made a commitment to read these messages. I have made a commitment to make an effort to build a better world. No one said it would be easy. So I show up, butterfly stomach, dry mouth and all.

The church bells strike twelve noon. And I begin to read the messages. I read and read. Twenty minutes goes by. I am alone. I make eye contact with a few passers by. I have never felt more alone in this work. Then friends, family and supporters begin to show up.

The surprise here is not that people came to read and support this effort. I know very well that many many of you support this work. Many of you have come to Market Square when you could. Many of you have come to the studio to weave. Many of you have sent me emails to share your words of support. Your messages of hope and peace have come from all corners.

The surprise is that I felt so anxious. The surprise is that I forgot you are with me. Like so much in my life, I need repeated lessons. So I will show up again. I will feel nervous again. I will be reminded of all the love that is in this world if I just show up.

prayer flag in private garden

Speaking of love, one of my favorite parts of this project is giving away the prayer flags. For those of you who sent messages a long time ago....hang on your flags are coming! I am sending out a batch today. And then there are those flags that are hung and given away randomly.

Rosamund Fowler St. Helena Mid-Atlantic

I am formulating a grand event to culminate this project on or around September 11th. I believe that a ton of love will be needed on that day. My way to promote that is through a grand finale of this project. I will unfold the details as I define them.

Sally Kruger's Mom in South Africa

So please know that I am aware of your love and support. Please know that I hugely appreciate all your efforts to support this project.

I am simply surprised at how many repeated lessons I need in order to remember and receive this love.

Namaste ~ Sarah

Stepping Out ~ May 11th noon ~ message reading

2011-04-29T14:12:00.000-07:00

Spring in New England is pure magic. After long, dark months where the only color one sees is grey, or maybe shades of brown; all of a sudden one day you wake up and kaboom...! there is an explosion of greens, pinks, yellows and purples. Seemingly overnight the world is transformed from a dull, colorless vista to a wild parade of joyous technicolor, akin to what happens to Dorothy when she steps into the Land of Oz.

I actually have no right to complain about the long winter because I was away for all of it. But never the less, I am still in awe of the magnificent celebration that Mother Nature is putting forth this week.

Here in my studio I continue to celebrate being home and getting back to what I love to do ~ weave, make art, teach and build community. With the Woven Voices Project, I have messages to read and flags to be woven. Here are the details ~

On my travels across the Atlantic I stopped at St Helena, where I visited with the students and teachers at Pilling Primary School. I gave a dozen prayer flags with this sweet school who have installed the flags going up the inside stair way.

While at the school, I was given over 100 messages of hope and peace from the students and teachers. On May 11th at noon in Market Square, Portsmouth, NH I will read these messages along with dozens other beautiful messages. I hope that you will join me.

My other invitation is to come weave prayer flags. There are four looms in the studio ready to go. To entice you to join this community art project...here is what your prayer flag will do ~ bring a ray of hope, a moment of peace, a ray of sunshine to someone somewhere in the world.

Here is Sedick Davidson, curator of The Heritage Museum, Simon's Town, established in his family's house (built in 1858), which belonged to the Amlay family until they were forcibly removed from the town when it was declared a white group area in September 1967 under the Group Areas Act of the Nationalist Government. There is still much sadness and pain from this era of South African history. Sedick was touched to receive the gift of a prayer flag. I gave him two, one for his daughter who suffers from a debilitating disease.

If you have a couple of hours, I welcome you here to weave and spread hope and peace around the world. Email or call me to make a date to weave!

I will keep posting images of prayer flags from my recent travels, as well as share the inspirational stories. I hope to see you on May 11th at noon in Market Square! Peace and gratitude ~ Sarah

From sea to shining sea

2011-04-19T13:19:00.000-07:00

I am home!! Yes, on March 18th we landed in Barbados after 51 days at sea. It was an amazing trans-formative passage that allowed me to spend many, many hours just staring at the horizon, contemplating the "meaning of life".

clouds that kept unfolding into heavenly patterns

No, I do not have it all figured out. It is still a giant mystery, a complicated web. I do know that I am an incredibly fortunate person to have been able to spend weeks at sea living closely with the natural world, sharing a small boat with three other people, and to have had the unique experience of observing a landless/human-less horizon for nearly 8 weeks.

There is so much that I want to share about this voyage, that I will have to take a few posts to reveal the stories and images. Please be sure to check out my website and my Macomber Looms blog for other points of view on this same voyage.

The Egg Man in Green Market

While on this whole trip I was mindful of dispersing the 130 prayer flags that had been so lovingly handwoven prior to my departure. I will share in a series of blogs where those flags landed.

Just to begin, here is the Egg Man a street performer in Cape Town's Green Market. He is an colorful vibrant ambassador for South Africa, even though he hails from Benin. I tied a blue prayer flag to his right shoulder in honor of his work as a community artist. At the Green Market, I also met a Senegalese priest dressed in a brilliant celebratory costume. He was handsome and regal. I gave him a prayer flag also. Sadly, I lost a few photos when I transferred the images from my camera to a thumb drive. The photo of the priest was one of those lost.

Jackass penguins

penguin waddling away from his nest

The boat that I sailed on, Bahati was at a marina in Simonstown, False Bay, just south east of Cape Town. In this village there is a park where the Jackass penguins live. They are adorable, quite tame and rather entertaining. I decided that these penguins should get a prayer flag. So while this guy waddled away from the shrubs where his nest was, I stuck a prayer flag in amongst the shrubbery.

prayer flag in penguin nest-shrubbery

So for today, that is where I will leave you. There are many more images and many more stories. These will get unpacked over time. Thank you to all who have supported this passage, most especially my family and loving husband Ben who held a steady vigil for my safe return.

The web of peace in South Africa

2011-01-20T08:25:00.000-08:00

St. George's Cathedral, Cape Town

I landed in Cape Town South Africa on New Year's Eve. Today is January 20th, 2011. I've been here for nearly three weeks. I am sitting in an Internet cafe in Simons Town, it is about 5:30 in the afternoon and it is about 85 degrees. The wind is gusting up from the south, so we are not leaving to round Cape Point until things settle down a bit.The good thing is that I finally have an opportunity to get some news out about distributing the 130 prayer flags that I brought.

To date I have given away about 80 of your beautiful prayer flags. Each time I give one away, I always get a hug. No kidding! People are amazed, honored, curious and appreciative. I'll share a few stories here.

Simons Town Penguins

This is a photo of Mary who works in the administration of St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town. Behind her is the labyrinth that is built in the enclosed garden of the cathedral. I gave her three flags to hang in the garden and she was thrilled!

Right now I am in Simons Town, South Africa. About a 10 minute walk from the marina is a penguin preserve. These little fellows are pretty darn cute, so I had to hang a prayer flag for them in a shrub not too far from a nesting area. When I get home, there will be many more photos, but working in the "rough", I am a bit limited.

Monwana Game Lodge staff

Earlier in the month our crew went on a safari up near Kruger Park. Our first night we stayed at Monwana Game Lodge. I decided to give the staff each a prayer flag. Most of them did not speak English and were not sure what this gift was all about, but they were still very appreciative to receive a gift! I am sure there were some questions and stories after I left!

Sabi Sands Game Reserve

Yes, we saw lions, elephants, rhinos, hippos, zebra and more. Just to tease you, here is a photo of a elephant that we watched munch down a few large trees!

There is much more to share, and many more photos to come. The many flags that I have distributed have brought such joy and amazement to each receiver.

When I first arrived in Simons Town, I went to the Tourist Information center to ask some questions. The young woman there was so helpful, I gave her a prayer flag. She was thrilled, and said, "Wow! No one has ever given me a gift for helping them!" I so grateful to everyone for all the wishes, support and effort to help make this trip possible for me. Hopefully I'll blog again before we cast off.

Please be sure to check in to Bahati's blog. That's the best way to learn about this boat, her captain, crew and voyage. Peace, Sarah

Have prayer flags...will travel!

2010-12-26T07:54:00.000-08:00

Sarah at the loom!

Yes!!....thanks to everyone..... there are 130 prayer flag traveling with me to South Africa and then across the Atlantic all the way to the Caribbean.


