Bluebird of Hope

For the month of December, I have started a guerrilla art project called Bluebirds of Hope. Each day I will place a ceramic Bluebird of Hope somewhere in our town of Ventura, photograph it and then document here. The first one is already out there waiting to be found. I have made each bird so they are all unique & signed. HOPE is embossed down their backs and the date is carved on the perch.

If you find one you can have it or you can leave it for others to enjoy. You can add your own token of hope to sit with the bluebird because hope is contagious. I also invite you to comment on my Facebook page if you have a Bluebird sighting.

So why am I doing this…

Here we are December 2011. There is high unemployment. The stock market has tanked a couple of times to the point where people lost big chunks of their retirement. Foreclosures on homes are frightful with people getting pushed out of their homes. The banks taking bailout money, the US congress misbehaving in an even bigger way. Our financial mismanagement is having rippling effects across the world. Some would say we are going to hell in a hand-basket. AND it’s Christmas time. I have a lot of time on my hands without any theater jobs this month and I want to be part of the solution.

Despite all of this negativity swirling around I have seen a glimmer of light. I have heard several times in different news reports that people who think outside of the box, entrepreneurs & the like are the ones succeeding right now. This is the time when great ideas can be sparked because of necessity. Well that gave me a little bit of hope. And with a little bit of hope, people can be inspired & things can happen.

I was discussing the idea of doing a Guerrilla Art project with another artist. I wanted to put my artwork out into the community as an inspiration. No strings attached: just a gift to the world. I wanted it to be positive, temporary and I wanted it to be a thing that someone could take home if they wanted it.

The idea that art has an important place in our society and can lift the collective consciousness was my goal. I believe now is the time for some uplifting. Finally I thought of something that clicked: Bluebirds of Happiness.

Based on the myth of the Bluebirds of Happiness I decided to use this icon as the image for this series of work. Indigenous peoples around the world for thousands of years recognize the bluebird as a symbol of happiness, hope, prosperity, good luck. This symbol seemed like the perfect mascot to our current affairs in this country but also for the planet.

So today I placed my first Bluebird. I went down to Surfers Point to find a place. There has been a lot of work done along the bike path. I was very impressed with the improvements. As I was walking along I saw a rock sculpture area, you know how people stack rocks into a tower. I always like those. Next to the towers of river rocks was a labyrinth. A labyrinth is a circular path that you can walk to the center and back as a form of meditation. So I walked it and left my first Bluebird at the center rock. It seemed like the perfect place for him.

Tomorrow is another day, for another bluebird and another blog.