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ART GIVEAWAY WINNER !! Happy 4th of July!!!
Friday, July 4, 2008 at 12:25PM 
In honor of the fourth of July and reinterpreting the word 'Independence' in a creative way, I took a page out of Kerri Smith's Guerilla Art book and am doing a free art giveaway.
In order to be in the running for 'winning' the signed photographic print of the collage entitled Rain Birds, I asked readers to comment on their personal 'rainbird'. What is a rainbird? A rainbird is something we need to say goodbye to that in its somber and sad way still does good by LIBERATING us and setting us free.
I received some truly amazing, insightful and personal rainbirds that should help all of us in our pursuit of inner peace. It was so difficult to choose between the powerful comments that I chose my top six, called witnesses and used a random number generator (a die) to choose the winner. Here are some of my favorites (the runner-ups and their amazing rainbirds):
Beautiful Witch wrote:
I think for me it is a more freedom-through-letting go. I let go of my expectations of myself, they were sky high and almost unreachable. I let go of the need to be perfect, to be great at everything and instead found joy in trying and just doing, whether it be putting paint on a canvas or words on a page. I smile more now, and at night I feel great wings unfurl from my back and carry me through the night and that, I believe, is true freedom.
Stainboy wrote:
Finding my grandmother who had passed during my youth...I found her in the form of a wonderfully kind and crafty Navajo woman in Chinle, Arizona, who took me in, fed me body, heart and soul....it was only when a tourist asked is she my grandmother and before I could respond she said, 'I'm everyone's grandmother sweeping her arm gently to encompass both the children playing nearby and myself. At that moment there was a new clarity, independence and sense of purpose knowing my grandmother was with me as I continued my journey.
Beatriz wrote:Turning 40 has given me a new perspective on my life. I now KNOW who I am, what I want, and where I want to go. Not that I did not know these things before, but now, there is this assertiveness to "ME" I am. I am. I am. I am comfortable in my own skin, I do not want to please anyone else but me. Call it the selfish period, but it was about time to rediscover me.
Devilmood wrote:
I think the best rainbird I can imagine is getting rid of the parts of us that no longer seem to fit, the parts of us that drag us down, make us feel inadequate and stuck in the past. If we could shed them like old skin, it would be very liberating and would open new doors in our lives.
Mary Jenkins wrote:
I was raised by my grandfather who was controlling, loving, commanding,loud, protective. He died a couple of years ago of Alzheimer related causes. Tending to the giant, Zues-like entity as if he were a child was both painful and healing. I had always relied on him to make everything thing okay. his illness and eventual death eased me into my independence and responsibility for my own life.
Stephanie wrote:
so the biggest goodbye of my life is happening right now: college. Obviously this is a beginning but its also an end. a goodbye to all my childhood friends, to school, to everything i once called home. while i'm not completely on my own, going to college is the closest to true independence i will have for at least another 4 years. More than just the obvious freedom of being away from my parents though, is being away from my twin. Ryan and I rely on each other a lot, so as we each go off on our own, for the first time in 18 years, it is the essence of both a sad goodbye, but also new life free of responsibility for the other, replaced with full responsibility for myself.
Laura wrote:
One thing that has held me back has been my fear of heights (or more specifically falling from heights). As a climber, this fear has held me back a lot at times, and has kept me from performing at my best. Although I don't think I'll ever be able to fully say goodbye to this fear, I find myself distancing myself from it as much as possible. The more that I can distance myself from my fear, the stronger I become.
And the WINNER is......
Dragonfly Reflections wrote:
When my daughter, Megan, decided to get married over the summer following her freshman year of college, I thought my heart would break. I didn't want her to make a choice she might regret, but more than that, I didn't want to lose her. Since then, Megan has gone through many other big changes and, with each, it's been a struggle not to dig in my heals and resist. With every ending, my heart focuses for a little while on the way of life I'm losing and those are stormy, painful days.
Eventually... I remember to take a deep breath, the clouds clear, the pain settles, and I begin to notice the little ways our relationship is growing and changing. I've finally begun to realize that each of these little endings seems to pave the way for something new and better to grow - not just in our relationship with each other, but also for each of us individually.
Congrats Dragonfly!!!!! I hope we all feel a bit liberated after sharing these stories and as Devil mood recommended I think the winner should host their own Art giveaway!!! And if you didn't make it this time around no worries I will be doing one giveaway a month for this summer!!! So the next art giveaway will be the end of July!! So keep posted!!!!
Reader Comments (3)
Thank you AmarettoGirl, I'm honored and can't wait to receive your artwork. I will definitely host a giveway - how exciting!!
Oh, I'm so proud to have been in the top6, I was bit lost for words. hehe
Anyway, I'm glad dragonfly reflections won because her answer was extremely heartfelt.
I for one have already hosted my giveaway last week (it was a photograph) but I'm hoping to give more, like you :)
Mari love this idea. It makes people open up to people that really want to here all about what they have to share.You now whats even better they talk we listen and we don't even know who they are.