Is still a rose.
Juneteenth 2020
A rose by any other name …
Is still a rose
Names are important.
So many important names rush at us daily, sometimes hourly.
How do we remember, how do we honor the names?
The names of those lost.
The names of those left behind?
A protester in DC holds up a photo of her precious son whose killing by the police never made the news. No one chants his name. Momma, with her bullhorn and her son’s photograph invites, begs, DEMANDS that people say his name.
For four minutes I repeated his name with her. Four minutes, less than half the time that officer knelt on George Floyd’s neck. I stayed with this mom for four minutes. Less than a month later I can not remember her son’s name.
Names are important.
His name is gone. Her plea is not. She demands we remember all the sons and daughters.
I keep thinking about the hundreds, thousands of moms. Moms whose children were lost without headlines, vigils, or global protests. Moms who do not hear the names of their lost children chanted in the streets. We will never know all the names or faces or stories. We will never know all the broken hearts. But we can learn some names and touch some hearts.
Fifty is the number of Jubilee.
Fifty represents freedom and restitution.
Over the next couple of weeks I will finish fifty portraits.
Fifty portraits not of specific faces, nor specific names.
Portraits of roses.
Will you help me? Roses to acknowledge those who also deserved global protest and recognition. I need your help in getting these portraits to the families. Rose Portraits to reflect individual stories. As of Juneteenth I am 31 “Rose Portraits” and almost 60 hours into the project.
Peter (my youngest son) is helping me figure out (and by that I mean Peter is figuring out) how to share these drawings so that they can be downloaded. Soon they will be available as prints for cost plus your donation to a non-profit supporting social justice for POC. We are using the “honor system.”
IDEAS FOR SHARING ROSES:
-Send a kind message to families from your community who are suffering loss. If you don’t know anyone from your area, google it. If you are too old to google, ask a young one to do it for you.
-You could email one of these rose images to someone or print them off.
-What do you say? The bible says love your neighbors as yourself. What would you want to hear? Start by remembering their loved one. Sometimes, that is enough.
“You don’t know me, but I was remembering your son/daughter today and want tell you how sorry I am for your loss.”
-If you print off the rose and color it, you can share why you chose the rose and why you chose that color. Maybe you read where they graduated and use their school’s colors or the colors of their favorite sports team. Be human.
-If you have children, invite them to participate by asking them to color a rose for them as a way to show kindness and while you are coloring, share stories about the person who died or their family left behind. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between TV shows and real life. Children, tweens and teens in particular, often feel helpless because they did not do anything but there is a corporate guilt that is very real. By taking the time to do their best work for another, they are learning how to be pro-active.
-If you have a Sunday School class or women’s group that meets, spend one day learning together and coloring. Coloring together over Zoom or Skype can actually be fun. Listen to music or a book or podcast that addresses racial/social justice.
-Send a “bouquet” to a family.
-Don’t have a printer? Walgreens and the FedEx stores have printers. Ask them to print on cardstock; it’s is more fun to work with than regular weight paper.
-Print them off and color them while listening to a book or podcast about how to be ANTI-racist.
-Color them with your children while you listen to stories/books told from other life experiences. (Faith Ringold has authored some MARVELOUS books. Wouldn’t it be awesome to read Tar Beach and color individual petals in traditional quilt patterns. (I just had this thought and it sounds SO FUN!)
-Grandparents can share stories about how things were when they were younger and what they are learning today. (The kids will be AMAZED at how ignorant they were! That can lead to lively discussions.)
-Sit at your kitchen table and color them with your children and share stories about how we can be better human beings
-Think of way better ideas than me and do them. Share them if you get a hankering.
To “buy” an original drawing show me that you have donated to a non-profit supporting racial justice. (Or you gave money to a friend who is in need during this horrendous season of promise for a better day.) Donate what you can. Donate what seems fair given your current circumstances. Each drawing takes a couple of hours to complete.
If “donate what you can” is too vague, here is an example:
$75 donation for an original drawing and $100 donation for a watercolor painting.
These are just numbers I made up while I was typing. Someone always insists I put a price on things. Follow your heart and make a difference.
I have including a few of the first drawings throughout the email. I will be posting the rest over the next few weeks on my blog (http://www.blog.gwenmeharg.com/ ) and on Facebook at Gwen Meharg Art (https://www.facebook.com/gwenmehargart/ ) or on Instagram at Gwen Meharg (https://www.instagram.com/gwenmeharg/?hl=en )
May freedom and beauty reign in your hearts and our nation.
May we be a more beautiful land a year from now.
May freedom and justice for all, finally and actually mean ALL.
XOXOX, Gwen
PS
Artist and friend, Laura Hunt started the Equality Portrait Project where, as an expression of solidarity, she is painting positive portraits of black men and women who have wrongfully died in custody of the police. She has invited others to join in this work of affirming the HUMANITY of black and brown lives. Laura’s Instagram showcasing these brilliant portraits is LauraHunt_Septart (SeptemberArt Studio) Here is the link to Laura’s portrait of Atatiana Jefferson who was killed here in Fort Worth: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBOEPKDHLxM/ I wanted to join Laura in this project, but portraits of people are hit and miss for me. (They are all hit right out of the ballpark for Laura!) The roses are my way to participate.
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