Woohoo!
Superhero Unfolding and the Petaluma Art Chicks were featured in the Petaluma Historical Museum and Library's July newsletter. Check out page 13!!!!!!!!!!!!! https://www.petalumamuseum.com/final-summer-newsletter-202…/ Thank you to the wonderful staff and supporters of Petaluma Historical Museum and Library. They are Superheroes indeed!
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Chick P. and The Petaluma Art Chicks got a mention in the Press Democrat as part of the Art Apart program organized by the Petaluma Art Center! Thanks for putting me on the map, PAC.
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/ente…/10978050-181/story.html… Today a thought on the benefit of adversity...
"Courage is born of adversity." -SweetFrau Courage can only be viewed against the backdrop of adversity. Without obstacles and challenges, courage cannot be expressed or witnessed. Adversity provides an opportunity to open to a situation with a trusting curiosity or to shut down in fear. Courage is the result of opening. It allows us to grow past fear. When I think of courage, I think of chicks. In the process of hatching, a chick tears down the protective barrier of the only world it has ever known, because it is limiting its growth. It emerges from its shell into the unknown, a place full of things it has never experienced. And, so it grows. Wishing you a wonderful day, sweet hatchlings! For more inspiration https://www.superherounfolding.online Fly on, Superhero! Fly on! I installed a number of signs today on the lawn of the Petaluma Historical Museum on Fourth Street with permission from its president. Originally, we had planned to work together on Superhero Unfolding Inspiration Station events in April. When I contacted him about cancelling the events in the aftermath of COVID-19, I pitched the idea of the signs. Which, he supported with great enthusiasm.
While I installed the signs today I was able to watch peoples' reactions to them. The worst was indifference and the best was interaction. Three friends in their twenties, ran up to the signs giggling, then posed and took some photos. One of the young women said... "I love Petaluma!" The reaction of these young people really made me smile. They were so fun and cute and spontaneous! Initially, I was sort of lost when the Superhero Unfolding Initiation Station was put on hiatus due to Covid-19. Unemployed... dream project on pause... I felt sad, disconnected and adrift. This, however, did not last long. I started to think about what I could bring forward during this time, since I am not a first responder nor am I a medical professional. And then, it hit me. I can bring forth the resilience and joy that got me through some of the toughest times in my life. Something sweet, fun, simple and true.
So, I started making inspirational signs for my neighborhood and seeking out venues to install them. The first group to respond was the First Presbyterian Church and Hope Counseling on B Street in Petaluma. I installed a number of signs there yesterday. This group of signs includes the Petaluma Art Chicks. The little yellow chick is called Chick P. He is a cross over character with the Superhero Unfolding project. I think of him as "Petaluma's first completely unofficial, unsanctioned, unconventional and unstoppable Superhero!" He is an amalgamation of Petaluma's agricultural past, the tenacity, strength and bravery of a vulnerable chick entering into an unknown world and everyone's love for emojis. I am looking for more venues and working on new signs and characters. Today's confession: I started making these signs because I felt that I had something to say and to share that was important. Something that would offer an alternative to doom and gloom and fear, in a way that was fun, simple, and easily accessible to all. My goal was to inspire a smile and perhaps a bit of reflection on oneself and the situation that we are in. I am not afraid of being viewed as a simple-minded fool making colorful cartoons for other's amusement. My fear is that I will fail to communicate clearly the ideals of self-love, appreciation and personal empowerment. Or, that I will wish to manipulate the message somehow to gain wider acceptance. Something like the self editing that I have practiced most of my life. Today's insight: Creativity arises from need. The need for me to create, and the need for that which is created. Which, leads me to a Rilke quote... "A work of art is good if it has sprung from necessity. In this nature of its origin lies the judgment of it: there is no other." Being born the second child, I am keenly aware of the role that competition, comparison and expectations can play in a developing self-image. The last time a teacher asked me why I couldn't be more like my sister, clearly implying that I was not measuring up to her as an ideal, I answered, "Because I am not her." I discovered that what was clearly obvious to me, that I was not my sister, was also the source of my childhood problems. I was expected to me someone that I was not. To act in a way that was other than what I felt. When I expressed a contrary opinion, I was told that I had no right to feel that way. No "right." As a child I was confused. I felt alone and unloved. I sought praise and care. So, I adapted to fit in. I abandoned my vulnerability, originality and quirk. And, instead of thriving, I became self-conscious, insecure, afraid and ashamed. I kept myself from expressing who I was and what I longed for. It has taken me a long time to understand that I am ALWAYS the one getting in my own way. That, my thoughts about myself limit my actions and options. I can choose to let fear, insecurity and judgement rob me of joy and opportunities, or not. And, if I feel the need to create inspirational signs of sweet little bird emojis in green shoes, so be it! |
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