Each chain in Translations: chains of positive energy (c.o.p.e.) was started by someone offering a word/phrase/quote that describes a quality or mindset they have that allows them to move forward through these challenging times. The word was then sent to another artist to "translate" into their own modality. Once complete, that new artwork was sent to a different artist to translate into a different modality, and on and on, with each artist ONLY seeing the one translation immediately prior to their own. They artists did NOT see the reflections written by the previous artist, only the image of the work and the title. The reflections were revealed only when the chain was complete. The seven links in the completed chain are a nod to the seven days in each week that feel so long right now. Below is one complete chain - beginning with a word, and ending with a word, and translated through various art forms in between. Enjoy!
Link 1: There is no right way to be, submitted by Sarah Himmelstein
Link 2: Caring for the Seeds, ink on paper submitted by Laura Smith
Artist Reflection: When I first received the words of the artist prior to me, I needed to translate them into words that started with theirs but that resonated with where I was at. This experience reminded me of a moment in the first week of social distancing when the pandemic hit Boston, that I began to put intention into my own internal narrative reframe. I began trying to use the word ”could” where I might otherwise might use the word “should.” I am now continuing to remind myself that this reframe allows me to act from a place of potential rather than obligation. It has required tending to this thought pattern like seeds in order to grow new ways of being.
Artist Reflection: Watching seeds grow requires perseverance. Sighting the slightest bit of green can bring joy.
Link 4: Only Nature, Dance by Julie Leavitt
Artist Reflection: What has helped me through this time is Nature, Spirituality, and Dance. They all come together here.
Note: this is best viewed in tandem with the music link above. Click play on the music, then click play on the video.
Link 5: Untitled, collage with Washi paper, paint, pebbles, vintage button centerpiece, submitted by Tobi Klein
Artist Reflection: This is the dance we are all doing right now. We have embraced the confines of our space. However, there is also a new found freedom in the willingness to open up to the light, realizing boundaries are softened with the love in our hearts. Touching nature is the key.
Link 6: Window Vessel, stoneware clay, unfired, submitted by Steven Branfman
Artist Reflection: I'm immediately drawn to the textures inherent in the fabric and implied texture created by the printed patterns. The buttons and small stones and the movement expressed by their shape, juxtaposition, connection and repetition, not only present additional texture, but serve as a "wrapping" tying the piece together. The buttons also appear as windows into what lies behind. My vessels are dynamic in nature and are meant to express movement, sometimes calm and sometimes chaotic. This vessel is my personal interpretation based solely on my visual reaction to the collage.
Link 7: Marked by the scars of experience, submitted by Greg Smith
Artist Reflection: To me, this looks like a person who has been fighting a long time. Someone who has a lot of wisdom but also encounters a lot of resistance. It could even be a spirit of some kind. Like a spirit of decency and what is right, which would certainly encounter some scars along the way.
