This contribution canvas began on February 4, 2022 when I participated in my First Friday at Outside IN, downtown Bend. For those that arrived and asked about my art, I explained the concept of Subliminal Story Art and invited them to contribute to the canvas. I gave the prompt, “add what Bend Means to you” on the fresh 36×48 canvas. I enjoyed watching the community add their word to create the story and emotion on the canvas.

On May 5th, I brought the canvas to Spoken Moto after installing my art. I was so excited to see various friends show up from a run group I participate in weekly called Creativity Shakeout, made up of other creatives that like to run. Other friends from other groups joined as well, including my church and a barista from another coffee shop. I hired an amazing photographer to capture the moments from the night.

Over the next 2 months at Spoken Moto, To meet the community, I did an Artist Chat almost every Friday (in May and June), from 1p-2p so I could meet the community and invite them to contribute their idea to the canvas. There was one Friday I missed in May, to sell my van, and another one in June to buy a “new to me” 2008 Honda Element that I picked up in Vancouver Washington.

I brought the canvas to two more First Friday Events, one at ProCFO in July and then collected the final contributions at Patagonia Bend, in downtown in August.

Over 7 months, I counted that I brought out this canvas 11 times to the community so they could contribute and invested well over 16 hours talking and meeting people. I REALLY enjoyed talking and meeting my new community. It was so fascinating reading all of the different ideas people wrote about “Bend” with the prompt of “Bend to Me.” It was fun to see all the beautiful things I have seen in and around Bend, show up on the canvas. I wanted to honor each and every one of the heartfelt, thoughtful comments and I very much attempted to ensure your message came through and even though you might not be able to see yours, it’s there and it is appreciated.

This is the biggest contribution canvas to date and for months I was “afraid to touch it.” There were so many different ideas that people contributed and while talking to a friend I shared “I didn’t want to screw it up.” That said, I knew I needed to get started to finish before the end of 2022. I committed to a friend I would start it by November 15th and I started it that day.

To start you need to pick a color and go. Yellow called to me as a great color to begin as it reminded me of the sun and warmth of the people and the high desert that we, “Bendites” are fortunate enough to call home. White was the next color I chose, that reflected the other side of the summer, winter to represent snow and the winter playground that exists outside just a quick 30 minute drive to Mt. Bachelor. As I began mixing the paints, I textured the work with a stir stick (from a paint store) instead of a paint brush to provide a different texture. As I saw all the vibrant colors combined with the community contributions and amazing various outdoor activities are right outside our door. The beautiful blue sky we experience 300+ days a year was represented by the bright blues, and beautiful nature was represented by the lime greens. Red was chosen as I saw all the hearts and LOVE the community has for Bend. When I completed the painting while it’s different in colors, I felt all colors represent the vibrant words embedded underneath.

After traveling the country in 2021, I am deeply grateful to call Bend home.I often share that Bend has a lot to offer, and I’m here to contribute. This felt like a great back and meet my neighbors and community. “Bend to Me” was a wonderful collaborative canvas where community shared the lovely place we know and have come to love. I painted the work “A Place Called Home” from Oct 2021 to Jan 2022. This work is a continuation of that inspired by more of the wonderful people of Bend.