Sometimes while pondering the presence of my civilian self in this world as an artist, mother, teacher, woman… I wonder if the “ART” that I am making, whether in ther form of canvases, prints, food or tee shirts, is communicating my heart and mind in ways that make bridges between people. In the way good art should create emotional and intellectual bridges between people.So the mind constantly wanders, and makes thing in it, and sometimes these “THINGS” become real, and sometimes they get displaced by other things.Last night, I went to the high school’s back to school night. Both of my kids are in high school now. I asked my son which of his teachers I should make sure I visit, and he said that he really likes his spanish class. So I though, hmmm, that is good because knowing Spanish has always been helpful to me. I asked him if he was learning more Spanish now, or if he thhought he was getting better at Spanish, and he said “NO” that he just really liked his teacher.So I went to his Spanish class. And I got it. She was not just teaching Spanish, She was teaching living in the world with Spanish as the vehicle. She was teaching communication first with Spanish as the tool. And there was a lot of humor, so as I always have felt, when you are tickled to laugh, your attention is activated, then real learning and memory begin to get charged. Boring teachers, put the learning mechanism to sleep. Most of the time, a boring teacher is just bored with his/her subject. RETIRE I SAY!! RETRE NOW!!! Get out of the way of learning al;l of you Bored teachers!!!Anyway – that was a little tangent.Really, the point of this text, was to introduce this idea, that made me laugh, of prayer flags in the shape of tee shirts. and each flag, in the Tibetan Tradition, would be one of 5 colors, blue, white, yellow, green, red – and they would be in the shape of little tee-shirts. With P-E-A-C-E ’s letters on each of 5 shirts.THE LETTER P would be made up of the word “MAY”THE LETTER E would be made up of the word “ALL”THE LETTER A would be made up of the word “CHILDREN”THE LETTER C would be made up of the word “REMAIN”THE LETTER E would be made up of the word “CIVILIAN”So there it is. Now i just gotta make them.FROM: http://www.westwindcollection.com/home/ww1/history_main.htmlPrayer flags are gentle reminders, bringing us back to our essence and helping us to open our hearts and minds. When we hang prayer flags, we create the intention for more kindness for ourselves and all beings.As they wave in the wind, prayer flags lift up and carry our wishes for compassion, peace and healing around the earth. Prayer flags encourage us to live more mindfully and help us to restore our own inner calm. A more peaceful world still must begin in each of us, one open heart at a time.It is a sign of respect to keep them off of the ground or floor and to have clear, beneficial intentions as they are being hung. The cloth frays and the printed images fade as they are released to the wind and the heavens. When they are well worn they are often burned, to release the last expression of prayer. It is also common to see old, tattered flags side by side with new ones, left to the elements.
Tags: civilian stuff
wow, what a great idea. as an artist who has not yet quite figured out what to do with my art, this has the wheels turning, thinking about how what i do affects others, how it expresses my spirit out into the world. i’m not sure how a prayer flag idea would apply to photography, but wheels turning is rarely a bad thing. thanks, val!