Peace in 1000 Words
by Kelly Anne Tearney
Art For Peace
A little background…
When I first began making Peace Art five years ago, I had no idea where it would take me. The goal I had in the beginning, was to create an image a day, so that I could send it to my Social Network friends. I thought often about a “picture saying 1,000 words,” and I kept that in mind as I created an image. I never expected the response to be so motivational… But, it was. They expressed their appreciation through messages and even poems they had written for me. I was already getting so much more than I could ever give.
I asked my Social Network friends, to tell me what messages they wanted the images to convey, and I encouraged them to re-use anything I posted on their pages. The peace art, quickly became our peace art. I never ran out of ideas… But I did run out of time. After a few months, my list of friends numbered at about 1,800. It just was not humanly possible to get to each of their pages every day.
A website seemed the best option. I never thought about the fact that I did not know how to make one. I’m still not sure just how I did it, but I do know that I “Googled” a lot. I recorded voiced tutorials about how to post images, and then I gathered the images together, organized them, optimized them and created the galleries.
When I researched the peace sign, so that I could include the symbol’s history on the website, I learned that the peace symbol was never copyrighted so that it could remain free to use, as the symbol implies. I knew that I wanted to do that, as well. I quit signing the art altogether, and decided there was to be no advertisements or registration. I wanted the peace art to be totally free to use.
A New Goal…
As I said, I think about those “thousand words” that a picture says, with every image I create. I found myself thinking, “What if there were a thousand images?” That could represent a potential one million words about peace. That idea excited me! I knew I had at least that many images. I decided to put them together in a series of videos. The images seemed to dance anyway, so setting them to music was the natural thing to do. It took five videos to cover the 1,000 images. The project was completed about a month ago.
I put a lot of hours in on a daily basis. I am always hearing things from my friends about how much I give to them. It is gratifying that they notice… But what they do not seem to understand, is that I could never return all that has been given from the many hearts shared with me. It goes without saying, that the art would not have much impact without their support. I remind them often, that it is each one of them that inspire the art. It is not about me. It is about all of us.
I wanted to tell this story because it is a perfect example of how one voice can become many. I believe in peace because I have seen it happen in the Social Networks. We are from all countries. We do not all call God by the same name. We do not all speak the same language; yet, love is present. People have come together. The understanding of our differences grows. The compassion and concern we have for one another grows. The friendships made, seem more like one giant family. I know that peace on earth is possible.
Will 1,000 peace images generate 1,000,000 thoughts of peace? My guess is that they already have. That has to make a difference in furthering the cause, and that is what it is all about… Peace.
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Connect with Kelly at: peaceartsite.com
