Seeds of Hope Project

2011-11-02T23:30:00.003-07:00

Thinking back...I remember getting aggravated when driving behind "old" people - why did they drive so slowly? Why didn't they get out of my way?

Well,now that I'm one I think know at least one of the answers. There are new freedoms that comes with aging - you don't HAVE TO rush any more - you get to take it easier, and as a bonus you can focus more on what's happening at the moment rather than what's coming up

It's really great being "in that moment"

Seeds of Hope 2011

2011-04-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

We've been so busy doing so much and now it's time to resurrect the Seeds of Hope events - springtime is good for that!

So far our format has been having Seeds of Hope events in community gardens. We feel that these were good for outreach and lots of fun will continue to do them in gardens. Meanwhile we are expanding our efforts this year to bring Seeds of Hope parties into Community Centers and organizations that serve seniors and persons with disabilities throughout San Francisco - and next year into Neighborhood Associations.

It is our goal to develop partnerships throughout the city working with these groups: partnerships that will ultimately benefit all parties involved and will include exchanges of resources and ideas, development of stronger,empowered community members that can effectively advocate with strength and decision on behalf of those issues which are important to them and others in the same position.

Seeds of Hope Parties will happen on afternoons and last about 1.5-2 hours as determined by participants.
We will picnic and discuss the CLC Seeds of Hope project and talk about issues that community people feel are important to them. We can decide what is the best way to work together as partners to achieve our goals and accomplish our missions.

Finally, we will plant and/or distribute Seeds of Hope for people to pass on to each other, put in their own windows or gardens, and ultimately bloom in the minds of people throughout San Francisco.

garden parties

2010-07-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

Our garden parties, in addition to being fun, are a good way for people to learn about the Community Living Campaign, our values and our programs. We are now scheduling garden parties for the rest of the year - on July 17 we will have a party at Boeddeker Park in the Tenderloin (Jones and Eddy Streets) - in addition to refreshments we will have a dance demo (probably hip hop), and 4" pots for people to plant their "seeds of hope" to take home with them - the party will be from 11-1.

We will have a party at the Greenway Community Garden in Visitacion Valley in August (date not yet finalized) and are looking at the following locations for the remainder of the year: the Sunset in September, Civic Center in October, Bernal Hts (Alemany Garden) in November, and St. Francis Square near Japan Town and the Richmond in December. These parties will also have entertainment, information and seeds of hope for people to plant and take home with them.

waking up with ideas

2010-05-04T07:15:00.000-07:00

a good sign - much better than with anxiety - woke up thinking about San Francisco and what an incredible place this is - I used to think that if my kids grew up here they could grow up anywhere... we've got it all in 49 square miles

WRONG - having it all exposes us - we become familiar with diversity and comfortable in it - seeing it all work together - how can you be afraid of differences if you are part of them - have exposure -

yet there are many, many things as yet unaccomplished
but in this kind of environment you can work on them and have people listen
you can personalize them and see how working on them helps everyone - all of "us"

so, I think I've a plan to move on with planting seeds of hope and exposing those that are already growing or incubating

thinking about it all - again

2010-05-03T18:36:00.000-07:00

my history as an artist organizer is bringing people together and forming community through conceptual thoughts as well as physical activity - when we "get" (understand) an idea and articulate (put it out to the public) it, it has achieved its greatest scale that is immeasurably incalculable - when people hear about it and can conceive of it, they get an idea of what it will look or sound like - then when we implement it physically it is not only in people's consciousnesses - but it is also in their physical vision.

with our seeds of hope project we are trying to do this very thing - let people know that the issues with which we are dealing will affect every single person on this earth as they age - gender, race, religion, financial bracket, culture etc. aside. get people thinking about it, give them ideas of what it could look like in a garden and in a community to plant seeds of hope both figuratively and literally, let them know how what we are doing is so universal it is incomprehensible, bring them in to participate in the visual and conceptual rewards of activities that bring us together while enriching our lives right up to the very end

we have been planting seeds of hope for well over a year now - more people are starting to hear about this project and signs of hope are increasing - it's a long, long process - but we are creating community from the grass roots (the best place at which to start) and taking our creation right up to the level beyond which one cannot go....

