As an artist and activist I have always felt strongly about issues of war. This may be my upbringing as one of my biggest inspirations throughout my entire life has been and is my father. He will attest to the fact that it was his Catholicism that taught him that the war in Viet Nam was unjust. My convictions were also formed by the society I was raised in. My high school and college years coincided with the Bush Administration and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. When I became old enough to vote my friends became old enough to enlist. They didn't come back the same - some didn't know why they went at all - I feel an obligation to them. Like my father I have used art as a medium to convey the realities of war and as a tool of empowerment for those who have suffered as a result of conflict. He shot a documentary at the Moratorium March on Washington in 1969 and continues to play folk music that reflects the human cost of war. My thesis project at the Cleveland Institute of Art included collaborative projects created by some amazing men who were staying at the Volunteers of American Transitional Housing Center for Veterans. The exhibition also included a project called "The Red Tag Project" that was later displayed at Ingenuity Fest 2008. The project consisted of 100,000 red paper tags - each representing an American service man or woman or an Iraqi Civilian who had died as a result of the war. They were each hand labeled and numbered in chronological order. To accomplish this I worked with over 20 community organizations from youth groups to public schools to veteran organizations. It was a community effort and the time spent labeling allowed for open dialogue to be had. The conversations varied among groups, but there was a sense of honesty that added dimension to the ongoing project.

This is the path that I took the lead to participating in the Combat Paper Project at the Morgan Conservatory over the week of the 4th of July in 2009. You can view more about this project at www.combatpaper.org. It was an amazing experience and such a perfect fit for the holiday. People in Cleveland came together with Drew Cameron (Iraq Veteran Against the War) and John La Falce (artist) to create handmade paper that included fibers from participating veteran's military uniforms. The program produced great work and strong bonds between us. The major flaw was that more people weren't involved. This was the catalyst for Paper Bridges.

I look forward to continuing to create art that presents a social message and sharing techniques with others that will help them cope with their life experiences.

Peace, Lauren