Coming Together

This community mosaic project is moving along ... and, is nearly done. Last weekend we held our final day of public leaf making. All along the way our intention was to bring people together to create, express their cares and concerns, and be united in care and respect. 

Since inauguration day, 169 adults and children have participated by creating individual mosaic leaves using a variety of colorful pieces to represent what they care most about at this time in history.

Everyone’s involvement in this project to date has been possible due to dedicated volunteer efforts. Additional volunteers are welcome now to aid in creating augmented reality digital options for communicating the tree’s messages to viewers.

On Monday (Labor Day) we had a prep session - filling in between the leaves with mirror and also refilling the stash. Sunday (9/10) more leaves were created and participants brought special homemade goodies. Those who chose to shared aloud about their leaf and cares. 

Many have told us it is a gift to take the time to stop and think about what we care deeply about and what we want to have respected and cared for by both ourselves and from our leaders ... translating our emotions into a creation and united in a common project. A highlight at the end of Sunday's session was putting the four large panels together to get a birds-eye view. 

The next phase of the project is to find the right Santa Cruz home. 

This will allow the trunk, bark, base and roots to be custom to the location. Our co-created mosaic “communi-tree,” will need a space 10 feet wide and 10-12 feet high to reside. We seek a permanent location where the tree will be visible and accessible to the community, honor the voices, concerns and values of the many diverse participants, and mark this time in history. And... ideally, we'd like to have a bench below. If you have ideas about a great location, or know volunteers to help with the augmented reality portion, please contact mosaicswithmeaning @ gmail . com!

Compare the two photos below and imagine our delight of seeing this vision materializing.

Lots of creativity and care continue to fill the leaves of our tree

The gathering in July brought together new friends and old

to create another 24 leaves on our mosaic communi-tree. 

New hope and visions of a future emerged ...

each contributing to the possibility of a wonderful world 

for the baby who joined us 

and the foster youth who will step into the safety 

of one of our participant's life. 

Only 34 leaf templates remain,

ready for 34 more people to join us. 

Please share the news with friends 

about our next gathering on 

Saturday, September 9 at 1:30pm

Saturday, September 9 at 1:30PM

... is our next community gathering. 

You're invited to come

with your values, concerns and cares 

in heart and mind. 

Hope you'll join us!

History in the Making

We continue to be moved by all that is happening in this project! Since our last post we participated in the History Jam at Santa Cruz MAH and were just one of the community collaborators. Our focus was to share about this MOSAIC Communi-TREE project and to invite others to attend and participate.

Christi creating the board - MAH event co-developer

We asked community to consider what's important to each individual at this point in history and created bowls on the top areas of interest. Watch a little piece on our evening.

Those pieces were then used at the Community Leaf making event. We were delighted to have folks join us Saturday who learned about the project because of the Friday night gathering.

At the event, we also invited community to start helping us consider where it should live. We would like somewhere that is publicly accessible and as easily visible by as many people as possible. Maybe enjoying the ability to have bench nearby and possibly along the ocean's edge, as so many have wanted protection of ocean and nature. 

Then on Saturday... we had another amazing community creation day!

Just to share about one leaf.... two co-creators made a leaf on Immigration... using community pieces from the MAH event. The creators included every piece without cutting or changing the tiles in any way. They took turns placing the tiles and moved us to consider how families are broken apart, and wanting to make sure there is always a way to come together, and that every one has a safe place.
 Really there is so much more to share and tell you about... but, today we begin a period of retreat, where we will be away for almost a week, learning and practicing cultivating wisdom and compassion. May peace, joy, connection be with you all.

Thank you for your interest and support of this project. Our next community event is on July 9. There are no cost for events and we provide all the supplies. We are asking people to register (as it creates some ease for us) https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sunday-july-9-2017-mosaic-communi-tree-tickets-34578861305

Hope you are staying connected to what you care about and what you value. Join us in July... the events are awesome and meaningful.

...Love, Freedom, Justice, Ocean, Health, Nature, Creativity, Community...

Barks and Bikes

It is rewarding to see the ways this project is turning out to be a fun and meaningful learning experience for us and everyone involved. We have taken to calling this our
MOSAIC Communi-TREE... somehow this name makes us smile.

While each day tends to be surprisingly different, there are similarities in the care, focus and attention that people bring. And, in reviewing our gatherings, we notice at least one canine companion most times. Another similarity, often we have had folks arrive by bike. Sweet, unexpected surprises. Here we are building our mosaic leafs, with meaning, reflection and purpose, and in community... our Communi-Tree.

Our next community leaf-making event is Saturday, May 20 at 1:30 p.m.

Sign-up here for the next MOSAIC Communi-TREE day.

We are trying this free event system out - let us know what you think. To us, it's less personal but has the big advantage of helping us prepare and know how many plan to come.

Take a look below. We thought you might enjoy a few pictures of our assorted bikes and barks. If you know the names of the dogs, please add them in the comments.