Pat and her brilliant smile!

For the past three weeks, almost two dozen community volunteers came to the studio to weave prayer flags.

Pam and Sally get acquainted as they weave.

Most folks who come have never woven. It is my joy to share this creative and meditative way to share good will.


Cleone's hand fly as they weave.

Busy hands, happy heart.

Read more...check out the York Independent story about this community art project. Pages 4-5.

Lesley and Mark came for the last night of weaving.


Mark, the only guy who rose to the challenge!

Friends Lesley and Mark came for dinner and the final weaving date.

Prayer flags all ready to be sewn

The last evening in the studio, we had a spontaneous party! Three weavers, plus me, two dogs and two guitars. Music, singing, glad hearts....all lifting me to travel lightly with an open heart.

Ben and Nancy offer sweet music.

I am so blessed to be traveling on this mission ~
Art-ambassador of peace and love from Maine.

See you in March ~ Sarah

Closing in !

2010-12-18T11:12:00.000-08:00

She who breathes

This week we had seven weavers in the studio. Women who came and breathed their energy into this project. I thought this prayer flag message particularly appropriate!

One world, one people

Each flag is woven with messages that come from all over the world. Many voices for peace, for hope, for love.

Love music

Each message is read many times before it finally gets woven into the prayer flag. Then the message is often fractured and the language becomes mixed with other language.

This prayer flags reads: "I love music for awake people to be awake." Interpret this however you like.

I see compassion and joy.

Forgiveness Forever.Yes to that.

Weave Hope

This week we are closing in on the 100 prayer flag goal. Many many thanks to everyone for the support, words of encouragement and energy.

Our world is moving like the sun; moving ever so slowly and steadily toward a new horizon.

Happy Solstice ~ Sarah

54 and counting !!

2010-12-12T10:58:00.000-08:00

weaving messages of peace

This week nine lovely weavers came to the studio to weave prayer flags. These people came in response to my invitation/challenge to the community to help me weave 100 prayer flags to take on my trip to South Africa and the Atlantic crossing to the Caribbean.

Weaving in the spirit

Some people came in the company of a friend, some came as individuals. Some people had never woven before, some had woven as younger people.

What color is hope?

All came with an open heart and open mind.

There are now 54 beautifully woven prayer flags ready to travel.

Open hearted weaving

Thank you to everyone who has given time, effort and your words of support.

With more weavers coming this week, we will surely meet the goal of 100 flags to travel!

Sewing the prayer flags after they are cut off the loom.

Namaste ~ Sarah

100 prayer flags for the world ~ Come weave!

2010-12-03T12:48:00.000-08:00

"Bahati"

In about three weeks, I will be heading off for a very special trip. I will be flying to Cape Town, South Africa via Dubai. I will spend about 2 weeks there before casting off and sailing across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. I will be joining my friend Nat who has been circumnavigating the globe since late 2005 aboard Bahati, a 43' Montevideo Cutter.

While in South Africa, I will have about 2 weeks prior to embarking. During that time I hope to travel, see sites and connect with communities, schools and art/craft organizations.

100 Prayer flags

My goal is to weave 100 prayer flags before I leave. My vision is to have a stack of prayer flags to give freely while in South Africa, as well as on the isolated islands that we will stop at en-route.

We plan to stop at St. Helena and Ascension Island.
How amazing to be able to leave a string of prayer flags at these remote communities!

St Helena ~ North West of South Africa

So I send out this blog as an invitation to come to my studio to weave. Let me know what time/day works for you and we'll make a date. I ask for only a two hour window of your time.

For those of you who live at a distance, your words of support feed this project as well as the actions of those who are able to physically lend a hand. Every action is noticed and received with love.

With continued heartfelt gratitude for all your words and actions of support ~ Sarah

We all need a friend

2010-11-19T09:37:00.000-08:00

Minutes before noon, November 11th, in Market Square, Portsmouth, the brisk wind grabbed at the prayer flags as I tied them to the trees. Across the street, there was plenty of sunshine, warming the folks sitting outside on the cafe plaza. It is a federal holiday, so there are plenty of people passing this way and that. But I am here, in the shade in front of the North Church, standing apart.

As the church bells strike the noon, I reach into the bag of messages to begin reading. I am feeling awkward, wondering if I will do this whole hour by myself. Minutes go by.

I read many messages to the wind, to the tourists strolling by, to those locals with a sweet day off, to students free from the confines of school. Trying to make eye contact, struggling to be present to the beauty of each message, I find myself feeling self conscious and awkwardly alone.

Then I see a friend across the square. And then another friend and slowly more friends appear. Then a guy with an instrument case walks up and says "Do you mind if I play my sax?"

"Wow...sure, music would be a sweet addition to our voices as we read our messages of peace!" I respond. So to the sweet tunes of saxophone, our voices sing out the words of hope, dreams, well being and prayer to all beings on this planet.

Friends came and went and all 250 messages were read out loud, were honored and heard. The church bell struck one o'clock, I rolled up the prayer flags that had hung in trees, packed up the read messages and dropped some cash in the saxophone's cup. All was well.

A week later as I reflect back on my emotions on that day, I realize my initial feelings of awkwardness stemmed from my need to feel a sense of validation for the act of standing apart, for doing something in public that might be viewed as "strange". The lesson I take away from this Nov. 11th reading is to hold firmly on to the vision that this project is about weaving TOGETHER voices that sing for peace and compassion for all. In that spirit I am not alone.

The folks who were able to show up are symbols for the many many others who are with me in spirit. I know and feel your affirmation for this work. Deep gratitude for all your messages, your words of encouragement and your volunteering to weave the prayer flags. We are all in this journey together.

In this spirit of community and collective vision, here are a string of prayer flags I sent to a colleague in Deming,Washington. To quote Jillian... "they hang at Presence Studio in Bellingham and await transport to the new Center for Local Self-Reliance Community Garden in Fairhaven Park in Bellingham....moveable feast of prayers."

Last weekend I traveled to Downington, Pennsylvania to a chanting and meditation retreat with Russill Paul at Hari Om Mandir. This was a three day retreat that culminated in a beautiful puja and kirtan to the Hindu Goddess Lakshmi.

I brought a few prayer flags with me, and tied one in the trees out behind the temple.

In closing, I affirm that my voice, my effort, my prayer is but one amongst many who are singing, chanting, speaking, moving towards a more compassionate planet. Our voices weave together in beauty.

Thank you for joining me. Namaste ~ Sarah

The Rhythym of Life

2010-10-24T15:25:00.000-07:00

messages of peace and hope

Autumn has settled into coastal Maine. Like the squirrels and chipmunks outside my studio window, I am industrious and busy. The four seasons of New England are so distinct and unique, that even a life-long resident of this area notices the rhythm and return of each season.

Akin to the pattern of seasons, the Woven Voices project has a distinct rhythm and sequence. First come all your amazing and heartfelt messages. Each one is written or drawn with love, compassion and care. Since December 20007, over 1700 messages have been received.
Over the summer, several bundles of messages arrived from a variety of organizations and individuals. I have about 250 messages that have been gathered since this past May.

reading messages in Market Square

The next step in the project is to read these messages out loud in a public location. On November 11th at noon in Market Square in Portsmouth, NH I will be reading these messages. Please join me on the 11th to read, listen and witness the affirmation of positive intention.

volunteers weave the flags

After the messages have been read, I bring them home to my studio. They are cut into strips that are appropriate for weaving. Then they are woven by volunteers into small prayer flags. So far the project has had over 60 volunteers in almost three years.

sewing the edges of the prayer flags

The flags are woven in a long continuous strip on the loom. After several are woven, we cut them off the loom and sew the top and bottom edges. Then they are ready to be given away. Over 400 prayer flags have been woven and given away.

Sante Fe New Mexico

Mt Kilimanjaro, Africa

I send them to the folks who have sent me messages. I give them to friends who are traveling.

Mothers' Day Gathering for Peace, Sohomish, Washington, sent by colleague Gabriele Bartholomew.

