I fell in love with PeaceJam a couple of years ago when a friend told me I just had to check them out. I went to my first "PeaceJam" in Memphis Tennessee. There I witnessed a most profound transformation. About 400 high school age kids complete with ipods and cell phones and snapping gum showed up to hear Jose Ramos Horta from East Timor come to tell his story about his youth and what incredible events lead him to win the Nobel Peace Prize. I was completely touched by the fact that you could hear a pin drop while, for about an hour, this quiet man unfolded the map of his life and especially inspired the American teenagers to realize how many more advantages they have than he did when he was their age. He also accentuated how very important they were in the scheme of things. The weekend was about hearing his story and then the kids breaking up into smaller groups, came up with projects and plans to become effective peacemakers in their own communities. At the end of the 2 days of meetings and talks with the Nobel, the kids did a candle lighting ceremony and in groups, they presented their ideas and projects to the Nobel Laureate. These projects are followed up on and the Nobel remains in contact with the progress of the young folks as they go back into their communities and affect positive change.
At a time when I'd been feeling quite unsettled by the cultural abyss I felt with so much emphasis on "stuff" and fast food and skyrocketing problems with apathy and ‘escapeism' happening with young people, this gave me renewed hope that they were in fact a force to be reckoned with and no shrinking violets when it came to peacemaking and creative solutions for a chaotic world in need of heartfelt attention.
So when I heard about the 10th Anniversary for PeaceJam coming up in 2006 in Denver Colorado I knew I had to be there! So I went along with three thousand or so kids from all over the world, and 10 Nobel Peace Laureates including:
| The Dalai Lama | Jody Williams |
| Archbishop Desmond Tutu | Shirin Ebadi |
| Rigoberta Menchu Tum | Jose Ramos Horta |
| President Oscar Arias | Adolpho Perez Esquivel |
| Mairead Corrigan Maguire | Betty Williams |
I also decided to bring some love from Nashville Tennessee. So I asked Taylor Guitars to help me obtain a few guitars and I had some great artists paint them and carried them with me with the intention of having all the Nobels sign the back of the guitars. And they did! It was more than I could have hoped for…
Each guitar was painted by a fine artist and comes with a certificate and a statement from the artists about peace as well as the process of painting the guitar.
Starting with the multi-talented Don Henry who's guitar is called "The Church Of Love" and comes with a song especially written for it! Here is the lyric to that song along with some info about Don.
PEACEJAM GUITAR Artist: Don Henry
"THE CHURCH OF LOVE"
Are you tired, sick and tired of drowning in the worlds tears
Are you burdened and uncertain from the pain hate and fear
Well there's a place that you can go to relieve your troubled soul
Bring your sons and daughters
To the healing waters of The Church Of Love
If you're a taker a bully and a shaker,
A power monger, a freedom thief
If you're a rapier of mother nature
A propagator of death and grief
If you're a peddler of holy war leave your flag at the door
Welcome sinners leave your sins,
Lay ‘em down and come on in to The Church Of Love
The Church Of Love
Muslim, Buddhists, Jews
The Church Of Love
Pagans, Christians, Atheists, Hindus
The saving grace for the human race
The Church Of Love
There's no begrudging no righteous judging
Just songs of joy and all that is good
A family reunion a holy communion
Washed in the blood of brotherhood
Help us raise every voice
To the maker of your choice
Walk the walk of all that you preach
Talk the talk of every prophet of peace
At the church of love
Don Henry / David Womack
Then in 1990, Don received song of the year awards for co-writing Mattea's critically acclaimed hit, "Where've You Been". winning the Grammy, as well as awards from the Academy of Country Music, the Country Music Association, and the Nashville Songwriters Association International. In fact, "Where've You Been" was the first song ever to be so honored by all four organizations.
Many of Don's songs play like little movies in the listener's mind with a strong yet subtle social consciousness. Sometimes it lurks beneath a mask of comedy other times it's purely observational.
