Our theme for May is REVIVAL. It was chosen by our Fort Worth chapter in Texas and illustrated by Mariell Guzman.

“Everything old is new again” sums up the revivals that bubble up throughout culture. Clothing styles, art movements, and all kinds of things come back into fashion decades after their original popularity waned. It’s a useful paradigm. Take something old, dust it off, and adapt it to suit the present moment.

But are there really no original ideas left? Has everything been done? Does it matter? New context adds new meaning. You can recycle whatever you want, just make it your own. Lots of things from the past are worth saving from obscurity.

What we need is a few more revivals.

A revival of empathy and understanding.

Kindness and caring.

A revival of handwritten notes and holding open the door for a stranger.

Let’s pursue hobbies and join clubs instead of optimizing and monetizing every hour.

Bring back boredom and curiosity.

It’s time for a revival of the golden rule.

You can distill the best of the past and create a better future.

CREATIONS FROM OUR COMMUNITY:

Each month, we ask the readers of our Weekly Highlights newsletter to submit creative work inspired by our global theme.

Here are the featured submissions for May:

The Real History of S'mores by Dustin Renwick in Washington, D.C.

My article for National Geographic required intense archival research to trace the real origins of s'mores and revive the remarkable story of the woman who introduced this dessert. She published the first “Somemore” recipe in May 1925, a century ago this month. You can read the entire article on National Geographic’s site.

You can see more work on Dustin’s site.

Natural Renewal by Colleen O’Brien in Medicine Hat, Canada.

Acrylic painting. Nature renews all things, water and fresh air renews me!

You can see more work on Colleen’s site.

Discovery, magic, awe, and wonder by Mari Richards in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Sometimes we need a reminder, a revival of our own awe and wonder.

You can see more work on Mari’s site.

Chasing the Vanishing Sea by Dinara Mirtalipova in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Vanishing Sea is a story about the 4th largest lake in the world that disappeared within a decade. Through my talk I’d like to explore the story of profound environmental loss and disappearance of a once-mighty body of water but also discuss the resilience of nature and communities who dream of its revival. It’s a meditation on loss, hope, and the power of small actions to restore what seems beyond saving.

Regeneration by Barbara Stauffer in Washington, D.C.

Building on a long tradition of flowers as metaphor, I created Regeneration to reflect on the cycle of germination, flowering and decay that is the foundation of all life. Making the roots of the poppy plants visible and showing the seeds in the process of dispersing - both on the body and the mouth of the vase - visually underscore the reality that death and germination are beautifully intertwined in a process of revival.

You can see more work on Barbara’s site.

Revive your Inner Child by Nona van Spaandonck in Sydney, Australia.

My artwork is about losing ourself when we’re older, and finding our power back by tuning in with our (playful) Inner Child.

You can see more work on Nona’s site and her instagram.

Studio Snack by Narcis Sauleda and Lydia Thornley in London, UK.

Our podcast has been running for 4 years, and we have levelled up the quality and seriousness this year. We now include interviews in our usual nerdery and experiments. And we are also trying to find another way to up our game with a sound experiment to find a jingle for the 5th season.

Find episodes on their site.

Revival by Nancy Herlocher in Sylvania, Ohio.

A poem.

It was all burned down

The dream of peace and tolerance

It was all burned down

The feeling of shared community

It was all burned down

The unveiling of the smoldering anger

It was all noisy a cacophony

The beacons of ideas and voices singing that blended harmony unintentionally

It was all gone

The shock numbing

It was the beginning

The revival of old ideas we were beyond?

It was the beginning

The moment where we can take care or cause harm

It is a revival

If you choose to rebuild

Your Past Is Not Your Present by Jason Sturgill in Portland, Oregon.

It’s a drawing and it depicts a butterfly which is the revival of a caterpillar.

The Beaver’s Journey by Adrian Murphy in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

It is an online exhibition about how a small town in Norway contributed to the revival of the European beaver in Scandinavia, decades after it had disappeared from nature. The exhibition was produced as part of the project Beyond Dodos and Dinosaurs: Displaying Extinction and Recovery in Museums.

See the exhibition.

Mountains Rivers Ocean Forest by Viplov Singh in Toronto, Canada.

The lushness of nature and its innate ability to regenerate, be a home for all the living species was the driving motivation behind this piece. As revival first and foremost begins through the seed of Nature.

See the rest of this piece on Viplov’s site.

Darkness by Alena Aichlmanova in Prague, the Czech Republic.

This work is an acrylic paining representing winter, when colors of nature might be hidden for a while, to revive in a few months.

A Song Camouflage Revival Selena Gomez by Dominic DiMenna in Menlo Park, California.

I’m getting familiar with the meaning of the word “revival” and coincidentally I recently purchased a CD with Amazon Prime whose album title is Revival.

Listen to Dominic’s songs here.

Collection of happy times to convince myself that I could be happy again by Julie Andrieux in Stockholm, Sweden.

This work is a poem. It explores the theme of revival after depression, creating little pockets of possibility when everything feels impossible.

You can see more work on Julie’s instagram.

Seeing the water, watching a gang of wee birds waddle together, discovering new music, chest hair and chicken records, the theater in the windows across the street, a tiny dog carrying a monumental stick, proud mother realizing that the plant grew.

Preparations, taking my time, debating what to wear in a fun way not in an I have nothing to wear way. Boot on the left foot, black heel on the right. Turn. Sink in my hip. Tilt my head. Nod. Decision. Two feet, same shoes. Yes. I place powders, creams and lipstick precisely on my face. I select a brush, the right brush, from my collection and stretch the matter at the corner of my eyes. I draw a little heart on my upper cheek, one more on my collarbone for good luck. I take a step back to admire my work.

A hug, I feel your heart, beat.

Late nights, around the table, the wax has melted on the linen cloth, dripped all over the floor, and I am suspended to these lips that tell me stories I have never heard before.

My jaw drops from those tales of obscenity.

A few moments later, drunker, I am right. And he, who spoke with such confidence, was wrong. Cherry on the cake, I have witnesses to my intellectual superiority over this man.

Pure poetry rolls off my tongue mid-conversation.

The moment my being encounters the delightful frothy and creamy upper layer of that overpriced cappuccino, and the guy who made it took the time to create a little swan where coffee meets milk, the sun right in my face, so in my face, I can’t open my eyes. I have no other option but to move my chin towards the star and smile.

Your silly voices

Our even sillier characters

Your smile when you see me running out of the boat

The ineffable way you look at me when I open the door

The smell of your sweat

The kiss you give me before you leave me, my lips remember, you open your mouth just slightly. I feel your warm breath. I wait for your tongue.

A very good dad joke

That one line in that Bukowski poem

It’s so delicious I read it again

Shit on the soup

A funny cloud

Good fruit

A sunset

A sunrise

And one day, I was singing, unwittingly. I noticed it halfway through the chorus, take my arms, I

never use them.

And one day, I came home and didn’t stop the music, that disco was too funky so I danced. I

took off my shoes and I danced some more. And you know what? I had moves, cool ones.

And one day, my whole essence will be wee birds, chest hair and cappuccinos. Here’s to hoping.

Want to see your creative work featured on our blog? Subscribe to our Weekly Highlights newsletter to find out when submissions for next month’s theme are open.