I give them to the volunteers who come weave. I give them to people who visit my studio. I take them with me when I travel. For example, this fall in Oakland CA I took a graduate course that was about 2 miles from the hotel where I stayed. Every morning on my way to class, I would walk along the edge of Lake Merritt.

Oakland CA September 2010

Each morning I would see a homeless man sleeping under this tree.

Lake Merritt, Oakland CA

On my afternoon walk back, I would see this man and several other gathered along the edge of the park in the shade. On the last day of class, I had one flag left to disperse (others had been given as gifts to faculty, friends, classmates). Suddenly remembering this homeless man, I walked across the lake and found him sitting with friends. I inquired if it would be all right to hang the flag in his tree, to decorate his home. He said "Yes, please. God Bless you."

This is the last step in the cycle of the Woven Voices project. This gift of offering hope, love, honor, recognition and homage from one human to another. In the simple gift of a small woven flag, we can create connections, foster hope and thread by thread build a better world. So, once again, thanks to each of you have have supported, contributed and honored this project.

In celebration of that effort, I want to shine a light on a recently published novel by a friend ~ "A Slender Thread" by Katherine Davis. This novel explores the relationships and life of a weaver, Lacey, who has recently discovered that she has lost her ability to speak. As her family and more specifically her sister struggle to help her, Lacey uses her weaving to find a new voice and to uncover the threads that bind us in love. Katherine consulted with me while researching weaving techniques and came to weave prayer flags last summer. The book, A Slender Thread" gives a gracious nod to the Woven Voices Project. Thanks Kitty!!

Malibu, CA

Please remember, this is a community global art project. Your messages, your voice reading the messages, your weaving of the prayer flags, your hanging the flags in public and giving the away...all of this builds community, fostering hope and peace.

Thank you many times over for all this ~ Sarah

I've been to Bali and back

2010-07-16T19:17:00.000-07:00

The Woven Voices project continues to grow and grow, almost like the peas in my garden that I planted last April. Every time I turn around there are more pods on the vines to harvest. And here I am to offer to you a bounty of photographs and notes for the Woven Voices project from all around the world.

A neighbor and friend Sally, went to India this winter. I gave her two flags to give away. Here she is hanging them at the Bohdi tree where Buddha the Gotma became enlightened.

Here is the plaque that explains about the tree.

Here's what Sally writes: "This is the spot where Buddha gave his first teaching. Here I actually attached a prayer flag to to Bhodi tree where the pilgrims gather to pray."

The shrine in front on the tree. And another prayer flag hanging inside the shrine. Thanks Sally! Wow!

Back in the USA, my friend Marian in Bellingham, Washington sent me this photo of her prayer flag hanging in her garden. Such sweet, green lushness of the Northwest. Thanks Marian!

And here in the East, a colleague that I met at a symposium this spring in CT has taken the initiative to gather messages for the project. Karen Rossi has graciously set up a table at the Norfolk Framer's Market in Norfolk CT where she plans to gather messages all summer. She says "the experience of collecting the messages is a wonderful gift." I am ever grateful for your effort Karen! I look forward to seeing/reading the messages! Please check out Karen's website. She is an amazing artist who makes these really cool metal sculptures.

And then there was my trip to Bali. I brought 7 Woven Voices prayer flags with me on the trip. The first prayer flag went to Janice and Made, the owners of the BaliKana Resort in the Gili Islands off Lombok, Indonesia. Janice was so moved by the gift of the flag that she immediately found a perfect place to hang it in the gardens in front of the hotel, next to the big laughing Buddha.

We had a wonderful time here on this little oasis off Lombok and a couple of hours by boat from Bali. It is a quaint island with no cars, only these horse drawn carts. The snorkeling was AMAZING!!

The local people survive by fishing and tourism. While we were sitting on the beach between swims, we were often approached to by peddlers to purchase local pearls. We finally succumbed...and I love my new black pearls! The young man who sold us the pearls was very skilled at speaking English, and so after a bit of conversation I asked him if he would contribute a message of good will or peace for my project.

This was my first lesson in Indonesian and Balinese sense of living in the present moment. This fellow's name is Mawa and his message says something to the effect "I just sold some pearls and I am so happy." Wow. So simple, in the moment, and filled with honest gratitude.

At BaliKana there were also two young boys that we called the "cabana boys". Tom and Wayan were young men who served our beach-side meals and drinks, fetched towels, moved chairs and more. Their smiles and genuine presence filled my heart with joy. Here they are writing messages for the project. I gave them each a prayer flag.

My friend Nat is sailing around the world. He left over three years ago from Freeport, Maine and he has been lingering around New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia for a year. When I was in Bali this June, we met up for a weekend in Ubud, Bali. I gave him one of the seven flags to hang on his sloop Bahati. Nat writes "I have temporarily hung the prayer flag on the wood stove...to keep it warm? ....and safe! Don't want to hang it in the rigging for fear of damage!! Besides it's nice to look at it in the salon."

As Nat travels onward heading West towards home, his prayer flag will spread goodwill across the waters.

The next prayer flag that I gave away as left at a temple called Pura Hyang Api in the village of Desa Kelusa. I went here to participate in something called the Bali Hash House Harriers.

A group of mostly ex-pats gather twice weekly to run or walk through villages, pristine rice terraces and jungle ravines of Bali. Right next to where we started our walk/run was this small temple. I snuck in there and hung a prayer flag.

While in Ubud we met with a young woman who has become friends with our friends who live in Bali. She is trying to start a business selling ikat handwoven sarong. So I bought a few from her and gave her a prayer flag too! Widi has the most wonderful smile!

Our final days in Bali were spent on a 'round island tour with Astika, a Balinese priest, who is a friend of our friends as well as a tour guide. On the first day one of the places that Astika took us was to the village of Tenganan Pegringsingan.

This is the only place on the island where true doulbe ikat is still woven.

We visited the home/shop of Ni Kadek Trisnawati a traditional ikat weaver.

She is from a long lineage of weavers, and uses the loom that her grandfather built.

Her ikat fabrics are amazing.

This is one of her more intricate double ikat pieces.

This is the warp in the process of dying and tying.

Here is the piece that I bought, a stunning, double ikat check. Kadek and my husband Ben are modeling the piece together. I gave Kadek a prayer flag and she wrote me a message. Sweet exchange from one weaver to another.

My final prayer flag was given away to Astika, our driver, priest, tour guide. On the final day of our tour he, his wife and son arranged and help perform a traditional Balinese Hindi blessing at two temples. Here we are dressed in traditional Balinese temple clothing, with Astika's wife.

The final temple was Tanah Lot, a famous temple on the west coast that is a HUGE tourist attraction. We were able to go out to the small temple on the small separate the island, accessible only at low tide, where no other tourists were allowed. Look at all the tourists lining the rocks!

The view from this rock temple was magnificent!

Up on this rocky temple we had the most sacred blessing with Astika, his wife, his son and another priest. A glorious moment in time, and a wonderful way to end our two week visit to Bali!

So there you have it, seven prayer flags with seven messages of peace and goodwill. Seven prayer flags spreading your hopes to people of all faiths and many cultures.

Thanks to everyone for the continued support. Keep the messages coming...and PLEASE come weave if your are able!

Namaste and Peace,
Sarah

Breezy voices .... full of gratitude

2010-05-11T12:15:00.000-07:00

Today, May 11th 2010, Market Square Portsmouth NH, I was joined by four wonderful women. New, old and newer friends joined me to read the messages of hope and peace that have been gathering all winter.

The cool mid-day breezes of May lifted our voices and our hearts.

We read messages that were written on a long red ribbon from a Brownie Troop in CT, a large paper banner from a Womens' International Peace Gathering in Italy, from a Bahai" School in PA and messages from folks all across the USA.

I am always amazed by who shows up and what happens when I make the effort to be present.

A few times in the past when I have read messages in Market Square, I have been questioned by the police and even asked to move the prayer flags.

I am conscious of being in a public space and my need to be considerate of the passers by.

So today, when a Portsmouth police officer was approaching, I hoped we would not be asked to stop or move. Instead, he cheerfully offered to take this photo so I could be in it! I am reminded to be open to surprise!

