The War Experience Project: Art on a military medium

On Friday, a mother and daughter stood painting at a desk set up with acrylics, brushes and cups of water. It could have been any painting workshop - except for the nervous atmosphere and the stack of camouflage jackets on the back desk.

Bernita McKinney and her daughter Desiree, 8, were taking part in something new for Tacoma: a painting workshop for veterans, service members and families called The War Experience Project. Now two years old, the project was started by a Bellingham combat veteran who found healing through art and now travels the country to help others do the same.

“When I returned from Iraq, people would ask me … things like ‘What did you do?’ and ‘Did you kill anyone?’” said Rick Lawson, who was a specialist in Iraq from 2004-05. “It wasn’t easy to explain, because they didn’t want an in-depth conversation, just anecdotes. That might work for them, but not for me.”

In 2008, Lawson took an art class at Western Washington University, where the class was asked to create art expressing their own take on war.

“I was the only vet in class,” Lawson said, “and I thought, ‘You don’t know what you’re asking. It’s not that easy.’” Lawson started painting on his old camouflage jacket – and realized he could share the expressive process with other veterans.

His first workshop in Bellingham attracted 400 participants; he now offers it worldwide, and exhibits the resulting jackets in major cities.

“I thought it’d be great to integrate (the project) into what we do here, which is a holistic approach,” said the Tacoma Vet Center’s Elena McSwain.

On Friday, the turnout was low for the first of the three workshops, the only one for families. Lawson offers them to help children deal with the stress of having a military parent. That’s what drew McKinney.

“I came mainly for her,” said McKinney, who just finished up her service. “I don’t want to paint.”

As Lawson and program coordinator Valery Tolle explained painting basics, McKinney spread a canvas in front of her daughter. While veterans paint jackets, their families paint canvas squares to make into garment bags that protect the traveling jackets.

“It’s practical, but also symbolic,” Lawson said.

At first Desiree was hesitant. Gradually she painted in a yellow sun, with orange rays mixed by her mom.

Lawson and Tolle offered occasional advice, but mostly kept out of the way. “We don’t see ourselves as teachers, just creating space for people to do this,” Lawson said. “And we always go on, even if only one person shows up.”

McSwain is upbeat about the series, saying she’s already taken 25 registrations for today’s class for female veterans and service members.

The exhibits give civilians a chance to “just be with the uniforms.”

“Then maybe the next time they’re with a veteran, they can just be with them as a person, or even initiate an honest dialogue,” said Lawson, who is applying to exhibit the jackets in Tacoma’s storefront art project Spaceworks.

At his computer, Lawson brought up photos of jackets made at previous workshops, as well as his original jacket: an army tank diving deep into a fiery explosion.

McKinney picked up a plain jacket off Lawson’s pile. Soon, its sleeves were covered with black handprints, and the left breast pocket had a red heart with a black center.

“Once I saw the pictures, I thought, yeah,” McKinney said.

Soon there were mother-daughter handprints on Desiree’s canvas, plus a red heart of her own.

McKinney began painting a jacket pocket with her own sun. “This is sort of like a confirmation that I’m done with my service,” she said.

Rosemary Ponnekanti: 253-597-8568 rosemary.ponnekanti@thenewstribune.com