LOVE LETTERS

"W" is for Woven Voices, the project I designed and guided from 2007 - 2011. In past postings I have shared some of the lessons that this project taught me. This posting will be about how the project has morphed into something new yet truly an out growth of "Woven Voices". Here are the details:

LOVE LETTERS 

 A community art installation guided by Artist Sarah Haskell

   Love defines us, motivates us and binds our lives together. In this hands-on activity inspired by Buddhist Prayer flags, participants will be invited to create a paper flag prompted by something or someone that they love. 

   On the front of each flag people are invited to write and draw the first letter of something or someone that they love.

  

On the reverse side of each flag we fill in the blank:

  _________ is for _______________________

_____________________________________

Name ______________Date______________

 

Newtown CT Art Festival 9/13

   All ages and abilities of community members  are able to participate in this project, allowing for a wide variety of love letters. People are invited to create two flags, one to take home and one to leave for a community installation. 

   At the end of the day, we assemble the letters and see what we inspiring words and messages we can spell from these "Love Letters", creating a visual story of who and what we love. For example if we collect the letters P, O, H, R, T, E, N, A, and E ~ we can spell "OPEN HEART".

   

   The completed string of brightly colored "Love Letters" is donated to a public location in celebration of the deep love that connects the community.  

We spelled "Family".

   In late September I was invited to guide "LOVE LETTERS" at the annual Newtown (CT) Arts Festival. Over 50 people participated in creating letters, and look what we were able to spell: "Newtown, We are family."

L is for Love.

 "LOVE LETTERS" has lead to my own alphabet of gratitude. I am making 26 lettered flags, each one is a hand embroidered letter sewn on a brightly colored lobster pot buoy flag.  I have completed 12 flags so far and am having fun creating words with these letters!

Spelling foods I love!

   I'll post more images on my website soon.

Stepping Out ~ May 11th noon ~ message reading

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

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

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

Voices in the Square

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

Ripple Effect

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

Two hundred prayer flags!

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.