Explore the elusive element of time at Veterans Pop-up Arts Cafe, part 3
– A message from The Veterans Pop-up Arts Cafe –
By Deprise Brescia
Time, for reflection
Soldier, what did you see? ~ Don Blanding, 1894
Figure 1 Artist Lynn Schmidt.
What did you see soldier? What did you see at war?
I saw such glory and horror as I’ve never seen before.
I saw men’s hearts burn naked in red crucibles of pain.
I saw such godlike courage as I’ll never see again.
Figure 2 Skulls – Alana Rodriguez.
What did you hear, Soldier? What did you hear at war?
I heard the prayers on lips of men who had never prayed before.
I heard men tell their very souls, confessing each dark stain.
I heard men speak the sacred things they will not speak again.
Figure 3 Artist Jim Marx.
What did you eat, Soldier? What did you eat at war?
I ate the sour bread of fear, the acrid salt of gore.
My lips were burned with wine of hate, the scalding drink of Cain.
My tongue has known a bitter taste I would not taste again.
Figure 4 Artist Lynn Schmidt.
What do you think solider? What did you think at war?
I thought, how strange we have not learned from wars that raged before,
Except new ways of killing, new multiples of pain.
Is all the blood that men have shed but blood all shed in vain?
What do you learn, Solider? What did you learn at war?
I learned that we must learn sometime what we’ve not learned before,
That victories won on battlefields are victories won in vain
Unless in peace we kill the germs that breed fresh wars again.
Figure 5 Back When They Were Children – Alana Rodriguez.
What did you pray for, Solider? What did you pray for at war?
I pray that we might do the things we have not done before;
That we might mobilize for peace… nor mobilize in vain.
Lest Christ and man be forced to climb stark Calvary again.
-Don Blanding, 1894
Figure 6 Artist Jim Marx.
Come join our celebration! April 22, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at Deprise Brescia Art Gallery located at 829 10th Street in downtown Paso Robles, California, as we partner with VETART, The Veterans Art Project for the San Luis Obispo Counties Veterans’ Pop-Up Arts Café.
This local event takes place at the Deprise Brescia Art Gallery from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. This event is free to the public. We welcome you to come meet the artists and experience the healing power of art.
In collaborating with local communities across the state of California to produce the 2023 Pop-Up Arts Cafés, VETART and a series of local partners have introduced both professional artists and the mental health resources available to our Veteran communities. Veterans who practice art are encouraged to speak about artmaking as a means to wellness.
Event attendees will hear directly from the artists as they speak about the process of artmaking and the ways the arts have directly influenced their health, sense of community and belonging, restored a connection to having hope and purpose, and to find a means of expression as part of their healing journey.
Genres of art include sculpture, painting, jewelry, film, music, literature, poetry, spoken word, glass, metal, mixed media, and digital art. Resources to holistic mental health services will be shared.
VETART’s POP-UP Arts Cafés are part of a statewide campaign, sponsored by and in collaboration with California’s Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC) and local-level entities, with the overarching arts advocacy goal of generating awareness of the critical role the arts play in benefitting the mental wellness of veterans, family members, caregivers, community members, and Active-Duty personnel. In San Luis Obispo County, the local partnership is with Deprise Brescia Art Gallery, located at 829 10th Street Paso Robles, CA 93446. This event takes place on April 22, at the gallery from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. All are welcome!
The Deprise Brescia Art Gallery will also be featuring two public art installations. The first is titled “Totems of Truth, Peace, and Wisdom,” Created to share positive visions of peace, truth, and wisdom through art. Free participation for veterans, their families, and caregivers. Contact the gallery for participation and sign-up.
The second public art installation is, “The Wall of Love and Remembrance.” All are welcome to come and post images, names, and sentiments for their loved ones who have served us all through the United States Armed Forces. Please only attach items that may be left with the project. It will be on display at the Deprise Brescia Art Gallery during the April 22, 2023 Pop-Up Arts Café. This is a unity project designed to bring us together through love and service. Contact the gallery for participation.
The results of the Pop-Up Cafés will be delivered to the Behavioral Health Services of the county where the event takes place as well as to boards of supervisors, state and federal representatives and senators, the governor, art boards, the press, and others including post-secondary educational entities, veteran service agencies, veteran service officers, and certifying officials.
The 2023 partnerships include the California Counties of San Luis Obispo, Yuba-Sutter, Butte, Alameda, and Sacramento. Our 2021 partners included the Oceanside Museum of Art, Yuba-Sutter Arts, the Museum of Northern California Art, and the Cal Veteran Services Center.
The presenting artists, veterans, and practitioners in SLO county include the following seeds of inspiration: Alana Rodriguez, Charles Bolin, Chris Silva, Curtis Rankin, David Settino Scott, George Wilkins, James Davis, Jim Marx, John Somics, Ken Keith, Lynn Schmidt, Richard Milo Blomquist (posthumously), Rusty Smith, Renetta Howe, Stan Hawkins, Stan Furtado, Paul Worsham, Stephanie Page, Stephen Siesen, Stephen Meurer, Nick Irwin, Jerry Flanagan, and Bill Faye.
About The Veterans Art Project (VETART)
The Veterans Art Project (VETART) is a community-based arts organization serving Veterans, Active Duty, Spouses, dependents, their caregivers, and the community through process-driven, Deep Arts Engagement, D.A.E.(c) and Art Therapy. D.A.E.(c) with Art Therapy options provides a process-intensive arts encounter proven to help Veterans and Active-Duty personnel (some with post-traumatic stress, TBI, and MST) find their voice and work through the life-changing process of transitioning from military to civilian life. VETART offers free classes in the process-heavy art disciplines of Ceramics, Glass, Woodworking, and Bronze Casting. VETART works tirelessly to connect military families and civilians through sharing artmaking in a safe, welcoming, relaxed, and fun environment.
About Deprise Brescia Art Gallery
The Deprise Brescia Art Gallery brought you, “Wings of Change” butterfly sculpture garden located at the gallery along with “Veterans’ Voices I-IV” and now the latest collection of healing art projects, “Veterans’ Pop-Up Arts Cafe,” “Totems of Truth, Peace, and Wisdom,” and the “Wall of Love and Remembrance.” We believe art is at the heart of wellness! We believe in creating art for uplifting people, places, and spaces. Please come and join the experience!
About California’s Mental Health Services Oversight & Accountability Commission (MHSOAC)
The commission works through partnerships to catalyze transformational changes across service systems so that everyone who needs mental health care has access to and receives effective and culturally competent care.
