Seed Project

In 2003, I received support from the Emeryville Youth Art Program for a proposal to implement a project that combined art, nature, community awareness, and generosity. To this project, I brought my experience as an artist and art instructor and also my own personal journey to find some method for meaningful participation in global and local community. During weekly sessions in the spring of 2004 and 2006, 200 Emery Secondary School students participated in "Seed Project" workshops to create ceramic sculptures of seeds. Each student created two seeds, one for themselves and one for the group project: an exhibition and “seed sale” to raise funds for one global and one local cause of their collective choice. During the course of art instruction, concepts of powerlessness, strength, generosity and growth were also discussed. Students were asked to think about ways in which they would like to see the world charge for the better and their own life intentions. They created elegant seeds sculptures after looking at botanical illustrations and actual seeds with the help of a magnifying glass. They learned to appreciate the intricate details of the seeds and developed a sense of empowerment and voice through the project. Their attachment to the sculptural seed grew as their understanding of the seed as a metaphor grew. As a second phase of the project, the students and recipients of the seeds were asked to reflect on the seed as a metaphor for a small action's potential for growth and then share these reflections.