And now for some prayer flags out in the world...these images come from a delightful group of women who came to my studio to weave flags this winter.

Here they are hanging their flags outside on a river bank for all to enjoy.

Peace and joy to all, Sarah

Voices in the Square ~ May 11th

2010-04-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

Please join me on May 11th, 2010 Market Square, Portsmouth, NH at noon. I will read the messages that I have gathered over the winter.

I welcome your voices in reading these messages of hope, peace and positive intent that have come from all corners of the earth.

Peace to all and gratitude for your continued support ~ Sarah

East, West, flying, floating or at rest

2010-04-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

The Woven Voices prayer flags have been traveling. This blog posting will be mostly to share images of flags that have traveled East to the Bosphorus, West to California and flying here in New England. My college friend Susan's daughter Gillian took a set of prayer flags to the Bosphorus, a strait that forms part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. It connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. She writes in her blog about the view where the flags flutter ~

"Curled on a sofa in a cozy apartment, I am gazing out the window onto the Bosphorus. It's a cloudy day, but it's warm in the bright and airy sitting room. I can see Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofya and Galata Tower. Across the water way I see Asia, though I sit in Europe. Ferries speed between the two continents, fishing boats dance in their wake. A small island of a cruise ship is parked in my sight-line, little ant people walking swiftly up in their black coats or brown jumpers. Every time I look up from my little computer I am awestruck."

She continues ~

"Don't fret, the windstorm only unhitched one side of the flags. I've tied them back up and they're fluttering away."

And then ~ "Unfortunately it appears the flags have blown away in a real windstorm we had a few days ago. I would have loved to see them weather away."
So somewhere, either in Europe or perhaps Asia a set of Woven Voices prayer flags has taken flight!

Closer to home, this photo came with this letter: "The beautiful flag that you had given me last year....is tied to a bush that produces the sweetest flower clusters in the early spring, after the daffodils and tulips have arrived but before the trees have budded. It's fragrance permeates the air as you enter the front door of the house."

In late March I went out to Mill Valley, CA to take one more course towards my Masters of Art and Healing . The course was held at a retreat center that was nestled in the Mount Tamalpais foothills. At lunch break each day, I would hike in these hills, that offered a spectacular view of San Francisco.

It was warm (compared to Maine!) and I felt like a flower unfolding in the spring. The red woods were amazing, tall and graceful. There had recently been a fair amount of rain, so the mountain streams were flowing.

On the last day of the course, I went back up the trail and hung a prayer flag in a scrubby tree.

From Mill Valley, I traveled south to visit a RISD colleague who lives in Malibu. We spent five wonderful days together, hiking, eating, reminiscing, laughing, and feeling grateful for our long friendship. One day we hiked up in Corral Canyon, part of the Malibu hills on the Backbone Trail. This trail overlooks Simi Valley and Santa Monica as well as Malibu. The ancient rock formations attest to the power and beauty of nature, what was once sand lying flat is now vertical rock.

I hung a prayer flag in a shrub tucked into the shade of the caves.

On my last days in Malibu, Lori and I decided to go to the Getty Museum. I had this idea that it would be cool to hang a prayer flag somewhere on the museum grounds and to document it with a few photos. It was a warm gorgeous sunny day. When we got up to the museum site, we sat in the sun at the edge of the main fountain, checked out a few exhibits and had an amazing lunch sitting outside on a small patio.

This idea began to percolate in my mind...this vision of seeing the flag floating in the fountain pool. Could I pull this off without one of the guards catching me?? Could I document it with a few photographs? Here is the story of what happen....more than I could have dreamed.

The pictures tell the story of how the prayer flags catches the boys' attention. They scoop it up out of the water it, read it out loud and then toss it on a rock. Later they pick it up again, toss it around and then carefully lay it out to dry on the flat marble. The wind then takes over and tosses the flag on it side. I walk away and let it go.

Thread by Thread

2010-02-08T07:15:00.000-08:00

If there is one thing that I should have learned from my 40 years of experience of a weaver, is that good work takes time, is often slower than my mind wants to move and I cannot predict or control the ultimate outcome.

Never the less, I confront this lesson all to often! Here we are two years into the "Woven Voices" project, and I am just now sending out prayer flags to folks who sent me messages two years ago. The part of my spirit that feels a commitment to these folks, feels a twinge of guilt for taking so long. Then the lesson rises up...."it is not about time Sarah! This is about commitment and consistency."

The lesson continues. Ultimately I know that my role in this project is to keep doing the work. Keep gathering the messages. Keep reading them out loud. Keep inviting and teaching weavers to make the prayer flags. Keep sending them out to the world.

Message by message, thread by thread, flag by flag. Each action is movement towards my vision of creating peace and healing for our home, this planet.

With Patience and Heartfelt Gratitude ~ Sarah

Photos from a recent public weaving event in Exeter, NH.

Invitation to participate!

2010-01-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

If you live near by or want go on a trip ~

I will be bringing the Woven Voices ~ Messages from the Heart project on the road.

I will be at the FUZZ FEST

Saturday, January 30th 2010
from 10 AM - 2 PM

at the
Exeter Congregational Church
21 Front Street
Exeter NH

Please come join me to weave a prayer flag and learn more about the project. There will several other fiber related activities for all ages.

Hope to see familiar and new faces there!

Peace, Sarah

Two candles!

2010-01-04T16:42:00.000-08:00

This week marks the two year anniversary of the launch of Woven Voices. The past year has been one of multiple lessons and highlights. Perhaps the most exciting was the honor of receiving the Sarah Farmer Peace Award. The PEACE flag that I received for this award flies high above my studio, reminding me to "stay the course".

Another feather in the cap for this global art project was the cross country radio interview on November 2nd with Gabriele Bartholomew, host of the radio show called The Power of Peace on KSER Independent Public radio out of Snohomish County Washington. I have recently received a recording of the interview, and (with help) I hope to post it soon.

I celebrate this anniversary with much gratitude for all the folks who have given time, materials and effort to this Peace initiative.

As I reflect back over the two years of working on this project, I believe that the most important lesson that I have learned centers on that of giving with out expectation. In the beginning, I thought that this venture would be a 6 month project. I would weave the prayer flags and move on to new horizons.

As time went on, it appeared that the pace of this effort moved more slowly than I had anticipated. I was forced to slow down and honor what was being offered to me. Messages kept arriving, messages were read out loud (rain or shine), weavers came to my studio to weave and flags were sent out. All of this effort was paced slowly and thoughtfully. I became a student of my own work.

I learned that I am committed to this effort, this pathway to building PEACE. One step and a time, one thread at a time, one messages at a time, one prayer flag at a time. One voice woven from many to sing out loud that PEACE is possible.

I believe that if we each make a small step each day to grow PEACE, the world will move closer to becoming a safer more habitable place for all beings. My efforts toward PEACE might be to weave a prayer flag today, to speak words of truth to a friend tomorrow, and to sit in prayer the next day. I simply commit to small actions each and every day.

This is the lesson that I have learned from Woven Voices ~ that PEACE requires a steady effort and is not an actual destination. PEACE is a process. I am committed to taking the slow train on this journey ~ one message, one thread, one voice, one prayer flag at time.

I hope that you will join me on this journey.

Sarah

Flags fly in rain, shine, sleet, snow and wind

2009-12-09T12:45:00.000-08:00

The Solstice is almost upon us. This seasonal transition from darkness to light honors that life is always moving, always in transition. What is now light will be dark and what is now dark will return to light. Without darkness we would not know light. As the Woven Voices prayer flags go out into the world, I know that they will fly on sunny days as well as days with no hope for sun. Today here in Maine we are experiencing a Nor'easter with a veritable mixed bag of precipitation.

The little prayer flags here in my yard are weathering this storm with ease and grace. This is what I strive for in my life ~ a grace in understanding that all things pass. I strive to fly my own spiritual flag in all kinds of weather.

The Woven Voices project continues to grow and blossom. To date I have collected over 1600 messages
of hope and peace. We have woven and sent out to the world over 300 flags. I continue to receive messages and invite weavers to join me in my studio.

