For the Dogs: Andrea Hawkes

Andrea is an animal lover, and her prayer flag is for Mobey, who like so many others, needs a forever home.

Don't we all have special places in our hearts for pets?  In keeping with this post, I wanted to add a comment received on Jane LaFazio's blog a few days ago from a dog who loved her prayer flags...  Yes, you read that correctly!

The clever pooch writes, "Wow, prayer flags. We dogs have a similar thing - Wish Sticks. It's pretty much the same story as the flags. Or at least they serve a similar function. 

We find sticks we like, chew them for a bit while we think about our wish. Then we leave the stick to release the good thoughts into the world. The stick might be picked up by another dog and have another wish added to it. This helps the first wish grow stronger and so on. The more wishes a stick has, the more likely the wishes will come true. I'll go find a stick right now and chew a wish for your friend Melly.
Tchao-wow from Portugal".


I wish my dog were that eloquent.  He's now snoring on the floor at my feet, probably dreaming of some wish stick he left behind...


Thank you, Andrea, for sharing your flag.  Thank you Jane for sharing the comment, and thank you Tchao-wow for adding a smile to this post!

Jane Davies: Spreading Blessings On The Wind

Jane Davies is a fiber artist from Vermont who heard about The Prayer Flag Project from Jane LaFazio's blog post a few weeks ago.  She quickly joined the blog and has just submitted her first two flags, and they are beauties.

In her own words,

"I love the idea of prayer flags as a format for artistic expression, as well as their original purpose - to spread blessings on the wind.

I used acrylic paint on muslin, and employed the "resist and water" techniques demonstrated on my blog.  I collaged on the fabric with painted/textured deli paper, and used some scribble painted papers.  I also did some simple machine stitching and hand beading".

Prayer For A Cure: Ruth Anne Olson

Ruth Anne Olson has made a beautiful flag using her own hand dyed fabrics, which is hung with a deeply felt prayer for her grandchildren and others who have Cystic Fibrosis.  As Ruth Anne explains:

My prayer is for a cure. While I pray for a cure for all my friends and family who have or had cancer, lupus, PLS, AIDS, and other diseases, this prayer is specifically for a cure for cystic fibrosis. Two of my grandchildren were born with it. Advances in medicine, rigorous daily treatments, and lots of drugs have increased life expectancy. However, it remains a fatal disease.

The term "65 Roses" comes from the mispronunciation of cystic fibrosis by a child who suffered from the disease, and the rose has since become a representative symbol for the disease.







And so, Anna and Aidan, Holly, Tiffany, Morgan, and all the others who suffer now or who have not survived, I send up this prayer for you.

The hand-painted fabrics are my own, while the others are a commercial rose print and a rose-motif lace.for a cure. 

Mixed Media Prayers by Jane LaFazio: Melly and Hope

 My cyber friend, Jane Lafazio, was quick to jump on the Prayer Flag Project bandwagon, and has generously posted the information about joining the project and making the flags on her popular blog, Janeville.


Jane's work is beautiful:  I will let her explain it in her own words...




Jane writes,  "My first flag is for my dear friend, Melanie Testa.
      
Melly is battling breast cancer. She's had chemo and she's going in for surgery on June 21. My first flag flutters in the wind in my backyard, spreading wishes of love and healing to Melly".


Jane's second flag is called "Hope".  I wonder if that one is for Melly, too, since she loves birds so much, and the poem fits so well with her spirit.

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chilliest land
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me
~ Emily Dickinson

Submit Your Work

1.  Email Vivika DeNegre at vdenegre@yahoo.com

2.  Make a flag and hang it... take a photo, then send to me along with an artist's statement, prayer, or words to include on the post.  I will post flags on this blog as I receive them.

3.  "Follow" this blog so you can "pray along" with the other artists (optional).

4.  Post your flag on the flickr group linked above (optional).

Together we can make a difference in the world as our prayers are flown and shared with others...  Join us!

Linda Miller: Trust

This lovely flag was made by Linda Miller.  I love how it is hanging among the fig leaves in her garden.  May we all trust ourselves...  

Here is the description in Linda's own words:


Trust is for all of us to connect with what is good in our lives, and to remember that goodness is always available within us.  For a start, I send this out to my nephew going to his college orientation.  May he trust himself enough to maintain a sense of openness moving out into the world.


To make the flag, I used some raw silk from my stash that I had covered with leaf rubbings several years ago.  To that I appliqued, painted, and embroidered further on the flag.


It is a pleasure tocontribute to another flag project in a new format, and to widen the creative circle.

Ileen Miller: A Blessing for Fathers

Ileen Miller posted her first flag last week... doesn't it look lovely hanging in the garden.  So many of the photos I've taken have that same feel... prayers hang on a thread, above the flowers, waiting to join others in the wind...

In her own words:

"A flag made for Father's day--a prayer/blessing for Father's, especially the Parker father's in my life".

Sheer Organza Flag by Martha Wofe: Fathers

Martha Wolfe is a fiber artist living in Florida.  She visited my studio a few weeks ago on a trip to the East Coast, and saw the first few flags in my series.  Martha was one of the first to join in and make flags of her own.  In her own words:

"I offer my prayer flag for June 19th, Father's Day, in homage to all fathers in general and my father in particular.

I give thanks for my father, a man of many talents. He lived out many happy moments tending his beautiful flower garden, sharing the colorful bounty with those he loved and cared about.

I give thanks for all the other fathers, be they brothers or sons, husbands or friends. May they nurture and guide the next generation with love and wisdom.

