One of A Peace of My Mind’s roles in the world is to foster hope. In people and in organizations. There are good folks in the world doing good work and if we can amplify and encourage those efforts, we all do better. We all know it’s tough out there. The world can be discouraging. Sometimes it feels like the challenges of the world are … Continue reading Hope
Well, we’ve all descended on Grand Rapids, Michigan for ArtPrize. More than 800 artists from 15 countries and 30 states are here for one of the biggest art festivals in the country. Maybe the world? I just rolled in from another exhibit and programming in Colorado, so I am feeling the 20 hours of windshield time, but I’m excited for what’s next. I’m not exactly … Continue reading ArtPrize
We’ve been working in North Minneapolis the past few weeks. A partnership with Northside Culture and the Center for Leadership and Neighborhood Engagement. We installed our American Stories exhibit to set the stage for storytelling, then we held several community studios and invited people to respond to the question, “When have you found strength in the midst of struggle?” People shared stories of losing loved … Continue reading Strength
Joe Davis is a spoken word artist in Minneapolis. I interviewed Joe in front of a live audience for one of our Creative Changemakers events on July 25 at Squirrel Haus Arts in Minneapolis. He joined us with his band Poetic Diaspora. Enjoy a little music with them and then our conversation. Continue reading Joe Davis
I pulled into the drive for Everwood Farmstead on a warm afternoon, feeling the luxury of time at the start of a week-long artist’s retreat and the self-imposed pressure of wanting to use it well. In my backpack was a partially finished manuscript. The first two hundred pages were pretty well crafted, the last hundred trailed off into notes and incomplete thoughts. The bones of … Continue reading Everwood
Over the past six months, I’ve been spending time with San Pablo / St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. It was established in 1888 and for much of its history, served a community of Scandinavian immigrants. But over time, the demographics of the neighborhood shifted and now many of its members have Hispanic and Latin-x roots. The pews are populated with first and second … Continue reading Belonging
Forty days is a long time. And it goes by quickly. On Easter morning I set out to walk through the sunrise every morning for forty days in an effort to get reconnected to this place. To get used to life off the road. And to get a good start on our next book and exhibit. Mission accomplished on all fronts. I finished those forty … Continue reading Forty Days
Duncan Gray is a retired Episcopal Priest and was the 9th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi. I met him at St. Peter’s Episcopal church in Oxford, Mississippi, where he was rector, like his father before him. His father served from 1957 to 1965 during the turbulent era when James Meredith was the first Black man who was allowed admission into the University of … Continue reading Duncan Gray
It was an abrupt interruption of a sound sleep when my alarm went off at 5:30 am today. I had worked hard at the farm for the weekend and my 56-year-old achy body wanted to stay in bed. But that wasn’t the deal I had made with myself. This is the ninth day of a 40-day journey. Waking up before dawn and walking for an … Continue reading Day 9
Today is Easter. We woke up for the first time in our rented townhome. On a mattress on the floor. After two and a half years on the road…900 days and 93,000 miles…we have our own place again. I’ve been looking far and wide for beauty and I’ve found it. But now it’s time for a new season. We’ve come home to be closer to … Continue reading Day 1