My biggest challenge is to gather photos of the installed flags. For a variety of reasons, documenting where the prayer flags hang is often difficult, tricky or impossible. This letter from a friend who works for the Slum Doctor program illustrates ~

"The prayer flags were a very touching gift to the girls and staff at the Ombogo Girls Academy. We presented them at a final assembly for our group in the evening without an external lighting source, other than kerosene lamps and flashlights, not conducive to photography. We left early the next day to head back to Nairobi.

To make a long story short I asked the school to take photos of the prayer flags and email them to me, but so far that hasn't happened, even after two reminders. What would be a simple request here, isn't so easy over there, mostly due to lack of energy sources."

At the same time, my friend who lives in Bali sent me a painting of her prayer flags hanging. Another friend in Washington has posted images on her blog. Enjoy these new images as well as those in the on-line gallery.

Namaste, light and love ~ Sarah

Prayer flags at a Traditional Hindu Temple in Pennsylvania.

NEWS FLASH~ Local newspaper article about my art work in the community. Check it out!

Foster's Daily Democrat ~ Sunday Citizen December 13, 2009

The Power Of Peace ~ radio interview Nov 2nd, 6 PM PST

2009-10-28T17:39:00.000-07:00

Greetings from gloriously beautiful New England !

This time of year is a visual feast for those of us lucky enough to live here and for those who visit us in the fall. As I was driving to teach yesterday morning I looked over my left shoulder to see the sun rising over the marshes of southern NH. I also noticed a flock of starlings (black birds) swirling as one mass, moving like a black speckled river.

Over a period of seconds, this mass of twirling birds moved and shifted as if guided by a single conductor. There must have been over 2000 birds. From one horizon to the other, all I could see was a swirling dance of black specks. Magnificence in motion and a physical reminder of how precious life is in each moment.

Now for the BIG news ~

Monday November 2nd, 2009, 6 PM PST (That's 9 PM EST), you can listen to an interview between me and Gabriele Bartholomew, host of the radio show called The Power of Peace on KSER Independent Public radio out of Snohomish County Washington.

Gabriele has been following the Woven Voices project for almost about a year, has been a wonderful supporter by sending messages of peace and now has offered me this unique opportunity to tell my story over the air waves.

I hope that you will be able to tune in and listen! You can access the show easily over the Internet. Just click on the link above.

Come weave if you are nearby, send messages of hope and peace where ever you are.

Photos here are from a Middle School in Kansas! Thanks for the messages students!

Sarah

Peace Flag hung on International Day of Peace!

2009-09-21T12:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, nearly one month to the day of receiving it, the PEACE flag has been installed on our house. This seemed like a fitting way to honor The International day of Peace, September 21st.

With the help of dear husband Ben, I hung it high up on the garage. Today, as I came back from my final swim (I think) of the season,, I as greeted by a brilliant ray of sun hitting the flag, illuminating the word PEACE.

Also yesterday, I had an hour long interview with a colleague from Everett, Washington. Gabriele has a talk show that airs once a month on a community radio station, KSER . I will send out news when I know that the interview will be broadcast.

Until then, please consider coming to weave if you are near by. As always, your messages of peace and hope are welcome.

Namaste, Sarah

Voices in the Square

2009-09-12T06:05:00.000-07:00

September 11th 2009.

Many thanks to the ten folks who joined me yesterday to read about 200 messages of hope, peace and goodwill. I am very grateful for your support to sustain this project and keep peace alive.

Each time I show up to read in Market Square in Portsmouth, I uncover new truths about myself and the world in which I live. Yesterday, the simple truth that revealed herself was the importance of reflection. After each message that was read, we paused and savored the words as well as the intent of the writer.

Some of the messages were as simple a three year old child saying"I want everyone to have cake". While others held loftier visions of all national leaders speaking truth.

With each message reading and reflection, I felt a deep sense of honor being offered to that voice.

Blessings and gratitude to those friends who read, laughed and paused yesterday to honor these wise and heartfelt messages.

My studio door is open to weavers, and messages are always welcome. Keep peace alive through your daily actions.

Namaste, Sarah

Sarah Farmer Peace Award

2009-08-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

On Saturday August 22nd, I was presented with the Sarah Farmer Peace Award at Green Acre Baha'i School in Eliot, Maine. "The Woven Voices: Messages from the Heart" project was especially honored, and the audience was diverse, including two Swamis from the Vedanta Society of Boston.

Randy Armstrong performed an original sitar piece, and Lee Hosack sang her original composition, "Raise the Flag, Sarah", remembering peacemaker and Green Acre founder Sarah Jane Farmer. There were two looms set up for folks to weave more prayer flags and the hall was decorated with over 30 handwoven prayer flags. We also gathered over 50 more messages of peace and hope.

I am deeply honored and lifted up by this recognition. Many thanks and blessings to all who attended and participated in this event and award. Images here capture the event.

Please join me on September 11th, Market Square, Portsmouth, NH at noon. I will be reading messages that have be collected since June. I welcome listeners as well as readers. I hope to see you there, rain or shine!

In peace and gratitude,
Sarah

Let's celebrate again!

2009-07-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

Just a brief news flash here:

There is an article about the Woven Voices project in a local paper.

And the BIG news is that I will be awarded the 2009 Sarah Farmer Peace Award on August, 22, 2009. The Sarah Farmer Peace Award is presented annually by the Baha’i
Community of the Greater Seacoast Region to recognize the
contributions of area individuals and groups who take effective local action to promote world peace and understanding among nations and members of the human family.

The award is named after Sarah Jane Farmer, a turn-of-the century peace heroine who was born in Dover, N.H., in 1847. She founded the Green Acre Conferences in Eliot where the first peace flag in the world was hoisted in 1894, and where a peace flag has been flown every year since then.

The Aug. 22nd event marks the fifth Sarah Farmer Peace Award. This year the celebration will be held on Saturday, August 22nd, 7:30pm, at Reimer Hall at Green Acre Baha'i School in Eliot, with the public warmly invited. There will be a display of some of my work in the hall, and slides of my work as part of the program.

More information, including a flyer and press release, will be out soon. If you are local, or in the area, please come celebrate!!

Thanks to all for your support.
Peace, Sarah

Once again

2009-06-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

Once again , the simple power of this project has lifted my heart. On June 11th, 2009 I showed up at Market Sq. Portsmouth to read over 250 messages. Like most of the past month it was a grey drizzly day. My dear son Robin came to shoot a short video.

By 12:45, the rain really settled in. So we packed up the flags and other stuff. I had almost completed reading all the messages that I collected to date. Then, to my surprise in that day's mail delivery....about 40 new messages from a young woman in Everett, Washington. Thanks Gabriele!!

And then an invitation to send flags along with a group called Slum Doctor. Slum Doctor Programme is a grassroots organization of concerned individuals that began in 2000 as a small voice, a cry for help and hope, for the 22 million Africans who live mostly in silence with AIDS. Early next week, I will get a set of flags out for delivery to in Kenya.

Photos of installed prayer flags arrive now and then too. Here are two images~ a rug hookers group from Corea, in Down East ME and three lovely German women holding the prayer flags in front of the cathedral in Paderborn, Germany (the home town of my artist friend Brigitte). Thanks to all !!

Simple gestures made bold by the energy and effort of many.
Namaste ~
Sarah

Ripple Effect

2009-06-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

Joy for June! Just when I think that the "waters" of the Woven Voices project are calming down, a new wave washes to shore.

This past week I received images from Africa. Ian was a student at Bowdoin College in Maine when he sent me dozens of messages of hope and peace from his fellow students. Now he is a Peace Corps volunteer in Banjul, The Gambia, West Africa. The photos here taken were taken on Muslim New Years in front of his school, Suduwol Upper Basic School. I sent these flags to him in the fall/2008 with the hope of receiving a photo someday. I learned from Ian's mother that it takes him 7 hours in a bus with many river/ferry crossings to get to Banjul where he has slow Internet access!

Here's what Ian says: "Thanks for the flags. They are standing up well to the African sun and wind, and the rains will be coming soon. The students are the 7th and 8th graders in my school who are in the Library Club."

