Lollipop Mom's

"Warriors of the Heart" Survivor's Higher--Power inspired tour calls me to pour out more of me to more of you...

I am an incredible "Survivor & Thriver"-- Many thanks to those who drank in my art and story...

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Lucky Wrote:

"I am "really" an artist now :) (I guess)-- We had a wonderful opening, over 30 pieces & lots of beautiful support & compliments... Played "Lollipop", "My Girl Lollipop" With live music too, my dear friend & songwriter Gloria with the amazing voice and song of her own... We gave out lollipops & more...

here's pix of the opening http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2009/04/08/community/kokua/doc49daec1cd4a25743111850.txt 1st article
First Article tells more...Survivors’ art show by YWCA opens this weekMelissa Hall, YWCA prevention educator for sexual assault and abuse, hangs one more piece for ‘Survivors,’ an art show that opened Wednesday in the Kaua‘i Society of Artists gallery at Kukui Grove Shopping Center. The textile is one of more then a hundred works by clients of YWCA. Behind her are footprints made by mothers living at The Family Shelter. Each imprint is made of words describing either the life they dream of for the future or traumas they intend to leave behind.


Where words fail, color and form and texture thrive. Survivors of incest, molestation and domestic abuse can find an avenue to heal through art.Wednesday the “Survivors” art show opened at the Kaua‘i Society of Artists space at Kukui Grove Shopping Center. For the next two weeks a collection by more than 60 YWCA clients will inhabit this small gallery displaying the work of artists ranging in age from 5- years old to adulthood — all survivors of abuse who have transformed their pain.

“I don’t call this art therapy,” said Melissa Hall, the show’s curator and the YWCA prevention educator for sexual assault and abuse. “It is more of a creative process. I am here to help you say what you don’t normally want to say. You can say it in your art.”Attendees can do more then just look though. Almost daily over the course of the two-week show there will be free workshops in art, movement and self-defense open to the public.Since 2007 Hall has worked as a case manager for the sexual assault program where her clients learn to communicate in paper, paint or fiber. Other YWCA programs participating are Girls Zone, an empowerment camp for girls ages 9 to 14 and the newly formed Kaua‘i Youth Network, a youth-run group concerned with island issues. There is one quilt included in the show by a Malama Pono client.Attendees will see handmade masks, textile projects, T-shirts and multimedia works by adults and children. Many of the pieces have brief explanations of the art.“These are people at risk but who can be resilient,” Hall said. “I’m teaching the girls to be powerful and in control of their power — and to make something beautiful.”One participating artist with more then a dozen pieces on display said her mother was a victim of abuse when no one talked about it.“She’d be proud of me for lifting the veil,” said the Kapa‘a resident who wished to remain anonymous.While the art on display and accompanying text are the lion’s share of the project, the workshops are an integral part of Hall’s vision.“I want the feel of people making all kinds of art forms while they are around art,” she said. “What’s more inspiring than that?”

The instruction offered is varied. Classes range from Hawaiian jewelry making to a recycled doll construction and a self-defense class for children.