Our vision of global peace

What is our vision of global peace? What does it mean to create peace and good will in practical terms, on a daily basis? These are questions we at Northnode and at 16 Cohasset ask ourselves and try to live.

Our work of peace takes place in our individual lives, in each of our varied communities, and in our unique work lives. Creating peace for us involves the work of fostering inner peace and clear minds, of healing the body and the spirit, tending to the health of our communities. It includes the gritty work of self-awareness, wise speech and deep listening, and sometimes difficult conversation. We sit down alone and in groups, separately and together, to the ordinary daily work of peace. We laugh, talk, listen, have strong feelings, go away, and come back, even when it's challenging. We make the effort to give the benefit of the doubt, to expect good intentions and good will, and to stay the course.

11.10.2010

The Global Art Project for Peace comes together every two years.  This gives lots of time to work on the next Northnode adventure which comes together in 2012.  Why not start now?!  Recent wanderings and wondering and musings in the company of other artists have ignited some little sparks that could eventually become our next expression of peace.  Start now, shall we?  Who what how where?

One project that inspired me was a group show in which the artists each responded to the same local historical theme and each agreed to used the same framework (literally)--a certain sized box.  From there they each used their own medium, their own response to the theme, their own expression--and the result was magnificent.  Did they collaborate in the sense of helping each other develop the individual responses?  Did they give support and feedback along the way?  No matter.

My thinking is to come up with a theme (more specific than "global peace"--related to our local community and everyday peacemaking--specific) and a framework (box, chair, circle, x by x paper or canvas, or something else; invite a core group of artists; decide whether it's limited to a core group; connect to a bigger community, maybe; meet regularly for the next two years; get going...

More will be revealed...wanted to put it in writing to help me move. Paz
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4.01.2010

Karen, Marcia, and Helen (with support from Judith) are the 2010 peace project artists. Our art work is just about finished and displayed (blowing in the wind of loving kindness) at 16 Cohasset Street. We've just received our "global partners." More about all this soon...
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11.29.2009

Northnode friends, it's time to get the juices flowing and start thinking about our project for 2010. If you want to participate or if you have ideas, either comment here or send an email to HH. All the best.
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10.31.2008

Orange: Mandala of the Butterflies

The mandala represents the wheel of life, the Dali Lama represents compassion for all beings, and the butterflies represent the transformative possibilities of embracing the concepts working to create a peaceful world.
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Green: The Earth Chair

This chair emphasizes our relationship with our planet: a peaceable connectedness with our natural environment to foster sustainability among all people on earth. The rhythms of nature are represented by the lunar phases, the seasons, and the five elements. As the earthly cycles are infinite in their continuity, so is our hope for an eternal wellspring of compassion for Mother Earth and all of humankind.
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Indigo: The Jeweled Net of Indra

This chair conveys the interdependence and interpenetration of all beings and all phenomena. At each node of the golden net of Indra* are images of beings—some known members of the 16 Cohasset community as well as many others, including some contemporary public figures, to mark this moment in our time and space.

*Indra's net provides a beautiful visual metaphor from the Hindu and Buddhist traditions for the structure of all reality. This net extends infinitely in all directions. At each node of the net where threads cross, there is a perfectly clear jewel that is intimately connected with and reflects all other jewels in the net of the universe. A change in one jewel means a change, however slight, in every other jewel.
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Blue: Peace Among Nations
The joined flags of nations that have transcended histories of hatred and separation in order to be at peace are placed close to the flags of nations that have yet to find such a way. With the earth at the center, this chair offers a vision of one world whose distinct yet interrelated communities live together in harmony.
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Red: Sitting in the Fire

The red chair is deliberately left unadorned. It represents the effort to maintain peace in the midst of inner turmoil, when there is nothing to do but just sit—to sit in stillness with the unrest until it burns itself out.
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Yellow: Joining Hands Across Color in Peace

This chair speaks to bringing together the Black and Brown or African American and Latino communities, as well as Afrodescendant communities of Latin America and the Caribbean, including French-speaking Haiti and Portuguese-speaking Brazil, in order to find unity in a common history and struggle and to build peace for our future.
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6.19.2008

We are just about done with our Kitchen Chairs. A few small finishing touches and we're there! Watch for descriptions of each chair.

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Sitting Down to Peace (2008 project description)

Our vision of world peace and global unity that we have chosen for the 2008 GAP project is the chair as a seat of peace.

Sitting Down to Peace
When we sit down to a meal, whether alone or with others, it is to be fed, to be nourished. It is essential not only to our physical subsistence, but to our overall well being, and if we are among the fortunate, we do it several times a day.

We sit down together to visit, to collaborate, and for difficult conversations. We sit for reflection, meditation, and contemplation. We take our seat at various tables—political, social, spiritual—and we sit for work and play, for community efforts, and for family gatherings. Our culture has used the chair for good and ill—from global peace talks to capital punishment (the electric chair).

We claim the chair as a place of peace-making—in ourselves, our relationships, and our world.

Our artwork

Our art work is a functional and beautiful addition to our new home, as well as an offering for our partner in the GAP. We have created a set of unique recycled individual wooden chairs that have been donated or purchased at minimal cost. Each chair is painted with a different color of the rainbow and then painted and decorated with peace motifs. These chairs are used at 16 Cohasset Street in our kitchen where our community gathers for food, restoration, and collaboration.

The chair that we exchanged with our partner is child-sized and it incorporates all the colors of the rainbow. Its design includes a mandala, a symbol of the interdependence of all beings, and origami peace cranes that we offer as a gesture of support for peace in ourselves, for peaceful relationships, and for a peaceful world. This chair was exhibited in our community during the designated time of the project and then sent to our partner in exchange for their work. Documentation of the project, including a photograph of the chair that is sent, hangs in our kitchen where the rest of the chairs are used.

The developing 2008 project

In the posts from 2008, you can view some still photos and slide shows, as well as some descriptions, showing the project as it developed. If you click on a slide show, you can see it in a larger format.

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