Heartfelt thanks to Ian for going the extra miles to get these images to me! I am VERY grateful.

I also have images of the prayer flags in Germany which I will post soon. The ripple effect of the Woven Voices project is still in motion!

Speaking of continuity, I will be back in Market Square, Portsmouth, NH on Thursday June 11th, at noon. I have about 100 messages to read which should take about 45 minutes. I hope you will join me to read and honor these words of peace and hope gathered from as far as Nepal and as close as home.

As always, continue to send me messages and please consider coming to my studio to weave prayer flags (York is a lovely destination in the summer!).

Namaste, Sarah

Spring is busting out!~

2009-05-10T16:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring to all~

I am knee deep in projects here in the studio. I have weavers coming about every week to help weave prayer flags, I have two commissions as well as a project for a local historical house. I am an artist in residence at Milford Elementary School in NH.

The Macomber Looms blog has taken off, and I am fielding emails from all over the US to help weavers with their Macomber equipment. Then there are the gardens. The peas, spinach and lettuce are planted. The rhubarb has been harvested once and the flower beds are almost all mulched. Phew!

All of this is to say, Spring is a busy time here in Maine! I have decided to postpone the May message reading that I had planned for May 11th in Market Square. Hopefully June will offer a better window of opportunity.

The top photo here is of an Italian book group enjoying their prayer flags. The lower photos are from an artist in residence project I did with a school in MA. The students are weaving a giant globe, that has now been installed in the school. This project feels very aligned with Woven Voices project. It was a community wide art project that was driven by a vision of unity, integrity and cooperation.

Please keep in touch. Messages and weavers always welcome!
Sarah

Two hundred prayer flags!

2009-04-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

Last week, my friend Mary came over and wove prayer flags. She finished the warp on one of the floor looms and so we removed the woven flags. Lo and behold, after a quick tally, I realized that during the last year, we have woven over two hundred prayer flags.

Here is a photo of Mary in my studio door, sun shining on these beautiful flags. I have already sent bunches of them out the door. Some have gone to a school in NH, some to a soldier/artist traveling to Morocco, some to folks in California, N. Carolina, New York and New Hampshire. I hope to receive photos of these flags as they are installed out in the world.

Spring has finally come to Maine. My daffodils are in full bloom, the buds are plump on the lilacs and the peas are planted. There is promise of bounty in this season. I wish the same for all.

Peace, Sarah
P.S. Messages and weavers always welcome.

Prayer Flags and true friends in the rain !

2009-04-12T15:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, April 11th, I showed up in Market Square at 2PM to read messages and hang a set of hand woven prayer flags. And a few dear stalwart friends even showed up to support this project. The temperature was about 39 degrees, there was a steady rain and a slight breeze. It was cold!

We hung the two dozen prayer flags from the trees and lamp posts and read over 200 messages. And in spite pf the weather, several passers-by stopped to talk to us about the project.

My friend Jayne, a first grade teacher, shared her class paper weaving which we briefly displayed on this park bench.

May 11th, Monday, at noon, I plan to return to Market Square to read more messages, hopefully under blue skies. Please continue to send messages and join me to weave here in my York studio, all are welcome!

Namaste, Sarah

Woven Voices Prayer Flags in Nepal

2009-04-08T06:41:00.000-07:00

I couldn't wait to share these wonderful photos of the Woven Voices Prayer Flags in Nepal. My friend Candy traveled there this winter to do service with remote village schools. I sent her with four flags to pass out. As you can see these flags traveled around before they were installed at the school. At the mountain temple, the resident monk accepted the flags, but mentioned that it was not an auspicious time to hang them.

I am grateful for these friends who took the effort to carrying this project to a new height!

Please join me Saturday April 11th, Market Square, Portsmouth, NH at 2PM to read and listen to over 450 new messages of peace and hope, including some from Nepal. The studio is open for weavers to help with prayer flags, and messages are always welcome.

Namaste, Sarah

Prayer flags travel ~ messages to be read out loud

2009-03-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

March 30, 2009
Winter has almost broken here. There are still a few small patches of snow that linger in my yard, but more evident are the purple crocuses, the green shoots of daffodils and the verdant moss draped over the rocks. I am a life long New Englander, and I never cease to be in awe of the cycle of nature.

The Woven Voices project continues to grow and reach new corners of the earth. I have photos here with flags hanging in locations from as far as India and as close as Massachusetts. I have sent flags to Nepal, Africa, Germany, Haiti, Indiana and Maine this winter (still awaiting photos :). This photo is of Brother Martin from the Saccidananda Ashram
in Tamil Nadu (southern India) holding a prayer flag. I traveled there last year and my husband went there this year on a pilgrimage.

On April 11th at 2 PM in Market Square, Portsmouth NH, I will read the messages that have been gathering since last fall. I have close to 300! Please join me to help read or simply listen to these powerful messages of hope, dreams and peace. This batch of messages hail from as far as Washington state and as close as Maine.

Volunteer weavers are always welcome. Here are some of my weavers celebrating a long string of completed flags! And check out these creatively woven prayer flags still on the loom!

If you live nearby, please join me and weave, or to participate in the message reading on April 11th at 2 PM market Sq. Portsmouth NH. If you live afar, please send messages of hope and peace soon, so that we can include then in this first public reading of 2009. This project stays alive because of the commitment and support of many people. My heartfelt thanks to all, Sarah

PS. Any and all donations of threads, ribbons and sewing trims are welcome. You can ship these to my mailing address.

There is something about prayer flags in the snow

2009-03-09T14:26:00.001-07:00

March 9th, It snowed 7 inches, Phew!
Today I sent four prayer flags to a friend who is heading off to Nepal to work with school age children in two remote villages. I sent her off with four prayer flags to hang in the schools. My fingers are crossed that we will get some great photos! But meanwhile, here in Maine, we have prayer flags in the snow. Here are photos from the Prospect Harbor Library and a friend's porch in Minot Maine. And still more flags will go out to folks here in the USA this week.

Piles of snow and piles of prayer flags

2009-03-02T14:58:00.000-08:00

Today we were hit with another major snow storm, a nor'easter, in fact. So my teaching gig in MA was canceled and I had time to unroll the dozens of prayer flags that have been woven over the past month. Here is a photo of the pile of flags and the piles of snow outside my studio door.

This means that as soon as I can get them all sewn, I will be sending out a batch to my message writers. Thank you everyone for your faith and your patience!

The messages continue to arrive in my mail box. I have collected about 250 that need to be read. It appears that this might wait until the weather is warmer. I have some feelers out for inside reading locations, but no luck yet.

Stay tuned! Thanks to everyone for all your support. Special thanks to all the weavers!
Sarah

Why I didn't read messages today...

2009-01-11T12:09:00.000-08:00

We had 8" of beautiful new snow delivered this AM. At ten o'clock it was still snowing and nothing was plowed. So I was unable to get to Portsmouth to read the latest batch of messages of hope and peace.

My plan is to find a location in Manchester to read next month on February 11th. There is a small park near where I teach on Wednesdays, and it seems like a perfect location.

As always, thanks to all for your support, kind words of encouragement and most of all your messages of peace, goodwill and hope.

Enjoy these photos of the prayer flags in the snow!

Peace, Sarah

Let's celebrate !

2009-01-02T08:33:00.000-08:00

Today is January 2nd 2009. I began "Woven Voices: Messages from the Heart" a year ago with the intention of completing the whole project by early summer. Much to my delight and surprise, this project demonstrated that there is a long term need for community art that can foster peace and international good will.

I have received over 1300 messages from as far as India, Italy, Iraq, Spain, Washington and California. 110 prayer flags have been woven by 18 volunteers. All of these flags have been sent out to locations as far away as Africa and Italy and as close as York Maine. I have several photos of the flags installed, sending peace and positive energy back to the planet.

One of my visions of this project is to have it accessible to anyone, anywhere without cost. However, it is clear that I must seek funding to support basic overhead, the purchase of materials and the costs to send the flags back out the the world. I appreciate very much those individuals that have made financial donations. Any suggestions for funding support is welcome!

