Art Miles Mural Project Celebrating Women - Dream Catchers On Canvas

Submitted by Wendy Kaiser

A striking, colorful miniature mural painted on a post card, of women embracing and celebrating, lay on the table when it caught her eye drawing her into the flier about the Artmiles.org Women’s Art Miles Mural Project. Twelve miles of art are to be painted throughout the world this year focusing on 12 different themes, such as peace, environment, music, children, seniors and women; bringing people of diverse backgrounds, talents and experience together to create, while promoting peace and living your dreams.

The idea percolated of how friends could come together to be part of the worldwide project. All the canvases will be joined together and made into a fourth pyramid to be unveiled in Giza, Egypt on December 10, 2010, International Human Rights Day. The Women’s Art Mile is to be painted between International Women’s Day, March 8, 2009 and Mother’s Day, May 10, 2010. Sterling Art was having a 40% off sale. Bingo! They were able to get all the supplies. Soroptimist International of Newport Harbor Area Club President, Wendy Kaiser, opted for the five by six foot canvas instead of five by twelve, after standing next to the outstretched cloth and reality sunk in of how big that really is when you are putting paint on every inch.

Jeannie Denholm, co-owner of Southern California Art Projects and Exhibitions SCAPE gallery in Corona Del Mar, added her support to the project by sharing her input on the mural’s design lay-out. She said, “I am happy to lend my time and support for such a great cause. The power of creativity in support of improving and empowering the lives of women and girls is very stimulating and rewarding. This project is very much in line with my personal business objective, which is to provide a fundamental link between art and community.”

Soroptimist share Jeannie’s vision of forming links with the community and are committed to improving the lives of women and girls locally and globally. Soroptimist, Latin for Best for Women/Women at their best, is an international women’s service organization founded in 1921, whose first project was to save the redwoods in Northern California. Today with almost 100,000 members worldwide, that first grove of redwoods is still standing as a symbol of what a difference we can make when we come together in our community with a dream.

Globally. Soroptimists are helping families through Project Sierra – A Family and a Future (www.projectSIerra.org). Project Sierra aims to strengthen and empower entire communities through helping young mothers (women and girls who were trafficked during the war), disenfranchised children under 12 (living on the street), and providing integrated child and family support in Sierra Leone, the world’s poorest country with the highest infant mortality rate.

Locally, Soroptimists are working to build connections with the families at OCIS. The Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter, founded in 1981, to help Orange County’s homeless families has evolved into a multifaceted transitional housing program serving over 2,000 individuals annually by providing encouragement and the tools for achieving self-sufficiency. The kids and families are very excited about being a part of history. They enjoy the projects they do with community members.

Shelter residents joined with Soroptimists from the Newport Harbor Area Club, Gina Gores their recent Women’s Opportunity Award winner, as well as members of the So Cal Chapter of UNifem-USNC (United Nations Development Fund for Women) including their president, CeCe Sloan, six graders from the University Synagogue, Artmiles.org volunteers and other community members on Sunday, May 3, at the Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter.

The Mural they painted will become part of the Women’s Art Mile and travel to Egypt. The message of the mural is living your dreams and making a difference with an under the sea theme. A large starfish is joined by sea urchins and bubbles of inspiration, while fishes swim by with a banner, under the sea.

Visit www.artmiles.org for information on how you can do your own mural and share in the dream, as they stat e in their mission statement, “each hand and every mural aims to create and express a global voice to develop and advocate art rather than violence, cooperation instead of war and the continuation of life rather than death. Mile by mile across countries, boarders and oceans the art miles has become the resonating artistic symbol for peace.”

A glimpse of a postcard was a messenger creating the spark of an idea to bring our community together; to share their hopes and dreams as paint journeys to its home on blank canvas here and throughout the world. Each canvas, a dream catcher, standing like those ancient redwoods through time as a symbol of what a difference we can make.