Hope Village Mural – Olympia, WA

April 2022

During an online meeting with residents of Hope Village, one of the ministries of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Olympia, Washington, a design was developed that would be:

welcoming, bright, and inclusive,
to encourage all new residents with the successes of former residents.

In April, with the help of numerous volunteers of all ages from WPC, Hope Village and the greater Olympia community, these scenes on the Hope Village Office and Community Center were painted!

Art Resources during COVID-19 Pandemic:

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For kids of all ages, it’s hard to beat Mo Willems’ three-week series of Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems. As Artist-in-Residence at the Kennedy Center this year, little did he know he would be working from HIS residence. Developed especially to help kids cope with social distancing, it offers precious and insightful glimpses into the world of a kids’ book author and illustrator.

Another resource for practicing (or those who want to be practicing) artists:

During social distancing Nicholas Wilton is offering weekly time to make art and hear from artist-friends of his near and far. It’s low-key, interesting, and inspiring to see what other folks are doing. https://workshop.art2life.com/kitchen-table-art-project-2020/

And now…Masks For Humanity

Thanks to Jayna Zweiman, the Welcome Blanket project is ongoing: https://www.welcomeblanket.org/. During the corona virus pandemic, Welcome Blanket has spawned Masks For Humanity: https://www.welcomeblanket.org/blog/2020/3/25/masks-for-humanity-we-need-your-help-to-help-others – an opportunity to make masks and get them to people requesting them. I sent a batch to a midwifery center in Lynden, WA and immediately heard back from them. Thanks for requesting them, Moonbelly Midwifery! Others went to assorted folks in Seattle, Tacoma, and Prescott, AZ.

Welcome blankets for asylum seekers

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Welcome Blankets connects art institutions with refugee resettlement groups. Many times, refugee resettlement agencies don’t have the ability to process hundreds of individual gifts, and Welcome Blankets’ deliberate process of collecting, cataloging, packing, confirming, and shipping helps these great organizations prepare and gift these potential heirlooms.

This week, International Rescue Committee (IRC),  reached out to Welcome Blankets and asked for 1,000 blankets of welcome to give as soon as possible to incoming recently-released asylum seekers.

https://www.welcomeblanket.org/oncall?link_id=11&can_id=6e696f5c7d77b9bb0a4fc16801285880&source=email-welcome-blanket-on-call-call-to-action&email_referrer=email_512941&email_subject=welcome-blanket-on-call-call-to-action