Fiona Orr, fifteen-years-old, is home schooled in Fayetteville, Arkansas, where she volunteers regularly at the Omni Center for Peace, Justice, and Ecology where she has found positive adult mentors. Fiona draws and paints. From a very young age, she liked to put beautiful things on paper so that other people could see the same beauty she did. “Yes, you’re one very small person, but you can always make … Continue reading Fiona Orr
Benita Alioth moved back to her childhood home just before Christmas 2007 to care for her aging mother. On October 22, 2008, she woke to her mother’s call for help. The house was on fire. When Benita tried to pick up her mom, they both fell to the floor and were engulfed in flames. She wasn’t able to save her mother. Benita was in a … Continue reading Benita Alioth
Peg Carlson-Hoffman is co-director of Holden Village with her husband, Chuck Hoffman. Holden is a faith-based intentional community nestled in a remote valley of Washington’s North Cascades, accessible by a 30-mile boat ride and a 10-mile gravel road. Peg and Chuck create art around conflict and healing. They lead creativity workshops with people who have historically experienced conflict as a way to build relationships. “The beauty … Continue reading Peg Carlson-Hoffman
“I took away their erasers,” she said. They were fixated on perfection and they never made any progress. The high school art teacher was sharing how her drawing students were afraid of making mistakes. If they made a bad mark on the paper, they would erase it and start again. Another mistake, and more erasing. The thing is, if you erase too many times, you actually … Continue reading Build on it
Jarell Wilson describes himself as black, gay, and Christian. He lives in the South and, at times, he struggles to balance these three identities in a society that he says doesn’t embrace two thirds of them. He believes that people often try to put identities into boxes, and that results in stereotypes that lead to stress and conflict. Yet, at the end of the day, Jarell finds … Continue reading Jarell Wilson
Today is my 50th birthday. Karen and I just returned from Monmouth, Illinois where I did some programming with our new American Stories exhibit and packed it up to install at the next venue. After my gallery talk in Monmouth, a man walked up with a small, brown paper bag in his hand. He said, “You’ve given us a gift…and I’d like to give you … Continue reading 50 Years
