Caroline Lovell and her Traveling Postcards

The Watson Family on their land in the Guaymi Reserve, Costa Rica

From Left to Right: Evelia,Danila and her mother, Gabrila and Elena

Photo credits: Caroline Lovell 2009

The November 2009 blog entry features artist Caroline Lovell and her project, Traveling Postcards. Caroline is enrolled in John F. Kennedy University’s MATA (Masters in Transformative Arts) program in Berkeley, California.

Caroline’s intention for her project is to connect women of the world through cards they make and write. To date women in the U.S. and several African and Latin American countries have received and created a traveling postcard. Groups of people meet, create cards and share nuggets of wisdom by writing a note on the back of a card they have created. Often, while people are creating the cards, they remember a woman who has deeply affected their life in a positive way. The postcards are then hand delivered to a woman or a group of women.

Having experienced the creation of the cards first hand on a few occasions, I am always amazed at how enthusiastic people become when they realize they have something relevant to say and share. Participants take great care to collage, draw, paint and write thoughtful words for someone they have never met. It is a wonder to witness the enthusiasm that pervades the workspace and the joy which overcomes people as they share a treasure which cannot be bought, a gift which is a part of them. Healing does occur in the midst of artmaking and the sharing of stories. Please enjoy and share Caroline’s work with your community. Here she is in her own words…

Sharing Hearts and Art in Costa Rica

By Caroline Lovell

This past August I returned from an amazing adventure. I wonder now how best to describe the loving connection I experienced with the men and women of Punta Banco and how best to honor their willingness to share their hearts. I am grateful for the opportunity to express my thanks to this inspiring community.

A highlight of the trip was the high travel into the jungle to visit an indigenous Guaymi family. When we arrived soaked and tired from both rain and a dangerous seven mile hike, Ramon, Elena and their four daughters greeted us. I settled in under their thatched roof, grateful for a cup of sweet coffee. I do not speak Spanish, so in an effort to communicate, I slowly brought out pastels and paper for coloring with the children. The girls thought my drawings were hilarious, and so I eventually moved to making and giving Traveling Postcards.

Traveling Postcards is a project that creates a simple way for women all over the world to connect through creativity, and to ensure our voices are heard. Groups of women come together, write postcards and create works of art that include personal story. Postcards are created to give away in hopes that every woman who receives a card understands that she is cared for, and with the knowledge that each woman who makes a card has been seen and heard. I had brought some picture books from which to cut and use as decorations for the cards. These books were quickly used as an opportunity for learning through reading, and I saw they would be of far more value not to be cut up! The women had never seen art materials such as glue sticks and oil pastels. Elena hesitated to begin and encouraged her daughters to go first. Evelia quickly agreed and looked very carefully through the papers I provided to find a beautiful print to use on her card. I noticed that I had an abundance of materials with me and every piece seemed special to these women. I so often think that I don’t have enough to give, and felt surprised at how little these women needed to express themselves. One or two pieces of paper and a couple of stickers proved enough. This awareness that we are enough, have enough and that we can do much with less influenced the rest of my trip.

The Guaymi are known for their beautiful Panamanian hats and small bags handmade from plant fibers. The women make beautiful dresses worn perfectly clean and ironed! Most of their income comes from selling their wares to tourists like me, and I realized while sitting at their family table that there are many paths to creative expression and many paths to understanding our deep connections with each other. The entire family eventually made a Traveling Postcard. I could tell Ramon felt pride that his family participated with students from America.

After we co-created Traveling Postcards, I photographed the entire family, printing pictures on the spot and giving them their portraits to keep. I left all the art making supplies I had with the two youngest girls and was grateful that I could make a small difference. Each girl owned a small backpack that hung on a wooden pole of their hut. I saw that after receiving and looking at their own Traveling Postcard, they quickly put their card into their private bag. I felt sure in that moment, these girls, who lived high in the jungle in a remote part of Costa Rica, knew they were a part of a larger community who cares about the health and well being of all women. I was again reminded of how much we take for granted in our culture of excess, and how important it is to discover simple ways of living and giving, like sharing a meal with new friends and sharing a pair of scissors!

My experience in the town of Punta Banco centered on tolerance, mindfulness, and simple happiness. I learned to live without hot water or clean clothes. I learned that peace and fulfillment come from within and are available to us all at all times. I learned that the greatest love can come from an unexpected connection in a small town where I had never been before, but now holds a piece of my heart forever.

The women of Punta Banco care for each other deeply; their sons, daughters, and partners honor their lives and I believe that by sharing the knowledge that rests in our hearts we can help ease suffering worldwide.

Please look to www.travelingpostcards.org to see all the beautiful cards that were made in Costa Rica.

Don’t forget that anyone can hold a Traveling Postcards event in their own communities. I am always looking for new opportunities for Traveling Postcards and new ways to spread the word.

If you would like to participate, please email me at: cslov@comcast.net

Source: www.travelingpostcards.org

Traveling Postcards: Women Connecting to Women through Art and Story

Traveling Postcards uses creativity as a healing tool for growth and change.

Who Is Art For?