I continue to work on the photo gallery of flags installed in a wide variety of locations. These images are from the CA desert and the Pantheon in Rome. If you have prayer flags, please send me your photos or short videos!

If you are one of the generous folks that sent me messages, I continue to weave and send out flags as I am able. Thanks for your patience!

Positive messages are always welcome! This is a perfect time of year to put words of hope, peace and prosperity in writing...to make hope concrete and to share it with the world.

Thank you to all for your support and sharing my vision of art as a transformational vehicle for global peace. Many thanks to the 18 weavers who traveled to my studio to create prayer flags for others. Please join this effort if you are inclined and able.

Namaste, Sarah

How cool is this!

2008-12-09T17:34:00.000-08:00

My friend filmmaker Bill Rogers is collaborating with me on getting more web visibility for the Woven Voices project. A few days ago he showed me how simple it is to make a short video clip and post it on-line. So here it is! Enjoy!
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allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344">

It's so true.

2008-11-14T11:47:00.000-08:00

There's an old saying that the most important action we can take is to just show up. On November 11th, I showed up in Market Square Portsmouth, NH. I showed up to read messages of hope and renewal that have been entrusted to me by hundreds of unknown friends. I showed up so that I could honor these messages by reading them out loud in public. I showed up because it matters to me that these messages are given voice, are spoken out loud. I showed up and was greeted by strangers,friends and family. I showed up and was humbled by the power of just being present. With the help of a dozen folks, I read over 200 new messages. These messages will now be ready to be woven into prayer flags.

Back in the studio, the weaving progresses along. All are welcome to come help with this process. Completed flags are being shipped out slowly. Watch your mail box for yours!

Be well, Sarah

Eleven/eleven at noon ~ Reading messages of hope and renewal

2008-11-05T14:59:00.001-08:00

November 11th at noon, Market Square Portsmouth, NH. Please join me to read or just listen to over 200 newly gathered messages of hope, peace and renewal. I will be there until about 1 PM.

Please know that this project is on-going. I have removed any thought of a deadline. The messages keep coming, the flags are slowly getting woven and the energy is still strong to keep this project alive. All are welcome to come weave in my studio. Please email me to make a date. Spread the invitation to contribute messages!

I am building a gallery of pictures of the installed prayer flags and will post the link soon! Here are a couple of prayer flags~ one out in the wind and one in a yoga studio.

A special thank you to all my wonderful weavers ~ Sarah

November 11th ~ Join me to read messages!

2008-10-15T06:49:00.000-07:00

Late summer moves into fall. Like leaves falling from the red maple, messages are gathering in small piles here in my studio. I will head back to Market Square in Portsmouth on November 11th at noon to read over 200 messages.

Weavers continue to show up at my studio to help create the prayer flags, and slowly I return them back out to the world. I am waiting to receive photos of the installed flags and will post them as they arrive.

Keep the messages flowing, we need positive energy now more than ever! And I hope to see you in Market Square, or come to the studio to weave.

with all faith in the world ~ Sarah

Market Square Sept 11 noon 2008

2008-09-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

Today I went to Market Square to read the messages of hope, peace and renewal that have been gathered from around the world. It was a beautiful September day reminiscent of that painful day 7 years ago.

Friends and strangers helped to read over 150 messages. There was the reluctant policeman, the tourists, the businessmen, the mother/daughter pair, old friends, the sad and confused man, friends of friends, and the wonderfully positive young man from Somersworth. Here are two photos from the event.

Now all the messages have been read. But PLEASE continue to send messages! This will keep the project alive as well as nurture hope and peace in our fragile world.

The weaving is in progress. Please join me to help weave prayer flags in my studio, no experience necessary! Email me to set up a date. Thank you to all who continue to support this project!

With heartfelt gratitude, Sarah

The longest string of prayer flags

2008-09-08T08:25:00.001-07:00

Saturday I had two sweet girls and a mom come to weave prayer flags. They were fast learners and fast weavers, we had a blast! Here is a photo of the completed flags, which I will deliver to "Voices from the Heart" a local 200 member womens' chorus tonight.

Please join me on Thursday to read messages of hope and goodwill. September 11th, noon to about 1:30, Market Square, Portsmouth, NH. I look forward to seeing each of you!

With gratitude, Sarah

Releasing the positive messages to the world

2008-09-05T07:54:00.000-07:00

Thursday September 11th, noontime, I will be in Market Square Portsmouth reading and gathering messages of goodwill, hope and renewal. Please join me if you can. Even a few moments of listening and reading these amazing heartfelt words from around the world brings a sense of well being. I truly appreciate the support!

I continue to have weavers join me here in my studio to weave the prayer flags. All are welcome, no experience necessary! Slowly and steadily the number of flags woven is building. I plan to deliver more next week, so watch for photos of newly installed prayer flags!

Send more messages, spread the words and please join me in building positive energy in this world. Peace to all, Sarah

More photos of prayer flags

2008-08-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

For your pleasure ~

A prayer flag hanging out in a garden in NH and one on the loom.

Enjoy!
Sarah

Weaving, Reading and Releasing the Messages

2008-08-24T11:58:00.000-07:00

Sunshine prevails!
After weeks of rain here, we have had a full week of sun. I for one am particularly happy, having just returned from a week on an Maine island. Before I left for vacation, my friends Brigitte and Mary joined me to weave some prayer flags. Here are photos of them weaving in my studio. I welcome more weavers to help me produce the over 300 flags needed to complete the project, no experience necessary!

On September 11th, I will return to Market Square in Portsmouth, at noon to continue reading the messages. This act of reading messages out loud to a random public gathering feels brave and profound. Please join me and be open to surprise.

Thanks to all for your support, kind words and encouragement. Namaste, Sarah

200 messages read today !

2008-08-11T13:00:00.000-07:00

Monday August 11th. Rainy, cool and gray.
I was just settling in on a bench near the fountain in Market Square, when I looked up and saw two of my friends crossing the street to join me. It felt so wonderful to have their support. The three of us read messages for over an hour, and solicited a few passersby to contribute and read messages. A few other friends drifted in and out over the hour we were there. I am grateful for the time and effort everyone took to show up today. Thank you.

My favorite person was David. He was a good looking guy, all smiles, who helped us read several messages. After awhile he revealed that he was homeless. I was so delighted to meet him and have his participation. My long range dream is to take this project to groups such as the homeless shelter where he lives. I want to give voice to these people in our community. To have David show up and be so open to participating was a real gift for me. The light continues to shine on this project.

Thank you to all. Here is a photo from today's event. And please remember to sign up for a weaving date soon!
Namaste, Sarah

Reading and releasing the messages

2008-08-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, August 11th, I will be reading messages in Market Square, Portsmouth, NH beginning at noon. Please join me to listen or help read.

Also, if you are interested in helping to weave, please email me to make a studio date. The project is growing like the zucchini in my garden!

Here is a photo of a completed prayer flag.

Thanks to all for the support and please keep sending those positive messages!
Sarah

The first set of flags are woven!

2008-07-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

July 29th.
Yesterday I completed the first set of prayer flags and shipped them off to Philadelphia for the "Peace and Politics" exhibit at the Philadelphia convention center. Learn more about this exhibit www.AmericanMadeAlliance.org

Here is a photo of the four flags hanging in my yard. I am pleased with the flags and am ready to invite weavers to join me. I welcome help with preparing the messages for weaving, with the weaving, the finishing and the sending them out to the world. In order to allow each helper a quality time in my studio, I ask that you email me to sign up for a date. The dates that are open are July 31, August 12,14, 26, 28. My plan is to keep Tuesday and Thursday afternoons as Woven Voices studio days. I look forward to your help!

On August 11th, I will be back in Market Square reading and gathering messages. Please join me, help read, solicit messages from the public or just listen. I am also looking for help with documenting this event. Is there anyone who might be able to video tape this event ? I am ever grateful for all the support and help each of you has provided for this interactive global art project.

Namaste, Sarah

Keep the messages coming!

2008-07-21T08:33:00.000-07:00

This photo is from July 11th's event.

