Empowering unity, diversity and connection.
Because it’s personal.
What ARE the Peace Pickets?
Pickets become a fence when connected.
The Fence:
150 pickets around our corner home
The Colors:
15 shades of the rainbow represents us all
The Picket Ladies:
30 cultures or countries illustrated. Each with the same basic face. Each with attire from their lands.
The Mudras:
Each Picket Lady has a different hand gesture, or mudra, that symbolizes a blessing from doing the mudra. The country/culture paired at random with the mudra—as we all need all the blessing.
The Wave:
Across the bottom of the 150 pickets flows a lighter color wave that unites us all.
We are stronger when we unite our diversity.
What is a Mudra?
Mudras are most commonly known as hand positions in yoga and meditation, which are believed to affect the flow of energy in the body and unblock chakras. You can read more about mudras here.
Learn more about mudras
Alison DeNicola and Sabina Espinet collaborated their talents and created this beautiful deck of cards. It includes specifics of what the mudra assists, its benefits, instructions, cautions and focus. See “Mudras for Awakening the Energy Body” here.
Peace Pickets: A project born of 2020
Why Peace Pickets? Because it’s personal.
We are a mixed-race family.
My husband and I have been married for 30 years.
- For the sake of our adult sons, the state of the world weighed particularly heavy on my heart.
- I felt I needed to make a statement of peace and how we are all connected.
- And one day I saw how I could do it: by painting our corner-lot picket fence. I’ve been working on it daily ever since.
150 pickets. 30 cultures. 15 colors. 1 wave.
Because it’s also universal.
Then Covid hit.
The relevance of the fence becomes real.
As we cloistered in our homes, hungry for connection while being apart, I designed one Picket Lady a day and posted them on social media as a tribute to the people affected in the worldwide pandemic.
Click through 15 weeks of picket installations (and 15 pairs of glasses!).
Tree of Life Mural
“The earth is supported by branches woven together in everlasting bonds of purpose.”
—Laura Zollar
Tree of Life Mural
As I have gotten older I have listened more dutifully to the whisper of whims.
One day I saw a gorgeous charcoal drawing done by one of my favorite artists, Laura Zollar (@laurazollarfineart) and instantly pictured it in full color on our garage door. I made up a sample of what I had in mind and sent it to her asking permission. Yes, said Laura.
So I will explain that we live in every corner of our less than 1,000 sq ft home and the sun really bangs onto that door. So—for practical reasons it needed to be insulated and therefore begged for the opportunity to splash color.
Yes, I paused everything and within a month I had a newly insulated, sealed and painted garage door.
The mural starts to the left of the One World Picket Fence, setting the tone and attitude of oneness.
On the far right is a quote of what Laura said about the charcoal drawing when she posted it.
“The earth is supported by branches woven together in everlasting bonds of purpose.”
—Laura Zollar
Sheroes Bench
The Sheroes Bench is a place to honor iconic women and representations of current affairs, starting in this weird year of 2020.
The first painted is Justice of the Supreme Court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away in September of 2020.
The second is Breonna Taylor, whose murder in March of 2020 thrust her name as one of the rally cries for Black Lives Matter.
The third is “Brisbane 2020” with all the wonderfulnesses of our community in this year of weirdness:
- Hair pulled back in a go-to attitude
- Conscientious COVID face-covering
- Orange smoke-laden background for the eerie September 9 fire-smoky skies
- City of Stars necklace
- Year-around zip-up jersey, even in summer we keep our jackets handy
- Green for mountain conservation protecting our San Bruno Mountain
- Giving Hands gesture, a Brisbane Community value
Pride Pickets
The Pride Picket Men hands are in the Purna Hridaya mudra (hand gesture) representing an Open Heart with the blessing of LOVE. The vertical word is “love” in his country’s language.
* indicates countries where LGBTQ is illegal.
Rainbows are orderly.
People are not!
We mix it up.
Sweden and India
Vietnam and Guyana*
Samoa* and Uganda*
Jamaica* and Croatia
Egypt and Honduras
Pakistan* and USA
People are saying…
You just as easily could have painted this inside your house or on canvas but you chose to make it very public and I find that brave and exciting in this time of negativity.
—Tina R.
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A picket fence, the most simplistic item surrounding you and you made it into something grand. It’s like you are praying and playing, seeing beauty in all people and bringing it to life.
—Lilly W.
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The details you paint and the research you’ve done astound me. What a gift this is to everyone who sees this, as it must also be such fulfillment for you! Thank you.
—Sherle S.
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There’s so much going on in our country and the world. It’s exhausting to feel it. We all need to rest sometimes. Love your beautiful “women of the world” project.
—Maia B.
This ain’t no white picket fence. With delightful pickets colorfully showcasing women and their varied qualities and cultures, reminds us of the collective power of women from anywhere and everywhere to make this world a better place for all.
-Lise D.
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This is so amazing! I bet your local news station would love to cover this. I’m sure it would then go to a national news outlet to show how people are spreading hope and kindness through Covid. I’ve done publicity for years…this is an incredible story and so inspiring.
—Margo M.
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I love your commitment to bringing the world a bit of light and beauty. Many of us are having difficult days to say the least. When we are bombarded with frightening news on a daily basis, it soothes and uplifts my spirit to see your Picket Ladies.
—Denise M.