"Fathers" was created with hand-dyed fabrics and layered organzas, includes photo transfer and free-motion embroidery details. The packet in the upper right contains seeds from a bouquet of zinnias my father gave me. (note to self: plant the rest). Wanting a little something more, I searched my mother's button box and found a vintage leather button from one of Dad's tweed jackets. I also discovered a tag from a suit my father mail ordered from a "Hong Kong Tailor" back in the 60's. It reads "Specially Made For Mr W. R. Wolfe, Order No 10627". Seems very apropos".

I'm still working on the less than an hour part :)

Prayers Answered: Nina Lise Moen

Last May, Nina Lise Moen made this string of prayer flags in anticipation of her father's surgery.  In her own words:

"Somehow working on these put my mind to rest. I feel happy and calm knowing that my prayers for my loved ones are blowing into the universe. They are hanging in the dead tree. I hope they can stay out there; I would love watching them sway in the wind and change over time".

One Year Later

Nina's flags have been hanging in her back yard for a year, and have gained beauty from the winds, snow, rain, and cold of Norway.   Her dad's surgery is in the past, but the prayers for a safe recovery are still adrift in the universe.

Nina was the first to join in and "Pray Along" with this project, and she has been prolific.  You can follow her progress on her blog, but here are some of her flags that she has made in the last two weeks:

Support

Humility

Hanging in the yard

Submit Your Prayer Flags

The Prayer Flag Project...  Join us, if you'd like.

I am looking for artists to participate in this project.   The process is simple:  Just make a flag with your prayer as its theme, and hang it in the breeze for a while.  You don’t need to make a flag a day, but you could if you wanted to.  I will eventually want to collect as many flags as possible to hang in an exhibition, and that would likely be an outside venue.    I have created a group on Flickr for the photos (aptly named “Prayer Flag Project” – anyone can join), and will have a separate blog for the posts after July 1.  Just follow these steps:

To Join The Group:  

1.  Email me at vdenegre@yahoo.com. 

2.  Make a flag and hang it... take a photo, then send to me along with an artist's statement, prayer, or words to include on the post.  I will post flags on this blog as I receive them.

3.  "Follow" this blog so you can "pray along" with the other artists (optional).

4.  Post your flag on the flickr group (optional).

Together we can make a difference in the world as our prayers are flown and shared with others...  Join us!

How To Make A Prayer Flag

   Mini Tutorial

This is how I make my flags, but feel free to be creative and change them to fit your own style.  I would like to eventually find an exhibition venue for this series.  If you would like to be part of this bigger project, please keep the 5”x8” dimension with a 3” hanging area as described below.  And Sign Your Work!  Let me know via email that you are “praying along” and include a photograph of your work or link to a blog so I can post about your flags as well.

1.              Cut a piece of background fabric to approximately 5”x11”.

2.              Create a place to thread a string by folding one short end over to the front by 3” and press, making a rectangle approximately 5”x8”.  Sew a row of decorative stitching either by hand or machine along the raw edge.

3.              Choose a theme for your prayer, and embellish your flag with paper, painting, stitch, embroidery, buttons, etc.  You are only limited by your imagination and your stash.  Examples of flags can be seen on my blog, and those listed in the links area of this blog.

4.              Use machine stitching to add free motion words and journaling to your flag.  I always include the date, and usually add a word to the surface of the flag.

5.              Journaling is important, and my flags all have a small paper tag with snips of words cut from books relating to the prayer.

6.              Lastly, I photograph the completed flag and write about the process and the prayer.    Email your photo to me at vdenegre*at*yahoo*dot*com so I can add your prayers to this blog.

Project Overview

The idea of making a series of Prayer Flags has long been on my mind. The Prayer Flag Project began with an inspiration…

Prayer Flags are part of the ancient Buddhist tradition.  My family has several strings hanging in our home... not because we are Buddhist or even know what the writing or symbols upon the colored fabrics mean, but because they are beautiful and a reverent reminder that our prayers are heard and answered.  In a nutshell, it is believed that the prayers on the flags are lifted to God and spread throughout the universe as they flutter in the wind.  Everyone who is touched by that wind, is touched by the prayers.  The wind spreads the prayers through the world, extending happiness, good will, and peace.  What a wonderful concept. 

I have made versions of these textiles for several years.  My church has hung them in our sanctuary, complete with the prayers of little children asking for Peace on Earth and for the Hungry to be fed.  My most recent flags were made several years ago, as my friend Suzanne lay dying, and were strung above her bed.  Those were the hardest to make, but the most heart felt.

Suzanne's flags still hang above her bed...

I was recently inspired again upon reading a blog post by Nina Lise Moen (May 30^th) about her flags that hang outside her home in Norway.  Those have gained beauty as they wave in the breeze and send a message of hope, health and healing.

In June of 2011 I started a new project - The Prayer Flag Project- with a new flag each day.  Each flag is made in less than an hour, then hung outside for a while, its word and sentiment dissolving into the wind and being spread to all whom the wind touches.  They are a living, breathing, kinetic journal of June.  Those flags are documented in my personal blog.

The Prayer Flag Project...  Join me, if you'd like.

I am looking for artists to participate in this project.   The process is simple:  Just make a flag with your prayer as its theme, and hang it in the breeze for a while.  You don’t need to make a flag a day, but you could if you wanted to. Someday I would like to collect as many flags as possible to hang in an exhibition, and that would likely be an outside venue.    I have created a group on Flickr for the photos (aptly named “Prayer Flag Project” – anyone can join), and this blog will be used for posting the group's work.

To Join The Group:  

1.  Email me at vdenegre@yahoo.com

2.  Make a flag and hang it... take a photo, then send to me along with an artist's statement, prayer, or words to include on the post.  I will post flags on this blog as I receive them.

3.  "Follow" this blog so you can "pray along" with the other artists (optional).

4.  Post your flag on the flickr group linked above (optional).

Together we can make a difference in the world as our prayers are flown and shared with others...  Join us!