Since it’s Creativity Thursday, I thought I would share my news about speaking at the Second National Summit: Arts, Health and Well-Being Across the Military Continuum on April 10, at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. I will serve as a panelist for the Discussion 2: Re-entry/Reintegration Military Treatment Facilities. My co-panelists are Linda O’Neil, a Smith Center artist, and Tara Tappert, Exhibitions Coordinator at Combat Paper Project and archives and American arts consultant. Ermyn F. King, Creative Arts Program Coordinator at Walter Reed, will serve as a the moderator. During the discussion, I will share my experience of working with wounded warriors, military personnel, and hospital staff as an artist-in-residence for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts.
Ananda at Walter ReedArtwork at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center – 4th Floor
Happy Creativity Thursday!
Today, I am celebrating the amazing wounded warriors, military families, and hospital staff I get to work with as an artist-in-residence for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts each week at Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
I’ve been working as a Smith Center artist since 2002. My work at Walter Reed began in 2010. Since then, I have grown to deeply appreciate the many sacrifices our military women, men, and families make on behalf of the United States of America. I have also been able to witness the fantastic creative expressions of military women, men, and their families. What a blessing!
Art suppliesWounded warrior’s water color painting
Click here to see photos from my Walter Reed experiences. Enjoy!
When I am not working at Walter Reed, I am always on the look out for creative inspiration. I find it in books, films, magazines, music, social media (Pinterest), web sites, and yoga. This month, I am getting a lot of inspiration from Poets & Writers magazine.
March 2013 issue of Poets & Writers
What are your sources of creative inspiration?
PS: If you would like to read about my creative journey, check out my memoir That Which Awakens Me on Amazon.com. It is available on Kindle.
My debut novel Love’s Troubadours – Karma: Book One features a main character who works as a museum curator and art consultant in Washington, D.C. Click here to visit the Love’s Troubadours’ Pinterest board which contains some great information about the novel. You can purchase it on Amazon.com.
Check out my collage posted above. I wrote a poem about my Artist Romance below.
Ananda at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (standing by wounded warrior sculpture in the main lobby)
Artist Romance by Ananda Leeke Copyright 2012 by Madelyn C. Leeke
Each week, I share my creative gifts with wounded warriors and their families, military personnel, and civilian hospital staff.
We play with poetry, six-word memoirs, prayers, essays, creative writing exercises, water color paints, collage, model magic, and wire sculpture on our creative playground.
Laughter invites itself.
Tears often appear.
Smiles are always present.
Sometimes deep revelations occur.
Whatever happens, I am always left with an aha moment of deep gratitude.
Great news! I will speak about my work with wounded warriors as an artist-in-residence for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts at The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on March 15 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Veteran-Civilian Dialogue Project held at Smith Center in Washington, DC. Veteran-Civilian Dialogue is a project sponsored by Intersections, a New York-based non-government organization that works at the intersection of communities in conflict The Project brings together veterans and civilians to discuss the impact of war in their lives and others.
I started working as an artist-in-residence for Smith Center in 2000. My first residency was based at Howard University Hospital where I served people living with cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other health challenges from 2003 to 2009. Click here to learn more Smith Center’s artist-in-residence program.
Ananda Leeke 