Michael Eden and Vikki North honored me by inviting me to name our three-way Challenge Number Four.
I struggled for days to come up with an idea that would dip into each of our individual toolboxes to bring about each of our unique takes on a single concept.
And then, right after the presidential election, I kept coming back to the simple yet emotionally-laden idea of hope.
You can view Vikki’s and Michael’s contributions at their respective links above. Here is mine.
I agree with Michael that hope is a difficult subject to write about. If ever the world needed some hope, it is now. Putting it in simple terms from my personal point of view, I believe we have repudiated the politics of fear. We have seen through the ruse. The game is up. We are ready to choose hope for the future. It isn’t a pipe dream. It is a determination to make a better world for ourselves and our children and grandchildren.
If we allow ourselves to suspend our cynicism for just a little while, to take a long, deep, cleansing collective breath, we will be able to see the possibility of working together to change the world. We will begin to return to the basics of what it means to nurture the earth and each other.
I hope . . . I hope.
I chose collage as a medium for my image titled “Celebrating Hope.” The image size is approximately 10 x 8 inches on heavy archival paper. I will put it in my Etsy shop for collage.
Tags: art challenge, blue bird, collage, dancing figures, fear, hope, politics of fear
November 19, 2008 at 9:27 am |
Vikki – Thank you. I enjoyed doing the piece itself, even though the concept was hard to get my arms around. I guess that’s what challenges are for, right?
Michael, I’m so happy you liked my piece and that the challenge worked out so well for you.
Susan, I had fun at your blog yesterday too. Time seems to get away from us, doesn’t it? But I’m glad I took some time to look around again. I so enjoyed your latest work.
Bob, it pleases me that the words struck a chord. Yes, the opposite of fear!
Eric, thank you for visiting. I’m happy you liked the piece. Please stop by again sometime. I love your stories and will visit your blog again.
Edgar, so nice of you to stop by. Yes, those happy feet represent how I’m feeling right now too! There’s hope for us.
PS – I hope everyone checks out Vikki’s and Michael’s challenge contributions, and all the other blogs represented here.
November 19, 2008 at 12:28 pm |
Thank you for your comment on my blog. Yours is so lovely and art – inspiring. I’ll be back!
November 19, 2008 at 1:26 pm |
Hello Martha,
I’ve never had the chance to really appreciate the beauty of a collage until now. I’m quite taken, actually. I see hope flowing from bottom all the way to those dancing happy feet at the top. The pastel colors give us a sense of peace and harmony.
Tasha
November 19, 2008 at 2:41 pm |
Michelle, thanks for coming by. Your blog is full of goodies. I truly enjoyed it!
Tashabud, thank you!
November 23, 2008 at 2:33 am |
Fascinating. You once again went a place that I did not expect but fully appreciate. I’m one of Vikki’s blogging colleagues and had to check out the challenge again. Such different expressions but each one works in a different way.
November 23, 2008 at 9:13 am |
Reggie, thanks for your response to this one. Challenges are fun and not fun at the same time. They do force us to get outside our usual patterns and habits of working.