Tuesday, February 26, 2019

WAL: Singing Tree Project


WAL Partners with Warriors in Art For Singing Tree Mural Creation

Please welcome this new group to our art community and take a moment to visit their website and Facebook page to learn more about them and how we all can help. They eventually want to expand programs to other communities, and LSAG leagues can be a part of this effort! WAC has chosen them as WAL's partner for the 2019 WWAF and together we are making a mural for the Singing Tree Forest (begun by Laurie Marshall), which will join over 55 other murals world wide, each created by a community which has overcome hardship.

Please pass along this information to any veterans or veteran groups you may know!

The Singing Tree (description written by Michael Reynolds, Exectutive Director of Warriors in Art)

This community art project will be completed by Woodlands Art League and Warriors In Art volunteers during the Woodlands Waterway Art Festival on April 13 and 14 2019.The finished work will be gifted to WIA and used for display and local exhibition.
The project will be a Veteran take on The Singing Tree Project. The concept is inspired by Kate Seredy's book The Singing Tree. The story takes place during World War I in Hungary. As the war progresses, destroying much of Europe, the family central to the story finds their Uncle Marton suffering from shell shock in a hospital. He is sent home to recover as his doctors decide that his mind can only take so much horror. In the spring of 1918 Uncle Marton tells the family the story of the singing tree. It was an apple tree that he and his men spotted standing alone amongst a barren landscape. "One night during World War I, soldiers crawled for hours on their bellies to escape the enemy. Everything had been destroyed by war. When the dawn came, they saw that one tree was still alive. Birds from hundreds of miles away, who aren't normally together, were in the tree, singing a song that has never been heard before." The Singing Tree Project seeks to create a mural to create a conversation that transforms the greatest challenges a community is facing by drawing on the genius and wisdom of that community to envision a shared vision of success. The image is of the earth, which is a rare and precious planet we all occupy. Growing from it is a tree which is essential for human survival and the model for our flourishing. All the leaves of the tree work for the benefit of the tree and have a vital role. The end message is that humans can create prosperity, health, and beauty for all.
Execution: Our mural will be created using mixed media and affixed to three doors that will be displayed as a tryptic. The doors are representative of the struggle that every Veteran faces through transition and assimilation to our new roles as civilians. Sometimes the door keeps us enclosed because we are trapped in the past. Sometimes we keep the door shut because of our unwillingness to adapt or venture out. But the door remains, waiting for us to go
through and to return to it to find our brothers and sisters following behind us. Our earth will feature prominently the areas of conflict that we have walked together. Though the earth is rare and precious, we have been to these places of war to shelter those at home. Our tree will be made of uniform scraps, medals and ribbons, photos, letters, poems, and memories of service. The tree is where we have grown from. It is our place of survival and it is formed of memories. Our leaves made of dog tags represents the individual. While every service man or woman receives a dog tag, every one of them is different and represents each of our contributions to our individual success past the military. Though each is an individual, together we feed our community with life and are integral to each other's prosperity.

To contact WIA email Mike at Michael.reynolds@warriorsinart.org
To volunteer or donate contact Brenda McDougall at yakiartist@gmail.com
For more information on the Singing Tree project go to 




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