September 21 is the International Day of Peace!

Have you ever noticed how art is used to support big ideas and large scale social movements? It is because art is a universal language. We all are impacted by the art we encounter. Sometimes it inspires us, sometimes it intrigues us, sometimes it causes us to pause or even worry. It can fill us with feelings and emotions across the spectrum. It elicits a response from us and that is why it is used to support various causes, thoughts, and movements. Something to ponder...

I was recently introduced to the "pinwheels for peace project" by one of our guest teachers here at the studio, Amy Broady, CZT who teaches our Zentangle classes and leads our monthly Zentangle club. Amy used to teach her 4th grade kiddos to make the pinwheels each year as a grade wide art instillation project at her school. She is no longer teaching in the schools, but she was so passionate about this project that she asked if she could teach the class here this year. We were so lucky to have her host such a fun class in our studio. It was a small but successful class and I hope that we can make this a yearly tradition!

So what, you might ask, is "Pinwheels for Peace?" 

The Pinwheels for Peace website  explains that the pinwheel was chosen as a symbol for peace because it is a symbol of childhood, a time for many of us when life was "simple, joyful, peaceful."
The pinwheels can be made inexpensively and easily making them a very accessible art project to do for most people. The project was started by  teachers Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan in 2005 as an art instillation for their high school. They chose to install the pinwheels on the international day of peace, September 21. Since that first year the project has grown to become an international project with 4 million pinwheels installed in 2015!

Would you like to join? Here is a link to their printable pinwheel template complete with instructions! Simply click the link print the pinwheel template. Decorate it however you wish and include your thoughts on peace. What does peace mean to you? How do you invite peace into your life? Then follow the instructions provided to put your pinwheel together and plant it in your yard...or wherever you want, and send your peaceful intentions out into the world!

Happy Peace day friends!