Whirled Peace!

It’s 2005 and I’m sitting staring at a plain piece of white paper. Okay, so I have this rectangular piece of paper – it’s just a regular sheet of paper and, I’m supposed to do something with it – something creative. Maybe start by making it into a square? How do I do that? I have no ruler. I don’t have a template. Hmmmm. Oh, I remember! If I take the shorter edge of the paper and line it up with the longer side of the paper, I can make a square! I just draw a line where the short edge ends and I can cut the extra paper off! Where’s my scissors? Ah, here we go, I’m cutting off the extra part of the paper and now I have a square! What do I do now?

I think about the quiet in the room and how calm it makes me feel. I think about peace – what it means to me. I’ve always been passionate about peace and have always avoided conflict and discord. Peace is a perfect topic for me! Peace can be many different things to different people. I think it can be about war, guns and violence. No, I don’t want to think about that. Peace can be about getting along with other people – I like that. No bullying, being kind, helping people, making my community a better place. Yes, that’s a good thing to think about. But, I’m also thinking about peace in my life – what it means to be calm, no anxiety, no conflict. I like thinking of that. Okay, I have my thoughts together!

On one side of the paper, I’m write about peace and on the other side, I decide to draw about peace! Wow! I have so many ideas, so many things to write about and to draw about! I can make peace signs, flowers, rainbows, oceans, gardens, the earth, people being nice to each other and so many other wonderful things. I can use markers, crayons, colored pencils, or paint. I can write the word “peace” in different languages, I can write about my wish for world peace, I can write a poem or haiku or an essay – oh, so many things to write about!

Wow, that took a while, but I’m really happy with my drawing and writing! Now I’m going to use a ruler to draw a line from one corner to the next, through the middle. Get my scissors again and cut from the corner to the middle, stopping about 2 inches from the center point. I do this from all four corners. Each corner is now divided int two triangular points. I take one of the points and take it to the middle of the square, I do this to each of the other corners and I am surprised to see that I have created a pinwheel!

This is so cool! All I need is a pin of some sort and a stick! I take a pushpin and stick it through all the points in the middle and into a stick that I found. It’s amazing! It’s beautiful! I blow on it and, it works! I’ve made a pinwheel!

Now what? I really love this pinwheel and the process I went through when making it. What can I do with it? How can I share it? How can help others find peace? I’m thinking big now. I imagine “peace pinwheels” all over the world, making peace, making a difference, creating a change – I talk to my friend about it and after many hours of discussion, we collaborate to make a worldwide project. We create the “Pinwheels for Peace” project!

We determined that it would have a drawing and a writing component so that different subject areas would be included. We also decided that the pinwheels would make more of an impact if they were displayed as a group, an art installation, an art and literary installation! To participate in this project, all anyone would need is piece of paper, writing and drawing tools, scissors, a pin, and a stick – almost everyone can get access to these materials so it’s perfect as an international project.

We got to work, hashing out the project, making it accessible for all ages. We researched and chose September 21st as “the day” for the installation as it was already known as “Peace Day,” and International Day of Peace. We especially focused on school-age children, but, in the end, we found that so many people of all age groups participated. Because we were art educators and we were scheduled to present at the National Art Education Association Convention in Boston that year, we decided to present the project to other art teachers as part of our presentations. Perfect! We made slick “rack cards” that described and highlighted the project. We made a website. We created social media pages. We presented. And, we were amazed at the enthusiasm and interest in the project! The art teachers took the project and ran with it!

Meanwhile, we waited. We emailed state Art Education Associations. We contacted our local city council and school boards. So, so many people got on board. And we waited. We waited.

Our own students made pinwheels – lots and lots of pinwheels! We presented our project to our school administration and our faculty. Every teacher made the decision to participate with their classes, putting their own “spin” on it and emphasizing how it fit into their curriculum. In the end, each of our high school’s 2000+ students ended up making at least 4 pinwheels!

On September 21, 2005, the entire school, students and teachers, went outside and “planted” their pinwheels. Our courtyard was transformed into a sea of around 8,000 brightly colored pinwheels, each spinning and sending thoughts and feelings about peace throughout our city, our state, our country, our world!

But, the most magical thing was happening beyond our school boundary – we started getting photos and emails and messages about the that were spinning around the world on the same day, at the same time; pinwheels in the United States, Great Britain, South America, Australia, the Middle East, Canada, Africa, Europe and Asia; pinwheels all over the world! – big pinwheels, small pinwheels; pinwheels of all shapes and sizes – colorful pinwheels, decorated with drawings, paintings, collages, photographs – pinwheels with words of peace and harmony written on them – fields of pinwheels, pinwheels along roadsides, in schoolyards, in parks, pinwheels EVERYWHERE!

Sixteen years ago, the first Pinwheels for Peace were spinning in schoolyards, along streets, and in public spaces throughout the world. We estimate that a half million pinwheels were spinning that first year, 2005, and since then, the number has increased into the millions! The Pinwheels for Peace project is an annual celebration of our wishes for world peace. And to think it all started with a piece of paper, a pin, a stick and a pair of scissors! Wow!