Saturday, May 12, 2007


A Wishing Well for Peace~!

Today was the first day of my association with Kids for Peace, an amazing group of children working together to create a culture of peace locally and globally. (http://www.kidsforpeaceUSA.org) A while ago, one of the groups' founders and directors, Jill McManigal, asked me if I would help create a mosaic wishing well with her group, and today was the day. I thought it would be a great partnership project for ARTS, where I volunteer and teach, (http://www.artsurvive.org) and so Rob Tobin, ARTS' artist in residence, created the wooden structure from a kit, (although he made the peace sign where a bucket would usually be)....and he and I worked with the kids and teens and adults, translating the kids' drawings into mosaic masterpieces on the well. We worked in the back yard of a very cool shop in Leucadia, "It's a Luv Thing"...check it out at http://www.itsaluvthing.com.


Here is a picture of the process of creating a mosaic....the kids took turns smashing perfectly nice bathroom tiles, by putting the tiles inside a paper bag, and hammering them until they became a bunch of smaller, workable pieces. The we made several piles of the pieces, divided by colors. Rob had drawn the kids' designs onto the well, and once we mixed up the mastic, we were in business! Danielle Gram, an amazing teen and co-director of Kids for Peace, helped in so many ways, with her patience and perseverance. Everyone who participated seemed to enjoy the fun of piecing it all together, and it was great to see everyone working side by side.





Several hours later, here's our wishing well....we accomplished a lot today, and have a couple more dates
planned for putting tiles on the roof, half marbles on the peace sign, and painting the upright posts.

It was a beautiful, sunny day, and what better way than to spend it putting energy into art for peace~

4 comments:

Laurie Mika said...

Fantastic...great to see the project come to life. You should be very proud...and I love the symbolism of having the substrate be a wishing well.....and I am sure the kids loved doing it and seeing their drawings being used. Can't wait to see the final product! Keep us posted.
Congrats, Laurie

Jane LaFazio said...

beautiful. another worthy cause, to say the least! thanks, dear Kat and Rob, for sharing your time and talents with children (and us!)

Cheryl Finley said...

Kat,
I love this! And..I love sharing our creative gifts to help bless others. You are an inspiration!
Thank you!

Valentina - healinghorsewisdom@san.rr.com said...

Beautiful and inspiring, not just the completed Wishing Well but also the amazing children,teens, & adults who came together with open hearts to create peace. On this day, through this act, a part of each of us was healed. On this day, through this act, a part of the earth was healed. I am deeply moved and inspired. In gratitude,
Valentina