I CAN WE CAN: Unite to End Abuse

I CAN...I MUST Stand Up and Speak Up

By Lonnie Resser;

I CAN… I MUST stand up and speak up to end violence against women and advocate for women’s rights. So much of what we see in the world these days promotes violence or is demeaning toward women. I don’t have to sit back and watch it happen around me, I can be a voice for change.

* The following is an update from the artist, submitted on August 29, 2013:

This I CAN still means so much to me, nearly a year after creating it. I continue to embrace this I CAN and appreciate greatly how it’s touched other people. I have felt more empowered than before I created it to share my thoughts and opinions and spread the word about injustices. For me, it makes all the difference that there is a community of support surrounding the I CAN WE CAN project that can help me fully believe in and step into this I CAN.

I CAN Help You Embrace Peace, Love, and Joy

By Amanda Lin;

I CAN help you embrace peace, love, and joy in this world.

Experiencing the art process, I am uplifted, energized, and reaffirmed. Art can transform something plain and completely utilitarian into a symbol of beauty and hope.

I CAN Love Again

By Andrea Penagos;

I CAN love again. I CAN forgive.

In this workshop, I felt solidarity with everyone moving forward together.

Stop Abuse

By Athena Godoy;

When I created my “I CAN,” I experienced empowerment.

I CAN be a good mother.

I CAN Make a Difference

By Christy Turek;

I CAN break the silence and make a difference, no matter how seemingly small or insignificant.

In this workshop, I felt free to speak about my fears and insecurities that kept me stuck in thinking “I can’t.”

I CAN Love

By Cynthia Ling Lee;

The process of transformation is, literally, in one’s hands: hands as a symbol of agency, of creativity, of action, of tactility, of power.

I CAN Be a Pillar of Light

By Edwin Alexis Gómez;

It is always empowering to do this workshop, no matter how many times I have done it before.

I CAN Love and Be Happy

By Eugene Curiel;

I CAN succeed, be happy, love and be loved.

I CAN Be a Strong, Confident Latina!

By Giovanna Martinez;

I loved this experience. I was able to release and let go.

I CAN love. I CAN let go. I CAN be OUT!

* The following is an update from the artist, submitted on September 18, 2013:

My I CAN helped me realize the strong attributes in myself, I went into the workshop feeling a bit defeated and tired. Personally I was going through some changes, but doing the I CAN workshop helped me. I remembered that I CAN be just me and who I am is something to be proud of! Since then I have loved every moment I am me and I make sure that I am only in environments where I CAN be me.

I CAN Move a Crowd Without Words

By Jeff Gagnon;

This project was an amazing way to discover yourself.

I CAN Succeed

By Jennifer;

I felt relieved when destroying my “I Can’ts.” I realized I CAN succeed in anything that I put my mind to.

* The following is an update from the artist, submitted on July 11, 2013:

“I CAN Succeed” meant so very much to me, especially being a single teen mother who was abused by my baby’s father. I feel that I have accomplished so much since I made my I CAN, so has my daughter Gigi. I am glad to say that my daughter is moving up to Kindergarten and after just a few more months of school I will be able to walk and receive my Bachelors Degree, which I am very excited about.

So many people doubted that I could accomplish anything being a single mother who was abused by my child’s father. But I have shown them and will keep showing them that I will succeed in anything that I set my mind to. The same goes for my daughter.

* The following is a second update from the artist, submitted on September 18, 2013:

My I CAN was I CAN Succeed… I CAN graduate and walk on stage feeling accomplished, making all my loved ones proud, the people who truly believed in me that I was going to be able to do it. I CAN walk with my head up high knowing that I did not fail, but succeeded, and will keep aiming for success.

I CAN Love the Process

By Anonymous;

I’m letting go of the idea that I can’t make mistakes. I’m learning to welcome incompleteness, to give myself (and others) the space for transformation.

I CAN Fly

By Kris Ordaz;

In this workshop, I learned that my “I can’ts” are always temporary. I CAN learn to fly.

I CAN Ask

By Michael Gagnon;

I CAN ask if abuse is going on.