The stunning "Beautiful Fool" sincerely ponders the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King:
"To fight a fight without a fist,…all human instinct puzzles this
How dare you threaten our existence…..Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus Christ,
History repeats itself so nice….Consistently we are resistant to love."
Don Henry's unique perspective is expressed in instantly memorable melodies and equally smart arrangements that appeal to listeners across musical borders, and across the nation.
SERIAL NUMBER
20060120421
MODEL NUMBER
307
And here is a close up of that great guitar!
Next up we have "Blue Roses" by a serious full time artist named Renea LaRose. Check out this beauty!
PEACEJAM GUITAR
"BLUE ROSE"
"Blue Rose Guitar" by Renee LaRose
Blue Rose – Love Peace
It was late in the evening, not long after our July 4th celebration, with warm friends, good food, and amazing fireworks. Beth was one of our last friends to leave and casually asked me if I wouldpaint a guitar for "Peacejam". An explosion of blue hit my consciousness then bloomed like the recent shower of fireworks in the night sky. I said, "Well I guess I'm doing it and I believe it'sgoing to be in blue." After all there really isn't a choice, I thought, not with the color blue saturating my head. I added, "I have to do it, after all, I'm just the middle man, the channel, the telephone line connected to the source, let's see what happens."
When I brought the guitar home, I immediately took it out of its case and asked my husband, Josh, if he could play it for me. I wanted to hear its voice; I wanted to hear it sing, feel its presence in the air and its vibration into the world; its message. I heard it speak and knew this voice would resonate in my soul as the guitar slept deeply, freed from its strings of consciousness.
Blue, the color of openness, purity, hope, and transcendence lifting upward from emotions felt to emotions freed from the bounds of the ego. Blue is the color of flight, the sky, the color of my truck, and as evidence in the tens of shirts hanging in the closet, my husband's favorite color. Blue looks back at me, flows through me, embraces me, surrounds me and protects me and I am peace, and it is possible. Yes, the promise is within reach, peace.
The rose, my labyrinth of swirling in-and-out of life experiences, like breathing. I am drawn seductively to its promise then released with a full heart. My heart is a rose, breathing in light, expanding yet embracing me, reminding me and pulling me to the center: to love.
The rose is a rose,
And was always a rose,
But the theory now goes
That the apple's a rose,
And the pear is, and so's
The plum, I suppose.
The dear only knows
What will next prove a rose,
You, of course are a rose –
But were always a rose
Robert Frost, "Rose Family"
Blue Rose – Love Peace
SERIAL NUMBER
20060316413
Next guitar is called "A Thousand Flowers" and was created by two of my favorite artists in the world! My brother Bob and his wife Billie. They make "Billie Beads" and they covered one of the guitars with incredible jeweled polymer clay which they designed in eye popping colors!
Encrusted with crystals….this guitar is absolutely gorgeous!
And here is the statement from Bobbie and Billie!
PEACEJAM GUITAR
"A THOUSAND FLOWERS"
Artists: Bob Nielsen and Billie Tannen
"Transforming a guitar into an instrument of
swirling and sparkling patterns was an interesting and
enjoyable task. Over several weeks, Bob and Billie
would pick up the instrument, talk about different
possible additions, work on it a little, and put it
down. It was very much one of those "when the spirit
moves you" kind of projects. During this period,
there were lots of thoughts about parallels to the
purposes of the PeaceJam foundation: using creativity
and technology and patience to transform something and
lift it to a higher level...it is an honor to celebrate the Nobel Peace
Prize Laureates and PeaceJam in their tireless efforts to
transform a troubled world, to inspire the young,
upcoming generations to do the same."
Bob Nielsen and Billie Tannen began a
collaborative and creative journey together when, in
1987, they took multicolored, multipatterned polymer
clay and used it to create jewelry and objects. Their
work is inspired by designs and techniques from all
over the world, from Indian and African fabrics to
Tibetan tanka paintings and sand paintings to
Czechoslovakian glass to Italian millefiore and on and on.