Creating art in community is not a radical concept. Creative gestures are intrinsically embedded within cultures. Social structures are the container in which art occurs. Unarguably, social and economic structures have defined notions of what art is, who will enjoy it and who has a right to make it.
The environment in which art is made, utilized, performed or displayed determines one’s experience with it. With the advent of museums, art began to perform in spaces separate from everyday communities and their ritual activities. Artists creating the art were elevated to super human status. The voice and vision of the individual ego was applauded. This blog entry is not a tirade against museums. I have spent hundreds of enjoyable hours in museums experiencing art within architectural gems. I am happy we have these showcases of our cultural heritage. But, what about people who live hundreds of miles from a museum or maybe within blocks of one, having never ventured to put a foot inside the door?
Most people who have not studied art history might be surprised to learn that the word art only came into common use in the fourth century BCE, in the philosophical writings of Plato and Aristotle. Furthermore, the word was attached to a wide variety of arts and functional crafts made by skilled workers who were viewed as ordinary and working class because they worked with their hands. During the Renaissance a shift began to occur that recognized the mental and intellectual faculties exercised in the process of creating. The unconscious method in which we collectively define and perceive artists today has its roots in the tenets of German Romanticism.
In the 1960's and 70's many arts advocates and minority artists began to question the elite status of sanctioned artists. Art was longing to be redefined by artists who could not express what they desired within the parameters of the prescribed genres. It is redundant to pronounce that most of the exhibiting artists in Western cultures were white males working in approved disciplines. Minority artists began to organize.
Feminists reclaimed the textile arts from their association with humble crafts, while indigenous artists rebelled against the condescending terminology of primitive and naive. The Fluxus movement, performance artists and Happenings brought art into direct contact with the public. This awakening revitalized the arts and enriched its capacity to be an honest reflection of contemporary society and culture. The revolutionary questioning of the sixties and seventies gave contemporary artists of all colors and genders the privilege to express and work in multiple genres and interdisciplinary fields.
In everyday conversations about art one often hears people say, “I can’t draw or I am not creative.” People frequently measure their capacity for creativity by comparing a brief effort to the expertise of modern and contemporary masters, who have perhaps spent decades honing their skills and contemplating their intentions.
The birth of community art centers, regional theaters, traveling art carts, artists working in residence, art happenings, environmental arts and teaching artists are but a few examples of a multitude of ways artists are reaching out and into communities worldwide. Holding the space for positive creative ventures to occur in the communities where people live provides individuals with increased opportunities to express their voices and contribute to the collective choir.
My next entry will profile the project, “Traveling Postcards”, the offspring of Californian photographer Caroline Lovell. I was blessed to have had the opportunity to travel with Caroline to Punta Banco, Costa Rica this past summer with the organization, ComunicArte.
Some of the most memorable experiences from the trip were utilizing my translation skills to assist Caroline in bringing "Traveling Postcards" to the community of Punta Banco, Costa Rica. On one occasion we hiked three and a half hours through the rain forest to make postcards with a Guaymi family and learn about their fiber arts. Another afternoon we sat shoulder to shoulder, working on wooden tables in front of the mini-supermarket witnessing the delight of local children operating Caroline’s portable printer. Ultimately I was deeply moved by the ability of art to be the language of the heart which required no translation.

“… EVERY HUMAN BEING IS AN ARTIST who – from his state of freedom – the position of freedom that he experiences at first-hand – learns to determine the other positions of the TOTAL ART WORK OF THE FUTURE SOCIAL ORDER.” Joseph Beuys

Becoming a Conscious Creator

Building Community through the Arts was inaugurated as a container, to hold the experiences of JFKU students in the Arts & Consciousness program, as we venture to Punta Banco, Costa Rica as participants in ComunicArte.
We have spent the last several weeks preparing intellectually and physically for the educational adventure. We have read numerous inspiring and thought provoking articles and essays about people like us who are re-defining the parameters of art in culture. We have worked on lesson plans which form a bridge between art and the needs of the Punta Banco community. We realize we are going to have to be flexible, needs may change and interest may not arise for what we have intended. We are told the community is happy to host us. We are excited for the known and unknown awaiting us.
When individuals take ownership of their creativity and become increasingly aware of what an empowering tool it is, significant changes can and do occur. I believe the idea of becoming a conscious creator will become a reality for more and more people, a badge of sorts for the new millennium. We can create a sustainable and healthy world, but we each need to contribute some effort towards this goal.
The current turmoil in the world has forced us to look at our local communities, which in turn brings us to looking at ourselves. Who are we in our personal lives, our communities and the bigger world community? How can we best be of service and “do our part”?
Many artists and tenacious creators have found ways to utilize their art making and creative skills in assisting communities to address issues too numerous to list in a paragraph. Art in the community is truly a post modern definition of multi: faceted, colored, dimensional, layered and plying as in multiplying. When individuals and communities exercise their creative power the results are a unique imprint of their needs, values and personalities.
It is my hope that through this forum I can share with you the positive expressions of creativity happening daily in our local and worldwide communities. I will begin with my own experience as an artist within the community of Punta Banco and a participant in ComunicArte. Following the trip we will share our experiences in our respective local communities. In time I will provide links to and stories about individuals and organizations making constructive contributions to our world through their gifts of art and conscious creativity.
I hope you will join me in this journey of exploring the infinite possibilities for being a positive, creative force in our local and worldwide communities.