Dear friends,

A friend recently said exactly what my heart knows to be true: Although we may hold different political beliefs, we can still hold one another.

I deeply believe that despite whether we are celebrating or grieving the results of the election, that we can find common ground in those pockets of all of our hearts where we at the very least acknowledge one another’s stories, wounds, and the deep layers that form who we are and what we believe.

I also believe that we can collectively  stand for those most vulnerable among us. That we can hold different political beliefs, but still hold one another. My roots are in Social Work. I am a fierce advocate for healing, for togetherness, for the connections that intricately weave us to one another. There’s a reason my art shares these messages.

I love this quote from Tennessee Williams:

“The world is violent and mercurial – it will have its way with you. We are saved only by love – love for each other and the love that we pour into the art we feel compelled to share: being a parent, being a writer, being a painter, being a friend. We live in a perpetually burning building, and what we must save from it, all the time, is love.”

 

And so it is. We must protect love, always.  Love holds ALL of our stories, all of our identities, all of our beliefs and views and wounds and anger and celebration. We may hold different political beliefs, we can still hold one another. And Love is the container in which we can hold one another. 

My work as an artist has always been to to work for all that Love stands for: healing, transition, fierce courage, sharing our light, playing big, tenderness, warrior optimism, and more.

I love this quote by Toni Morrison:

“This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no place for despair, no time for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. This is how civilizations heal.”

 

Now, more than ever in my artist journey, I feel the call to stand with Love. Let me be clear: to stand with Love doesn’t not mean to not stand with those who voted for someone else. I am smarter than that, wiser than that. And so are you. Love wants us to dig deeper. We can hold different political beliefs, but still hold one another.

A few friends of mine have come together to start a movement.

It’s called #ArtistsForLove.

We’ve created the flyers below that are all downloadable and free. We invite you to download (click each image for immediate download), print, and/or share. Use one. Use them all! There are no rules here.

krr_artistsforlove

KM_C308-20161115100635

screen-shot-2016-11-14-at-6-01-22-pm

simone-for-love

alena
artistsforlove_pl_nov
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jennifermercede-artistsforlove

Thank you, and so much love.

If you’re feeling called, here are some things you can do to join us:

  1. Create your own version of these signs and share them on your social media platforms with an invitation for others to join you. Use hashtag #artistsforlove so that we can find one another. The ultimate goal is to inspire ALL artists (poets, writers, musicians, painters, graphic designers, etc) to create their own versions of these signs and post them with their downloadable/free links. And the movement grows and grows and grows. Imagine if we all did this, how much BEAUTY there would be in the world that is speaking a strong, collective voice.
  2. Click the images above for an immediate download. We invite you to print these, post them in your communities, perhaps share them on your social media platforms – wherever you see fit.
  3. Get involved. Look around your communities. And outside of them, too. Where does your heart tug? For me, it’s children. Children of all the groups listed in these flyers and more. I’m planning to do my part in elevating their voices.

kelly rae roberts feather divider

Many many thanks. I can’t wait to see YOUR #artistsforlove images. Please come back and leave a comment with a link so we can find your contribution. 

A couple more things I’m feeling called to say:

I’ve been hearing a lot about white privilege and how women like me who are white are somehow not allowed to speak into the issues of the groups that are listed on these images. If feel we can  hold different political views, and still hold one another, then we can have different skin colors, backgrounds, and still STAND with one another. I want to make this clear: I am white. I am a woman. Because of that, I believe I DO have a certain kind of privilege, which I believe comes with a certain amount of responsibility to acknowledge those who don’t have the same privileges and to stand with them.

So much love…comments are welcome if they are in the spirit of respectful discussion. Any harmful, mean-spirited comments will be deleted.

Hi, I'm Kelly Rae Roberts!

Before I picked up my first paintbrush at the age of 30, I was a medical social worker. I followed my whispers and started playing with paint and everything changed.

Now I’m a full-time artist, author and Possibilitarian, who helps women explore and nourish their creative souls.

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