Items

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  2020-08-30

  The Together While Apart Art Project

  I want to share a beautiful story about hope, healing and creativity during the pandemic that originated here in Charleston, South Carolina. It is about how 20 artists from 8 different states got together from afar while physically separated to spread joy and happiness through a large art collaboration. There was no other goal than simply wanting to heal our world.   The Together While Apart Art Project grew from a desire to combat the sadness and isolation that was prevalent during the pandemic. Twenty artists from over 8 states got together from afar to use their creative gifts to collaborate on one large work of art. What is significant about this group project is that each artist channeled the emotions they were experiencing during the height of the global pandemic in hopes of healing themselves as well as providing comfort to a broader audience.   The 20 artists were from many diverse backgrounds and from 8 different states. I was able to locate them through an open call on social media, as well as using contacts generated by a wide range of friends and family. At the onset of this project, the only art supplies I had to send each participant were an abundant supply of recycled shipping boxes. Because much of my art is built from repurposed items, keeping this theme of repurposing for the Together While Apart Art Project was very fitting.  I sent each artist several 6” x 6” square pieces of cut cardboard from these recycled boxes with one simple instruction: think outside of the box! My goal was that through the creative process, each artist would find an outlet for his or her feelings and eventually these emotions would transform into joy. Ultimately, our collective joys would be multiplied and shared with many others through our artwork.  I knew the world needed this dynamic group’s creative gifts. I also knew these amazing participants needed to share their gifts in order to process the current situation the world was in. I can say with certainty, that I am amazed at the outcome. This collaborative piece tells an inspirational story of resiliency, connections and hope during a pandemic that none of us could have imagined a few years ago.  And now, it is time to find this amazing piece a home. If you have a suggestion for an appropriate place that we might donate and/or exhibit this piece, please let me know. I would consider doing a rotation cycle so that several organizations may each enjoy this amazing artwork. Wherever this piece is displayed, I hope it inspires love, warmth, optimism, strength and happiness-the emotions we all felt while creating our individual squares. When people view this beautiful collaboration, they will be reassured that our collective strength grows when we come together by showing love and support for one another. When we connect with one another, we can use our strengths to work towards a greater good. Together, even while apart, we can do great things. And despite the utter chaos and sadness in the world, there are always kind hearted people working to find ways to bring hope and healing to others. Here is a very short video celebrating this project. https://youtu.be/9eGsOCIqESY Fondly,  Deane Bowers  Charleston, SC  804-874-2929
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  2020-05-26

  Writing to fight fear

  I am a writer of fan fiction (informal stories about published works). While I was in quarantine, like much of the world, I was very nervous about the future. It was then that I saw a post that was similar to the one that directed me to this site. EarlyBloomingParenthesis knew that some people were driven to write during this pandemic to relieve stress. She suggested that we make a collection for works that we write during this time, and that we explain WHY we wrote them. As I began to worry more and more about the virus being persistent and immunity not being permanent, I wrote a story about how I imagined such a world might be from the point of view of a child. I published it on Archive of Our own (archiveofourown.org), the Hugo award winning fan fiction website. I have resubmitted it here because I think it fits what you were requesting. I also suggest you check the other works in the collection. Although most of them are unrelated to the pandemic directly, they reflect on how people deal with these challenging times. Some people use fantasy to get away, some use it to face their fears. The introduction to the collection says: "Hello! We live in strange times! A lot of folks have been talking about the importance of fic and fandom communities in this moment. This collection wants to know: how is the global crisis of the coronavirus impacting the fic we write? How are we using fic to cope? This is an attempt to document the relationship between fic written during the crisis and the experience of the crisis itself. Each fic includes an end note about the impact of the coronavirus situation on the fic/writing process. Hopefully we'll all get a chance to process our feelings together and feel a little less alone!" It helped me feel less alone to know that others like me were going through the same thing, and I was pleased that my worried thoughts and plans could help others to make sense of our times, and the times to come.