Lay down pain at floral memorial
“Each person can walk up and place a flower in the heart shape and lay down some of their pain.” Mechel Wall
Scattering red rose petals around a floral heart-shaped wreath of pink tulips and greenery, Mechel Wall “laid down pain” and rose up to move forward. She invites others to join her.
Wall said the Floral Heart project is sponsored locally by WallFlower Farm in memory of Wall’s brother, Neil Curtis, who died after a breakdown from “being on lockdown for too long.
“He was autistic. People and family were his world and covid lockdowns took it all away,” Wall said of her brother.
Wall said: “I invite you to share, recognize, participate, publicize and support us on March 1 as people across the world come together to acknowledge our losses, grieve for a moment, unite as human beings and recognize that we have all lost something over the past year due to covid-19.
“We invite all who have lost a loved one to covid-19 or suicide, lost a job, a business, a livelihood or are just lonely. We can come together, mourn, uplift, comfort,
support and encourage each other in a public recognition of pain and loss.”
“My Floral Heart Project will be a public participation installation,” Wall said, encouraging others to add a white tulip to the heart arrangement.
“Each person can walk up and place a flower in the heart shape and lay down some of their pain — then rise up and face a new future knowing that their pain and losses have been recognized.”
Wall said she set the arrangement in Pea Ridge Monday morning and planned to be at Lake Bentonville park between noon and 2 p.m. Monday.
“Each person’s grief is as unique as their fingerprint. But, what everyone has in common is that no matter how they grieve, they share a need for their grief to be witnessed. That doesn’t mean needing someone to try to lessen it or reframe it for them. The need is for someone to be fully present to the magnitude of their loss without trying to point out the silver lining,” according to a quote by David Kessler Wall put on the sign near the arrangement.
The Floral Heart Project, a covid-19 memorial effort started by New York City artist Kristina Libby, will be laying nearly 100 floral hearts across the U.S. on March 1. Hundreds of volunteers from Maine to California will lay floral hearts in their communities to recognize the losses associated with covid-19. These layings will include vigils, mayoral proclamations, musical accompaniment, and speeches by covidloss families, according to prnewswire.
Wall encouraged people to use the hashtags #floralheartproject and #floralheartprojectNWA when sharing photographs of themselves with the flowers on social media.