7 October 2010
Dear Friends,This letter of gratitude is long overdue. I started the Vet Art Project after being inspired to build a community around self-expression, envisioning a community where veterans and family members could come together with a collection of artists and civilians to create art for transformation and for educating each other about what its like to serve in the military, both with its blessings and its curses. From stories of the mothers left behind, to the sons and daughters who seek a way to reach out to parent who remains silent about their service, to the shared hell of boot camp, to the friendships on the battlefield that makes all others pale in comparison, to the guys that didn’t serve and got ahead, to the mothers who had to leave their children behind, to the choices that are made on the home front and down range that are hard to live with, to the inside jokes and gallows humor that sustains you, to the R-n-R that goes on a bit longer than expected, to the memorable people we meet along the way who enrich our journey. There are as many unique stories as there are people. And these people, these storytellers, have changed my life. I am grateful to each and every one of you for sharing openly and honestly.
The Vet Art Project has succeeded far beyond anything I could have imagined. After a dozen outreach workshops in 2008 to share my dream with others in the community of civilian artists and veterans, we came together during the cruelest month in Chicago—February—2009 to try out this idea about sharing stories and building bridges between the civilian and veteran community. What does it mean to serve one’s country? How does war affect us all? This was the continuation of something transformative. In Chicago, with the assistance of Jessa Carlstrom, the programming, rehearsals, performances, and community response are rich, and the ripple effects of the work are incalculable. Jessa Carlstrom has continued to sustain Vet Art Project Chicago over the past year in my absence while I worked on my own creative expression with a local theater production, while I traveled to various retreats and even back to college to work on becoming a drama therapist to help provide a safe, supported, and contained environment to explore our stories. I am very grateful for all of Jessa’s efforts, time, and commitment. She helped make much of what has grown to be Vet Art Project Chicago possible. She is an incredibly giving and talented artist who is making a lasting difference in the Chicago community. I hope you, too, will express your gratitude to her for all her hard work.
Other artists in other communities have answered the call, too, and I’ve found myself traveling in support of their efforts and sharing my vision with all who will listen, from people who sit next to me on airplanes, to psychologists and nurses in Veterans Administration Medical Centers, to Department of Defense personnel, to the guy who fingerprinted me for my biometric identification as I applied for a UK visa to do a drama therapy internship who told me about what it was like to grow up with a father who served in Vietnam and yeah, he had stories he wanted to share, too.
While I am not in Chicago in body, Chicago and her beautiful people remain in my heart. I hope to resettle in the new year in a place where the cost of living is less to create a national center for the Vet Art Project where artists and veterans can come and be trained in the methodology and philosophy of the project, where transformational workshops can be offered separately for veterans, spouses and partners, and children. And of course my door will always be open to all of you, my first Vet Art Project family, for a night’s rest, a bowl of soup, a story and a laugh.
I am grateful to each and every one of you for your participation, for your willingness to work hard with the rewards measured in heart, not in pocket.
Jessa will be starting a new project in the coming months that you all will hear about shortly. I hope you will join me in fully supporting it. I know you join me in wishing her the very best.
I hope, too, you will join me in welcoming a new group of committed artists and veterans who will take over the duties of Vet Art Project Chicago. The fact that it takes many people to fill Jessa’s shoes is testimony enough to her contributions. The new co-lead artists come with a variety of skills and I hope you will offer your assistance and support and welcome them at the next Vet Art Project Chicago event at the Chicago Cultural Center, Wednesday, October 20, 6:30 p.m. where you can share your ideas and hear theirs for upcoming programming. This will be followed by a playwriting workshop on structure with Dana Lynn Formby at 8 p.m.
It is my privilege to reintroduce you to people you likely already know because they’ve been engaged in Vet Art Project Chicago for some time.
Gail Adduci, R-DMT, LPC
Edgar Gonzalez Baeza, Army Veteran, Visual Artist
Tim Brien, Air Force Veteran, Visual Artist, & Writer
Gerrie Gorman, Ph.D., RN, Assistant Professor College of Nursing, UIC
Suellen Semekoski, ATR-BC, LCPC Adjunct Assoicate Professor,School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Art Therapy Graduate Program
And the new e-mail address is vetartprojectchicago@gmail.com.
I am with you in spirit and very occasionally working behind the scenes. And no matter where I am, I’m always reachable by one of the following methods:Phone: 708.715.5488 (still on!)
E-Mail: vetartproject@gmail.com
Skype: lisarosenthal
I promise to blog more, too, to let you know what I’m up to or what’s happening in other Vet Art Projects. I’d love to post your contributions as well. (Send them along to me via e-mail attachment please!)
I look forward to hearing from you in the future. And I will be very grateful for the day when our paths cross again.
In gratitude and wishing you all amazing and transformative journeys forward,
Lisa Rosenthal, Founder
Vet Art Project
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