Beauty in the Struggle
We need projects that give us hope.
For the first time in my life I tried to grow sunflowers. Something I did to help get us through Covid – it gave us something to look forward to. I also got up early in the morning and ran stairs. A lot of them.
So what does growing sunflowers and climbing stairs have to do with each other?
I found beauty and struggle in both. And in doing so I discovered a new understanding about resilience where resilience is more than just bouncing back to normal, it’s something that can empower you to grow as a person.
This new way of looking at resilience provides a powerful way to “activate hope” in a time when people really need it.
“I ended up virtually climbing 25% of Mount Everest in only 3 hours”
The Documentary
Beauty in the Struggle is a two part documentary (30 minutes each)
Part One: Recreates the events of 2020 where Steven grew “forests” of sunflowers and climbed a lot of stairs. In doing so he found beauty and struggle in both plus discovered a magical connection that revealed a new way to look at resilience.
Lessons of resilience and empowering hope are woven through-out.
Starts with a shovel going into the ground with a voice over “I’ve never planted sunflowers before”.
Captures the vision behind the world biggest sunflower print. Documentary Part One ends in a final scene were we see a child placing the first piece of the world’s largest sunflower print – in the middle of a big empty field. (drone pulls away to reveal the wonder, scale and hope of it all).
Part One: Will also take us on a new journey of wonder through events that will showcase the power of connection, reflection and hope.
56 year old cancer survivor accomplished a 2,365M climb (plus descent) which equals 25% of the elevation of Mount Everest. He did this in only 3 hours. Can he do it again faster or maybe climb/descend 100% of Mount Everests elevation in 8 hours?
Can we find and reunite with the family and young children who travelled to see the sunflowers which ultimately inspired the world’s largest sunflower concept.
Project Deliverables
Inspire
The power of story telling. A two part documentary aligns a heart-felt lived experience with a new understanding of what it means to be resilient.
Learn
Workshops designed to help people, including families – to proactively build up their mental health, resilience and overall well-being.
Celebrate
We’d like to gift fine art prints of sunflowers to people who are unsung heroes of building the human spirit plus share their unique stories of resilience.
Activate Hope
By making the world’s largest fine art sunflower print, this project is designed to give all of us something to look forward to, plus a way to reconnect with purpose.
Grow
Make the world’s largest sunflower print and turn a “seed” into its full potential.
When the pandemic sorts itself out and public health guidelines permit, we’d like to grow this “new” understanding of resilience by making the world’s largest fine art sunflower print. This event will be symbolic of turning a “seed” into its full potential.
This print will span a space that is bigger than two combined soccer fields. The massive image will be broken down into 1,875 4’X6’ “tiles”.
Each tile will be made available to schools, families, businesses and community groups who will be given a chance to take away one tile and turn it into their own unique work of art which will represent their story of resilience. It can then be shared with the world so that the “seed of new resilience” reaches its full potential.
Resilience is not what you think it is.
Life is never a straight line – people are not springs, we’re not meant to bounce back to the “old” normal.
It’s more about turning a seed into its full potential.
Gratitude is very powerful and puts life into perspective.
Consistent small wins will add up to something meaningful.
Constraints are an opportunity to turn adversity into something good.
Steven shot 1,000’s of photographs of Sunflowers that he grew in 2020. Tap to see some of the best.