The question mark symbolizes asking others about their well-being. The hairy palm represents abuse/violence, a hairy situation we may try to avoid by not asking questions. The
red ribbon is a reminder to ask. The intertwined ribbon shows that we are all intertwined in abuse and domestic violence. It connects all of us. We need to question and ask, “What is our place in intervening/stopping it?”

For me, this means always asking about my students’ well-being and reporting abuse, as well as encouraging other educators to do the same.

I CAN Love Again

By Uma;

In doing this workshop, I felt total relief from pain.

I CAN help women to reach out. I CAN reach out.

I CAN Find Love

forgive I heal

By Cynthia Ling Lee;

It was fun and joy-filled to be let loose in a space to be creative, to literally get my hands dirty. I love the visual arts, but they have not been my primarily modality for many years; it was wonderful to return to the visual arts in a meaningful and non-judgmental way. The most transformational part was the sheer abundance and tactility of the art-making: I ended up making many different pieces over the course of the workshop, including working collaboratively with the other participants.

I was drawn to the contrasting colors, how the deep purple and gold stand out against each other. Darkness and light, two sides of the same coin. Healing requires forgiveness, most profoundly towards oneself, and vice versa. The position of the hands draws on a gesture from Indian classical dance.

I am a professional choreographer and performer, and much of the time my work is subject to the pressures of performance deadlines and the need to produce end-products, as well as the challenges of fundraising, people management, and other logistics. This experience reminds me of the power and necessity of making art for the sheer joy of it, of how effortlessly art can emerge out of play, freedom and abundance, and it will impact both my teaching and my own creative processes.

I CAN Listen, Care, Connect & Activate!

By Shyamala Moorty;

On an individual level, I CAN listen, care, connect and activate!

Love Heals: I CAN Learn to Love Myself!

By Fran;

I Don't Have To Do It Alone

I CAN Love Me

By Christy Turek;

I CAN Teach

I CAN Stop the Thought

I CAN Let Go

I CAN Use My Voice

By I CAN Use My Voice;

I CAN Believe In Me

Quiero Aprender

I CAN Entertain

I CAN Own A Business

I CAN Grow

I CAN Sing

I CAN Be More Understanding

I CAN Be Wild

By Zoe Marcuse;

I CAN Reach

I CAN Have Options

By Robin DiMaio;

I CAN See Love

I Can Be Beautiful

By obin DiMaio;

I CAN Grow

I Can Be A Professor

I Can

By Robin DiMaio;

I CAN Be Creative

I CAN Bloom

By Robin DiMaio;

I CAN Truly Forgive

I CAN Live

By Robin DiMaio;

I CAN Fight the Power

By obin DiMaio;

I CAN See

By Zoe Marcuse;

I CAN See You Clearly

By Zoe Marcuse;

I CAN Find Beauty in the Tangles

By Zoe Marcuse;

I CAN Shine and Love

By Robin DiMaio;

I CAN Find Clarity

I CAN Stand Tall

I CAN Make A Difference

I CAN Move Forward

I CAN Nurture

I CAN "BEE" Strong

I CAN Heal

By Christy Turek;

I CAN WordArt

icanicanicanican

I CAN Show Strength

By Peter Joyce;

I CAN!!!

I CAN Speak Out

By Peter Joyce;

I CAN Embrace All That I Am

By Anonymous;

I CAN

By Anonymous;

I CAN Blurb

By Anonymous;

I CAN Be Strong

By Peter Joyce;

I CAN Empower

By Anonymous;

I CAN Shine

By Anonymous;

I CAN Travel the World

By Anonymous;

I CAN Grow

By Anonymous;

I CAN

By Anonymous;

I CAN Love

By Anonymous;

I CAN Be Brave

By Anonymous;

Float On

By Anonymous;

Follow My Dreams

By Anonymous;

Gentle Hands And Loving Hearts

By Anonymous;

I CAN Be Me & Be Crazy

By Anonymous;

BE Me

By Anonymous;

I Can Be Random

By Anonymous;

I CAN Be Safe In The World

By Anonymous;

I CAN Breathe Through The Pain...

By Anonymous;

Whewww…

I CAN Create Something Amazing

By Anonymous;

I CAN Learn

By Anonymous;

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