We had our fourth and final Voters Creative event a few weeks ago with an incredible turnout of artists and a surprising final product!

If you haven’t yet read about the Voters Creative installations, let me get you up to speed. In this time of social distancing and isolation, I wanted to bring artists together in a safe way to create and collaborate. The Voters Creative has been a series of four events, each one totally different from the last, for artists from all media, floral, baking, sculpture, painting, and more, to come together to create a work of art that collectively represents our voices in this urgent political climate and strangely uncertain time.

Everyone’s voice matters, I believe in the power of collaboration, and I want people to VOTE! So I started this series of events and we’ve had a variety of voices, perspectives and talents come together in a way that I could never have imagined.

Back to the most recent event…

For the final installation, we had artists participating in the quilt and the only direction was to try to use a 2 x 2 foot space as your canvas. The canvas was the floor and we marked out roughly a series of quilt like squares for people to use for their creations. If people felt moved to use more than one square, I urged them to follow their gut and go for it.

The result was a whimsical quilt of texture and style but don’t be fooled by it’s laid back costume. Beneath those dahlias, hydrangeas, woven threads, feathers and ribbons there was gratitude, fear, frustration, grief and empowerment. In this final creation, there were more emotional statements, more political statements and less containment of the media. It was organized but I felt like the arststs’ feelings were bursting from their sculpted statements.

Madeline Shelton, owner and principle designer for Botanicamuse. Activist and thoughtful human laid out a series of bald eagle feathers, broken egg shells, blue and red ribbons, hand maid chain and dried protea. She explains in our comment scroll for the event:

“I composed a bald eagle choked by the chains of the prison system- a system that is built upon the systemic racism and imprisonment of Black people (particularly Black men). This crisis impedes a baby bird before they have an opportunity to take flight. The red and blue ribbons represent both parties and their complicity. The cracked egg shells represent the delicacy of life and how fragile it is- this is a problem that is choking our society.”

In retrospect, I see the evolution of the four Voters Creative installations and am moved by a realization I had as we’re just 2 weeks from the 2020 election. The installations have evolved: they began slightly more organized, idealized and feeling nearly shiny and perfect, feeling very achievable. (My Virgo, outcome oriented self was so happy!) As we moved into the third and fourth installations, there was more compromising, more community discussion, less structure and a bit more chaos BUT with a more realistic perspective about what was possible. We had so many voices in the room, compromises had to be made all with the commitment to preserve artistic integrity and individuality. I began to let go of my expectations of the final products and instead, embraced the state of being in the present (my inner event planner was confused but willing to surrender).

This kind of collaboration gets confusing. It takes energy and patience. It also got messy. But, life is messy.

Sometimes people take up more space than others, and that’s ok. Sometimes it’s disjointed. However, everyone came to share, with an open heart, ready to listen and ready to connect with one another in their own way around a common cause.

And isn’t that just like democracy? It’s chaotic but when it works, it has the potential to equally and justly represent everyone.

Please express your voice. Get to your 2x2 voting booth! OR drop off your ballot. However you can make it happen, make your contribution and vote.

Thank you to all of our incredible artists of the fourth and final Voters Creative!

Photographer: Cavin Elizabeth @cavinelizabeth

Conspirator: Annette Gomez @flowersannettegomez.com

Co-conspirator: Sara Eaton @black lotus design

Title of piece and artist:

Vote for Our Planet: Laura Kunoth @bluebellflorals

World Peace: Noriko Machida @mochida.noriko

Human Change, Not Climate Change: Kaitlin Carney @kaitlincarney

5-Cent Peanuts Floral Psychiatrist; Mental Health in America En Fleur: Jamie Kales Jamie Wynne Floral

Choke: Madeleine Shelton @botanicamuse