thinking about it all

2010-04-22T23:35:00.000-07:00

It's so wonderful to see people appreciate what we're doing - getting out into the community, letting people know what we're doing, inviting them to participate with us and their friends and acquaintances- seeing smiles and new and more adventurous feelings in people who have tried us out and then joined us more often and finally become more active and communicating in ways they have not done so before ...

our next step is to really reach out not only to garden managers and the gardeners (via the managers) but to reach out to community organizations (churches, community centers, schools, senior housing, hospitals - ) - in the communities where we're having social events

it's a daunting task and we have to be patient (not easy for me) and trust that the continuing grass roots work will be more effective than one big activity precisely because people see, personalize and empathize with the concepts that we are supporting

every single one of us will deal with these issues in our lifetimes -

so come on out people
come on out artists
help create and enjoy community
connect with us and each other
it's a great feeling
and we can all make it pay off

2010-02-24T13:14:00.000-08:00

what do we do at the Community Living Campaign?

stage garden parties that bring people together creating the potential for new relationships

create tyze personal networks which facilitate connecting with people- old and new friends and family

sow seeds of hope - sharing and demonstrating our hopes and values for our lives

promote aging in communities of choice

agree that we should all be having fun

meet new people

help each other realize our potential

support each other in making contributions to our communities

enable/empower

give

receive

teach

learn

create

Garden Parties Galore

2010-02-01T12:31:00.000-08:00

Things are going very well - the positive response to participating in the Garden Party Circuit is very gratifying.

We'll be having a "Coffee in the Garden" party at On Lok on 30th Street on Saturday February 20 from 10-12 - theirs is a stunning garden with plenty of accessibility - in addition to morning coffee we'll have informational talks on gardens as requested and even, we hope, some entertainment.

Beyond that - on March 13 we're planning a party at the Park Street Garden in the Mission - a garden that is also fully accessible including the planting beds for those in wheelchairs who want to "grow"

In addition to being lots of fun the garden parties are important because as they spread throughout San Francisco more and more people learn about our vision at a grass roots, personal level and that vision is becoming a reality: isolated individuals can be included in and can make contributions to their communities - and they can live happy, healthy lives with services they need in communities of their choice.

So plant some seeds of hope with us and come to our parties to enjoy and support each other and our communities ...

Another Lovely Gathering at Arlington Community Garden

2009-12-20T22:29:00.000-08:00

A lovely day, wonderful food, a chance to meet new folks and spend time just hangin' out together. Thanks, Judy and everyone else who helped out.

Michelle

2009-12-09T14:38:00.000-08:00

well, after some consternation and working with bureaucracy we finally got the event for Michelle together

Story: we talked with Michelle to see what she would like to do and after mulling it over it was decided that we would organize a barbecue for last Saturday, Dec. 5. We told Michelle to invite whoever she wanted, we scouted the available sites and decided on one, we got the menu together, and, unable to locate Michelle's "social worker" who, we were told, could get the approval we needed, we went to people we know at LHH - and, on Friday, Michelle distributed flyers to everyone on her ward.

We thought we were all set until we got a flurry of phone calls from the Doctor and activity therapist on Michelle's ward. "you're having a barbecue and we didn't know about it..." "there's protocol..." "how are people getting there??"

