bodner047

Sometimes it's tough to put into words how we feel about things that are important to us. Making art can help ... clearing space for relationships (even without words) and movement beyond the stuck places in our lives. On the first Sunday of spring, 26 people gathered to make their own unique contributions to our community mosaic tree. Laughs, tears, questions and answers were shared as families, couples, singles, elders, parents, teens, and young children all shared their thoughts, feelings, intentions, and creativity while contemplating what matters most to them. Here's just one snippet of the wisdom we heard throughout the day ... One of the young people shared about his creation, "Escaping the Wall -- If people can't come into our country we won't be able to be friends with different kinds of people." When asked how he felt about that, he seemed surprised and immediately replied, as if we should know the answer. "Sad," he said, with a downward ga...

We haven't said much about ourselves before now and we had a reason. For us, this project is about all the people who are coming together to create and to share what they care about. We envision this tree rooted in our community as a symbol of our ability to co-create with care and respect for one another and for what we value. And, as this project moves out beyond our circle of family, close friends, neighbors, and colleagues, people want to know ... who's behind this project? So here's a snapshot. Julie Norton is an artist and lover of life with an incredibly magical gift of combining images with her trusty sidekick, her iPad. And she's committed to supporting endeavors that spark her passions - like this project. She's a teacher of teachers in the area of social and emotional well-being, ever committed to learning as she has helped schools be a bit more fun, supportive, and healing for everyone involved. Benefiting from the gifts of mindfulness practice, a ...

Special thanks to Christi, Susan, Silvia, Cynthia and Carli for your help at our last leaf-making day. * making and distributing thin-set * cutting tessera pieces to just the right size * translating materials * greeting visitors and answering questions about the project * helping out with young ones All made for a smooth day of 10 more people creating leaves on our community tree. With only 161 leaves to go, we're excited to see who will join us at our next community event on March 26, at 9:30 or 1:30 start times. So eager to see what they'll create as a symbol for what they care about. If you'd like to join please email us at mosaicswithmeaning@gmail.com.

On Friday, Nick opens the door, nearly singing with delight, “Christine, someone left you a present!” Indeed, a mystery friend left an entire box of beautiful treasures, with the simple note, “Do you have any use for these?” Christine cupped each item in her hands. She exclaimed, “Look at this! It’s so beautiful…. (deep breath and gleeful noise) I can’t even imagine breaking it!” Body wiggling. A deep sigh of delight.  We stood together honoring the treasures with reverence: the artistry of the red bowl, the blue vessel, a mug with variegated colors and textured edges, a box full of delights including a rose quartz heart-shaped stone. We noted the blue vessel could be a holder for colored pencils and pens. It could be so many things. We noticed the fracture, sharing a guess as to why the owner was ready to part with this item that we were all admiring. And the guessing began,  "I wonder who this is from. Is this from Robin?" This box of goodies was gifted to Christine bec...

What a surprise to hear Taylor Farms' enthusiasm and willingness to support our project. They donated recycled plastic containers perfect for sorting our tessera!  We couldn't be more delighted and grateful for their generosity - sending what we needed and more. We are looking forward to sharing them with others who might be interested in starting their own community tree! Check out our new containers... ready for action.