The day after the amazing event in Portsmouth, I left for a week's vacation. Each year I go to a remote island in Maine with a diverse group of women. We swim, eat, chant, sing, write, draw, sleep and hike. It is heaven.

I am filled with new energy and commitment to the Woven Voices project. An exciting piece of news is that the first series of flags have been accepted in an exhibit in Philadelphia called "Peace and Politics~an artists' agenda for America". For anyone in the Philly area the show is August 2-4 at the Philadelphia Convention Center. Here is the link: http://www.americanmadealliance.org/events.htm#

On Friday I will begin the weaving. After I have worked out the basic design, I will begin inviting the community to come to my studio to help weaving the prayer flags.

On August 11th, I will return to Market Square in Portsmouth to continue reading the messages. Please keep them coming. Spread the invitation to participate. The more messages the better for this beautiful earth we all inhabit.

Namaste, Sarah

400 messages have been read !

2008-07-12T05:02:00.000-07:00

By all accounts, yesterday was a total success. I arrived at market Square in Portsmouth about 11:30. I sat patiently waiting to see who would show up. On the next bench was a homeless woman dressed in a heavy overcoat with an overflowing push cart parked next to her. After a few minutes she approached me and said "Nice bags" (commenting on my large size LL Bean bags). From there we launched into a conversation about bags to carry things and then about my project. I asked her to contribute a message of hope. She hesitated and then with a little encouragement and help with spelling she wrote "I hope that all the people will pull together when things gets rougher." This was a blessed beginning to giving voice to all the prayers of the world.

By 1:30 over 400 messages had been read by a collection of people ranging in age from 3 years to 80. There were tourists from as far away as Jerusalem and as close as a Portsmouth day camp. Friends and family joined me to read and to pause a reflect. Again, I am ever grateful for the help of Bill Rogers for helping me to document this event. Stay tuned for video clips and photos of this beautiful day in Market Square. If any of you reading this blog were there and took photos...please send me a few!

I plan to come back to market Square on August 11th to continue reading messages. Around July 28th I will be inviting the community to join me in weaving the prayer flags in my York studio.

Here are links to two wonderful newspaper articles about the project:
Thank you to all who help read and who listened. Many heartfelt blessings and thoughts of gratitude.

Sarah

Read the story.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080712/NEWS/807120321/-1/NEWS09&sfad=1
http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080710/NEWS/807100414

700 messages of peace

2008-07-04T08:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finally completed cataloguing all the messages of hope and peace I have received so far. And to my surprise there are well over 700 !

I have cleared with the city of Portsmouth NH to hold a "street performance" on July 11th at noon in Market Square to read aloud these positive messages. The public is invited to come listen, help read these messages, or contribute a positive message to be included in this interactive global art project. I am grateful to my friend Bill Rogers of Coruway Film Institute, Court Street Media, in Portsmouth for helping me to document this part of the Woven Voices project. Check out his website ~ http://www.coruway.org/

After the messages have been read, they will be cut into strips and hand woven into brightly colored prayer flags back at my studio. As the flags are completed, they will be sent back to those who contributed messages. These colorful hand woven flags will be hung outside in communities around the world to fade, unravel and release the messages of hope, peace and renewal.

Happy 4th of July to you all. Peace, Sarah

July 11th ~ Noon ~ Reading the Messages !

2008-06-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

Hooray!

I have set a date to read the "Woven Voices" messages out loud.

On Friday July 11th at noon, I will be in Market Square, Portsmouth, NH. My friend Bill Rogers has graciously volunteered to help me by videoing this event. A heartfelt blessing to him.

So please join me in reading these messages out loud. You will be moved and inspired by the words of the over 400 messages.

Please come for a few minutes or the whole time (not sure how long this will take!). Please bring friends and colleagues. I want many voices to read these messages.

I am excited to move this project forward!

Sarah

And of course new messages are welcome!
Send them to me at P.O. Box 452, York, ME 03909
(Photo from a recent community weaving workshop.)

My hope for the world

2008-06-09T06:35:00.000-07:00

June 8
These words "My hope for the world..." begin the paper prayer by an eight year old. He hopes that there is less hunger. How simple.

The little girl on the left is holding her clothespin person. I worked in a school in MA this week, creating a Mandala Community Weaving. Her little person is a reflection of herself as an artist. Hopeful and filled with joy. This is a positive message in another form.

My wish for today is that one more family will go to sleep with full bellies and that all children have big dreams rich with possibility.

I continue to solicit messages of hope and peace. No date set yet to read them. But will have a date by the end of the week.

Peace, Sarah

The Slow Lane

2008-05-29T05:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I had all good intentions of having a series of prayer flags woven and delivered back out to the message senders by this time. However, my vision for a creating a project with integrity and lasting effect has put me on a slower path. Right now I am trying to secure documentation for the reading of the messages that I have received thus far. This reading will take place in a public place, most likley Market Sq. Portsmouth, NH sometime in the early summer.

Please keep sending me messages. I will read each one aloud before it is cut and woven into the prayer flags.

Here is a photo of an Iraqi writing her message.

With love and gratitude for all your support, Sarah
Send the positive messages to :
P.P. Box 452, York, ME 03909

Messages from Iraq

2008-05-18T14:52:00.000-07:00

The messages from my friend Peter Buotte, stationed in Iraq arrived yesterday. Peter works with Iraqis in a linguistics class.

To help focus the writing, Peter asked them to write their hope for the future. The photo I have included here is of one of the Iraqis holding his message of hope for the future which reads: "To live happily".

Sarah
May 18.

Spring Blooms

2008-05-17T08:08:00.001-07:00

It's been a full week, working in an Oncology waiting room, at an Assisted Living Facility and teaching 3rd graders. All good work but kept me out the door and on the road from Waterbury CT to Concord NH.

I am scanning my calendar and looking at a date in early June to read the messages in Market Square, Portsmouth NH. I just have a couple things to confirm before I set the date. Keep posted!

Here is a photo of some sweet and thoughtful messages from the collection I have received. Heartfelt gratitude to all those who have made the effort to contribute.

Namaste, Sarah

Monday's Message

2008-05-12T07:59:00.000-07:00

Glorious New England Spring! This time of year always feels like a health tonic to revive my winter weary spirit.

Hear are a few messages that I received from a calligraphy class. Aren't they lovely? ...these will be hard to cut up!

Before I cut all these messages up, my goal is to transcribe them, to have them read aloud in a public location and to video this event. In other words, to document as fully as possible the messages before they are cut up and woven into prayer flags. I will be posting an invitation to these events soon! My current teaching schedule is so full, I cannot seem to think beyond next week! Stay tuned!

2008-05-10T07:35:00.001-07:00

Saturday ~ Always a sweet relief from the hustle of the week. Today I want to share another image of the messages I have been receiving from all over the world. This is the one I used to make the postcard I had printed to promote the project. It is of a pile of messages written on both paper and ribbons. You can sort of read some of them.

I have decided that before all these messages are cut up in preparation for weaving the prayer flags that all these messages need to be read aloud. My plan is to take a collections of messages to a public spot, like Market Square Portsmouth, and start to read them. My intent is to release the sound of the positive messages to the universe prior to weaving them into the flags. I will post an invitation to join me with a date and location . Blessings to all. Sarah

Woven Voices from Iraq

2008-05-09T13:44:00.000-07:00

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

The first post. May 8.2008

2008-05-08T15:52:00.000-07:00

Today I am posting the first tidbit about my project "Woven Voices ~Messages from the heart" This will be a minimal post, because I am away from all my photos and other notes. I'm working in Boston for a few days, and soaking up sunshine when I can in the Boston Public Gardens .

A couple of days ago my friend Peter who is a captain in the Army reserves and serving in Iraq emailed me some photos for the project. He took his pillow case and tore it into strips. The he had his linguistics class (all Iraq citizens) write positive messages of hope and renewal on these strips. The writing is in their native text. So when he emailed me the photos of each person holding up their strip, he included a translation of each one. I am humbled by this offering. Photos will be posted soon.
Peter will send me the actual strips soon to be included with the other messages from around the globe.
Please read more about this project on my website: www.sarahhaskell.com/wovenvoices