For the first time, our ground-breaking art installation, Unbound, became available for public viewing. 

For nearly three years, this collaborative artwork—a soaring sculpture of hundreds of handmade winged hearts—had been displayed and used as a catalyst for therapeutic work at the Department of State Hospitals in Napa. It can now be seen at our gallery/studio in Petaluma. Please visit us and experience the full impact of this piece, representing hundreds of lives and experiences interwoven. You can email heartmaking@lifeonart.org to join a tour of Unbound.

On February 9th, we held a beautiful community gathering to support Life On Art’s healing arts and mental well-being programs. Attendees enjoyed live music and entertainment, collaborative artmaking, delicious food and drinks, and danced beneath Unbound.

More than 100 people attended this first-of-its-kind Life On Art event.

Life On Art Founder and Board Chair Tracy Ferron led our first tour on the 19th. Participants experienced a breathtaking display of colorful winged hearts, each carrying a unique story, accompanied by lights and sounds. 

Tours are held monthly to offer insight into the creation process and the deeply moving narratives behind individual pieces. During select tours, we will also hold screenings of “Unbound, the Documentary,” which chronicles the creation and impact of Unbound.

On March 5th, we began our series of weekly teen volunteer sessions, each Wednesday from 3:30pm - 6pm. Teens from local junior high and high schools are getting creative and giving back! They built hearts for our prison projects, and earned community service hours while connecting with others and learning new skills.

Each week, five to 15 teens create meaningful blank canvases in the form of paper mache winged hearts, allowing incarcerated program participants to express themselves creatively.

Also on March 5th, we held our first Community Potluck Dinner, where good food and great company came together in a warm, welcoming space. Every 1st Wednesday of the month, people can share a meal, connect with neighbors, and celebrate the power of gathering around the table. Everyone brings a dish, and perhaps a friend, to nourish both body and soul!

On March 10th, Life On Art opened its studio for a workshop on float-building for the annual Petaluma Butter and Eggs Day parade. Together with the Petaluma Downtown Association, Heritage Salvage, Recology, and Arts Alive!, we provided work space and artistic consulting to individuals and organizations planning to participate in the parade.

On March 13th, Life On Art hosted Drinks With Shrinks to bring together our community of mental health providers — to mingle and connect with each other in the spirit of professional friendship and well-being. 

Facilitated by John Crowley of the AQUS Foundation, this event was attended by approximately 70 people, including mental health nurses, marriage and family therapists, substance abuse counselors, school counselors, child welfare workers, occupational therapists, special education teachers, and clinical social workers.

“Unbound, the Documentary” made its festival debut at the American Association of University Women Film Festival on the 29th at the Petaluma campus of Santa Rosa Junior College. Life On Art Founder Tracy Ferron and filmmaker Vince Beeton joined a post-viewing discussion of the film.

The documentary has also been accepted into the Arts In Healing International Film Festival in Portland, OR for screenings June 13-14. We are awaiting word about our film submission to 10 other film festivals.

In April we began to offer Community Yoga every Tuesday at 5:30pm. MaryEllen Whitton, a highly experienced yoga practitioner, teacher and former studio owner, encourages participants to challenge themselves within their own limits, combining a spiritual nature, athleticism and a lot of humor. All levels and ages over 12 are welcome, with a class fee being a suggested donation of $12.

On April 18th, Life On Art hosted the Youngstown Mobile Home Community, providing a safe and healing space to them to share information and organize their community regarding ongoing disputes with the property and management company. 

Such disputes can adversely affect people’s well-being, causing extreme stress to a population already situated on the margins of society. Approximately 20 members attended the meeting, which focused on a topic that is part of broader legal disputes involving multiple mobile home parks and rent stabilization concerns in Petaluma and other areas in Sonoma County.

In April, we began engagements with two Boys & GIrls Clubs—one at the Roseland Community Clubhouse in Santa Rosa, one at the San Jose Middle School Club in Novato. 

We are delivering our Heart Space program in eight one-day sessions to each club, with approximately 10-20 youth per session. Our Heart Space program prioritizes at-risk students who receive campus support for emotional and behavioral needs. Through artmaking informed by therapeutic practices, this program supports the social and emotional learning vital to a child’s education. Life On Art uses artmaking as a tool to help cultivate self-compassion and a sense of belonging in youth who are struggling with widespread mental health concerns. We aim to engage students in conversations about care of self, community and planet, and to cultivate a sense of uplift, connection and hope.

During our April Arts Alive! Participants made handbound accordion-style notebooks using beautiful, upcycled watercolor artwork and cotton rag paper. The artwork was generously donated by COTS, a local Petaluma nonprofit, and created by a local artist who has benefited from their programs for unhoused individuals. Approximately 12 people joined this evening’s art session.

Arts Alive! is a city-wide eclectic art experience sponsored by the Petaluma Downtown Association. Join us any third Thursday of the month from 5pm-8pm, Arts Alive! for a free art experience.

Beginning each Monday starting April 28th for 10 weeks, Blue Zones Project Petaluma and Life On Art are hosting Caring For The Caregivers. This support group offers a safe space to share and connect for nonprofessional caregivers.

In April, we began our impactful Heart Stories program at two California state prisons. These workshops are designed for the incarcerated to experience how creativity in the arts can be a vehicle for self-empowerment and internal strength, and uses modalities such as expressive writing, erasure poetry, and painting.  

Over eight weeks, we held seven workshops at each prison—for 75 men at the California Training Facility in Soledad and 65 women at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla. Participants were gifted three-dimensional 18-inch paper mache winged hearts that were hand made by community volunteers (including the youth above). Our curriculum invited participants to write about elements of their life story and to share them with the group. We explored the symbols, dreams, colors and words that express who they were, who they are, and their hopes for the future. The women and men design and paint these winged hearts and share writings to accompany their hearts.