Although it wasn't a barbecue (this time) we ended up having a great party (bingo, pulled pork, steak, hot links, potato salad, cole slaw, 2 cakes, etc) in a wonderful space on the 7th floor - we must have had at least 15 people plus those who dropped by accidentally (?) - and, now we know how to get it done the way we want - a little weary but very gratifying

Jose

2009-12-09T14:22:00.001-08:00

met with Jose today and he and I went to Corneta on Mission St. where we are having a get-together for his friends on Wed. Dec. 16 - from 4-6 in the afternoon
Please join us
We'll host the food, you can host your drinks
It was fun talking with him as he had his Tamarind drink (good for the GI system) and I had my favorite -
melon
he and I also discussed tennis - point systems, the courts (clay,cement,grass,wood, etc) there's always something interesting coming from him

Jose continues to work on his justice campaign and is constantly finding new angles -

GARDEN AT UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO

2009-11-15T13:14:00.000-08:00

Met with David Silver at USF on Thursday, Nov. 12 - a very interesting man with diversified interests. He is an assistant professor of media studies and the director of the Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies at the University of San Francisco. David's teaching and research interests include digital media, contemporary cultures, and social movements. He teaches Digital Democracy, Digital Journalism, and Intro to Media Studies.

In addition he is in charge of the students' garden at USF - they have been growing, donating and receiving donations for their organic foods for a long time now.

I wanted to talk with David as he is part of a large program at USF in which students participate in communities - We talked about the "commonality" of gardens and discussed the network of community gardens in the city and the people who are not involved presently, but who could benefit from and enhance these communities - along with the gardeners.

We discussed how I, as an artist, work with community as my medium and how this project - sowing seeds of hope throughout San Francisco - has become a "piece. " The Community Living Campaign has introduced the concept of a city sown with seeds of hope in the 150+ gardens that exist here. Each garden becomes a "Seeds of Hope Garden/Community" and designated as such with a small sign stating so (only with the agreement of the gardeners). The image of all of these "designated" gardens throughout the city has become a visual and mental concept to all who hear about it. It has created a bond - they become a group with something in common, the vision spreads as they talk about it - the piece is realized and new communities are formed as existing ones grow larger.

We don't want ownership of any of the gardens - we want to see isolated seniors and people with disabilities included in the lives of their communities - sharing what they have to give and becoming active participants in the communities in which they choose to live and age.

And we want to invite gardeners and isolated people to garden parties, staged and produced entirely by the Community Living Campaign, in as many neighborhoods as will have us - the vision grows.

seedy people

2009-11-10T07:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday a fine group of people got together to fill and label 500 bags with native California wildflower seeds. These "seeds of hope" packets will be placed in the gift bags of those who attend the 30th Anniversary event of the Women's Foundation of California -

Our mission, which is to make it possible for isolated people with disabilities and seniors to live happy, safe lives in the communities of their choice, becomes more realizable as we sow "seeds of hope" in minds and gardens all over San Francisco.

Join us...

visiting LHH - giving and receiving

2009-11-07T09:35:00.000-08:00

went to visit M at LHH yesterday and took with me 2 students from USF - one of whom is a member of the Artist as Citizen class there. We talked for a while about what they do and what I do and am doing - how establishing a "vision" in the minds of the community can create community - while at the same time establishing a "visual" in people's minds - the visual concept, while not a "hard copy," becomes the art...

so we went to see M and talked about sowing seeds of hope through the establishment of garden parties throughout San Francisco - M and K(from USF) will work together to get the LHH party together - M already has recruited participants and I have talked with S from LHH about having peer mentors and their mentees join us

we all learned something yesterday

we're growing

2009-11-05T10:18:00.000-08:00

garden parties are growing - we're looking to do one next at Laguna Honda Hospital with a woman who has a network there - she is quite independent and very capable and we have talked about her bringing together people from the hospital who are isolated and without much social contact - also staff members who see the importance in what we're doing - having fun, having friends, having responsibilities within our means to accomplish them - all are contributers to good health and to empowerment -

more, later, on:
Pete
Arlington Community Garden
the Garden Party process
why an event is considered art (do we understand what art is?)
moving people
is a vision implanted the same as a sculpture or painting (or better?)? what would Cicero say?
recruiting gardens and neighborhoods
dogs

2009-11-03T22:52:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's so cool! The Seeds of Hope Project now has its own real blog. I've posted pictures from our first Seeds of Hope Garden Party in the OMI, which was great. And I'm looking forward to our gathering next week to put together 500 seed packets for the gift bags at the Women's Foundation of California event.