SERIAL NUMBER
200601064
MODEL NUMBER
307
I had the pleasure of meeting the incredibly talented McKay Otto at a lunch at a friend's house in Nashville a couple years back. McKay's work is much sought after in high art circles. Knowing what a visionary he is about peace, I asked him if he would do one of the guitars. His expression of peace on this guitar is just stunningly beautiful. McKay's work is very hard to photograph because it is three-dimensional. You have to stand in front of it to capture it's true essence. This guitar, named "Ever Peace Ever" is ghostly and deeply moving as the guitar has been silenced. The strings disappear into the hole in the guitar as if "going in" and the beautiful white angelic shroud is like a song frozen in silent stillness.
PEACEJAM GUITAR
EVER.PEACE.EVER
Artist: McKay Otto
"The Journey to PEACE
starts within.....
An Awareness of Truth
and
an unattachment
to the material world…….
In the beginning…….
there was no division and no
separation
way, way beyond the ego"
McKay Otto is an incredible artist from Texas who lives and works between Texas and Nashville. His art is very difficult to capture with photography or film due to it's transcendent qualities. Among many other accolades McKay is the recipient of the 1997 Artist Grant Award, Cultural Arts Council of Houston, Harris County, Texas.
Serial Number: 20060329429
Each one of these guitars is so unique. I was also blown away by the originality of "Invisible Power" painted by Linda Marks.
PEACEJAM GUITAR
"INVISIBLE POWER"
Artist: Linda Marks Invisible Power, oil/wood
"The genii's lamp represents the human vessel
that holds
the spirit
emitting its mercurial and influencing vapor
through the world.
We have the power to unlock this powerful and
enlightening genii
through art, music,
education, or in the this case the inspiring movement of
Peace Jam."
Linda Marks is a celebrated Nashville educated at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Her work has been shown in many galleries across Tennessee. Linda is the winner of the 1994 Jury Award Artistravaganza, Chattanooga, TN., and the 1990 Certificate of Merit, Ariel Gallery, New York , NY
SERIAL NUMBER 20060316414
MODEL NUMBER 307
And here is the group shot of the geniuses assembled!
So THEN I took these 5 guitars to the 10th Anniversary of PeaceJam in Denver Colorado in September of 2006. There I was thrilled to have been able (with the help of some angels and volunteers) to get all 10 Nobels to sign the guitars, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama!
Here are some pictures of those signin.
Betty Williams signing "Ever Peace Ever"
Me getting a hug from Mairead!
Rigoberta Menchu Tum signing guitars:
Bishop Tutu graciously agreed to sign the guitars!
Here's Oscar Arias signing...
Adolpho Perez signing "Blue Rose".
Shirin Ebadi signing "A Thousand Flowers"
Jody Williams signing "Ever Peace Ever"
The Dalai Lama also signed all five guitars! But we didn't have an opportunity to take a photograph. Still it was so wonderful to hear that he signed them, which is something he rarely if ever does!
So the plan now is to develop two more guitars to make seven. In a perfect world, we'd get Joni Mitchell to paint the 6th guitar and have it signed buy all artists who have been strong humanitarians. Like Peter Gabrielle, U2, Sting, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, and anyone else in that fully realized place of a tour for these guitars as a traveling "Peace Exhibit" I met a wonderful woman in Ireland who happens to do PR and helped lay the groundwork for designing a vision for how best to bring the story of the guitars out to the world. About the same time I met someone else through a friend who's profession is to handle the sale of very rare guitars. He also had some great input about how to go about creating excitement about the guitars. The sixth guitar, in my dream-world, would be painted by a child artist and signed by children all over the world.
After traveling to museums all over the world for about a year, the profile for the guitars would continue to grow and then they would be auctioned off and the money could go to PeaceJam~!
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