I believe starting over and beginning again can be one of life’s biggest challenges, yet also one of life’s greatest gifts. To honor the courage it takes to make a fresh start, I created, organized and led an art project called the fresh stART art project. My goal was to collaborate with other women from across the country who had recently experienced their own fresh starts and new beginnings. Together, we would design a beautiful work of art celebrating fresh starts, second chances and new beginnings. I wanted this composition to reflect the beauty in change and champion resiliency over adversity.
At a time when many are hopeless, lost and suffering, the fresh stART artwork is a visual reminder that we can rise from the ashes. It is an invitation to believe in possibilities.
As an artist, my mission is to find unique ways to use my creative talents to build communities that spread hope and love. The fresh stART art project is an example. This is not the first collaborative art project I have done. The first was called The Together While Apart art project and included the artwork of 18 other participants from around the country. That project was created during the pandemic and honored front line workers and health care professionals who became ordinary heroes during Covid 19.
For the last several years, I have worked on the fresh stART art project. With the help of 30 strong, brave women, we came together from afar as strangers. When the project first started, some of us had just started our lives over. We had recently found the strength to move forward and in turn, wanted to offer encouragement to those who were also beginning again. We never gave up though our difficulties wore us down and we struggled. All of us expanded our options, widened our perspectives and rediscovered our self worth. Over time, our bonds grew stronger as we shared stories of beginning again through our artwork. We came together and extended grace and compassion to one another, which enabled us to wonder about possibilities. This wonderment was the foundation for our new beginnings and led us to move forward and take action. This art project is a shoutout to the power of sisterhood. From a shared desire to inspire and encourage others, the fresh stART art project is now complete and ready to go out into the world and spread hope by inspiring those who might feel invisible to find their personal strength and power again.
The fresh stART artwork, measuring 48” x 60” x 2” - (4ft. X 5ft.) is made up of 63 individual square pieces, each with a unique message celebrating fresh starts. A collective thread of hope runs through every inch. The thought, time and great care we lovingly poured into every single square is a testimony to recovery, restoration and self love.
Not everyone involved in this project has experienced the life and death situations others face that force them to start over, yet some of us have. However, each of us has endured our own heartaches, setbacks and challenges (including divorce, illness, job loss, relocation, empty nesting, eating disorders, caregiving challenges, familial loss, infertility, mental health struggles, forms of abuse and financial hardships) that upended our lives. We grew personally and collectively over the years spent working on this art project because we felt accepted and respected. This was the reason we each flourished. Being part of this collaboration gave us a real sense of belonging, which led to a strong desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.
Using personal experiences, we each reflected on the challenges and changes that led to our new starts. By tapping into these stories, we visually captured significant things that factored into our transformations.
Every participant created one or several small compositions on 6” x 6” squares cut from repurposed cardboard. (Even the cardboard was given a second chance). From the colors, images and words insightfully selected, each square is designed to reflect something important about fresh starts.
Only a few of the fresh stART participants are artists; most are not. However, everyone took a big leap of faith when making their squares by overcoming anxiety and self doubt. Many participants felt they had nothing of value to share. They wondered if they could creatively capture their new beginnings. Yet once they reflected on their journeys, they were able to freely tap into their imaginations and rise above feelings of inadequacy. The most authentic and inspirational compositions came to be once creative inhibitions were released. I had the honor of witnessing this growth, which resulted in amazing, unique, authentic and honest artwork. The challenge of bringing all 63 pieces together into one cohesive work of art was easy. Because there was a cohesive rhythm and flow to these compositions, it was a magical union. No one knew what the other participants were working on so there was an element of surprise and excitement. When I began receiving the finished pieces, I knew this art project was going to be extremely moving. Everyone celebrates moving forward in their own beautiful, heartfelt way.
The 63 squares are as different as the women who created them. The pieces are thoughtfully layered with bright colors, imagery and even some text. The fresh stART artwork conveys hopeful, optimistic messages to inspire and uplift everyone, especially those at a crossroad.
Perhaps viewers will see something familiar in this artwork. Maybe our stories are their stories too. Maybe seeing proof that hardships can be overcome is exactly the inspiration someone needs and that they might recognize some of our obstacles are similar to theirs. Perhaps the fresh stART artwork will be incentive for rediscovering an unfulfilled dream. It might even shift their perspective and encourage them to rediscover their own worth.
Now that the artwork is completed, the next phase focuses on sharing it and sending it out into the world. As project leader, I am trying to identify and contact as many non-profits, volunteer organizations and foundations around the country as I can. The places that provide resources and outreach services to those in need are the exact places we want the fresh stART artwork to go, even if only on temporary exhibit or loan. This collaboration would be an incredible, uplifting and inspirational addition to any facility. It is a wonderful focus piece that can be wall hung or easel displayed in a reception area or welcome space.
The fresh stART artwork is an honest, sincere expression of the fortitude and grace to move forward after setbacks. Our intention is for this artwork to be an imaginative and colorful tool for healing. Seeing it may not save everyone, but it just might save someone. If there is one person who is impacted, our goal is achieved.
By offering the artwork out on loan, we hope to reach those who have no support system so they feel seen and valued. May they recognize something in themselves that is powerful, good and worthy of new beginnings.
There is tangible joy radiating from the fresh stART artwork.
Who are the fresh stART project participants?
-We are thirty one strong, resilient women from across the country who share a strong desire to support and encourage other women. We come from many diverse backgrounds and span the ages of 22-80 years old.
-We are mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, granddaughters, teachers, nurses, lawyers, administrators, community volunteers, artists, activists, writers, students, graphic designers, photographers, camp directors and so much more.
- We have each endured our own heartaches, setbacks and challenges (including divorce, illness, job loss, relocation, empty nesting, caregiving, familial loss, infertility, mental health struggles, forms of abuse and financial hardship) which upended our lives and necessitated starting over again.
-Before this project, we didn't know one another. We have been brought together from afar to create art as an instrument to heal. Sometimes art has greater power to restore hope and convey messages of love than words do. It certainly did for the thirty one of us! ❤️
FAQ’s
-The artwork measures 48" x 60" x 2"- (4ft. x 5ft.). It can be wall hung or displayed on an easel.
-It is made up of 63 cardboard squares, each with a unique message about fresh stARTs. Every square is individually framed and measures 6" x 6". The squares are cut from repurposed cardboard. (Even the cardboard was given a second chance and a fresh start).
-Participants worked on their own square(s) in their own time and space and then sent the square to me to organize into a cohesive composition.
-We created the fresh stART project as a way to heal as well as to acknowledge overcoming life setbacks.
-Sharing the fresh stART artwork is our way to support others who are just beginning their journeys forward. Facing new beginnings is scary and full of uncertainties. The fresh stART art is full of colorful images that will inspire others and remind them that they too can move ahead and discover a beautiful, new happy life!