JAK's Place

A drop-in resource center for persons affected by mental illness, and their friends and family.

August 31, 2021

The Legend Agenda

Filed under: — The Editor @ 2:50 pm

Wednesday, August 1st — eighteen art-enthused members of JAK’s Place, including some staff and board members, trundled off to Woodwalk Gallery to take part in an ongoing project begun by artist Jodi Brey.  The Legend Agenda is “a month-long artist residency focused on creating community narrative and public art which address the theme ‘WHAT IS POSSIBLE?'”

Jodi and group at table

Seated in a shady clearing in the woods, our group was given several cooperative tasks which would help to complete the project. First, we were each geven a piece of paper and our choice of one color to draw with. Each person would make one mark on the sheet and then the paper was passed to the next person, all around the table. As the different lines crossed and curled around one another, interesting shapes emerged.

cooperative drawings

The drawings helped to inspire a group poem. Again, everyone took turns adding a line. The result is an amazing mental slideshow of poetic imagery.

Our Group Poem
One day in the forest...
A tree fell-
Making a perfect spot to sit and fish
        For patchwork thoughts
And shadowed light.
The view:
Blue and purple
        Sitting among friends.
When the tree fell,
        it fell in the water--
        that's how it got in the picture.
Enjoying life; watching new life begin.
Watching TV
        at the edge of a moment.
I'm going to cave point
        and building a boat
        Colors surround us
Going for a walk with a friend;
Eye-catching different designs
        Watching the birds and butterflys fly
While swimming in the ocean waves: I notice a fish.
The End.

Group Poem (PDF) suitable for printing

Another part of the process was writing, on small bits of paper, our best thought on “If you could wave a magic wand and make ONE THING POSSIBLE What would that be?” Our contributions were to be hung on a garland in the project’s gallery room. Eighteen people, eighteen very different thoughts!

Finally, we constructed a chain made of dogwood twigs. Everyone chose a branch, made a circle of it, and fastened it together with wire. Then we connected them all with smaller links, each helping a neighbor to hold and entwine the parts. When it was finished, we held it for a group portrait.

group with finished chain

More about Jodi Brey:

www.woodwalkgallery.com/news/2012/07/jody-brey-is-in-residence/
www.woodwalkgallery.com/news/2012/07/jodi-breys-of-voice-and-sky-reception-august-5-2/
www.artawakenings.org/about-us/staff
www.thelegendagenda.com/About-Jodi.html

 

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