A WISH PROJECTby

Donna Skonning2013

A WISH PROJECTInspired by Yoko Ono and the students of St. Francis Xavier School,

LaGrange, Illinois. February, 2013

By Donna Skonning

Wish Tree

Make and wish.Write it down on a piece of paper.Fold it and tie it around a branchof the wish tree.Ask your friend to do the same.Keep wishing.

Yoko Ono2012

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Dear Mrs. Rodde,

Attached is a proposal asking for permission to complete an art installation at SFX. I am cur-rently a Junior in my second Bachelors degree. Th is is my fourth year at Columbia College Chi-cago where I am working on completing my BFA.

My main emphasis is painting, but many of my classes ask that I explore sculpture and installa-tion art. Th e project that I would like to install at SFX comes from my art in new Media class. Th ere is a strong spiritual infl uence in much of my art, which is why I am interested in complet-ing this project at SFX. I am also interested in expressing the needs of others in my work which helps me to feel that I am giving back to the community.

Th e project would consist of:1. Allowing me to sit in the space for an hour and observe. Any space that you think is appropri-ate would be fi ne. (As long as I’m not stuck in a closet, I’m a little claustrophobic.)

2. Placing a potted tree in the space that I observed and having students, teachers, visitors in-teract by writing down a wish and tying it to the tree. I could be present during the writing and tying or not. Th is could possibly be done the day before Valentines day (I have class on Valentines day), so that it could be admired and read on Valentines day.

I would take pictures of the space to show my class, and take the tree down aft er valentines day.I intend on using the pieces of paper in future art work that follows the same theme of making a wish. I would ask that the kids make the wishes anonymously, or just use their fi rst name.

I understand that there may be reasons that this project is not possible. If it doesn’t work out I will pursue other venues. Th anks for your consideration.

Sincerely,Donna Skonning

Please see attached photos, these photos are taken of the artwork of Yoko Ono (peace activist and artist, in 1996. She set up a wish tree in a public space.

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Wish Categories: Peace 9 Animals 13 Poverty 17 Sports 21 Money 25 Travel 29 School 33 Family 37 Illness 41 Miscellaneous 45

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Peace9

WORLD PEACE! WORLD PEACE. WORLD PEACE. I WHISH FOR PEACE ON EARTH. I WHISH THERE WAS NO VIOLENCE IN THE WORLD. I WISH FOR PEACE. I WISH THERE WAS PEACE IN THE WORLD AND EVERYONE WAS TREATED EQUAL-LY. WORLD PEACE. WORLD PEACE. I WISH FOR PEACE. WORLD PEACE. I WISH THAT THERE ARE NO MORE WARS AND FOR WORLD PEACE. WORLD PEACE.

I WOULD WISH FOR WORLD PEACE. I WISH THAT THERE WILL BE NO MORE WARS. I WISH FOR WORLD PEACE. WORLD PEACE :). I WISH TO HAVE NO VIOLENCE. I WISH FOR PEACE IN THE WORLD. IF I HAD ONE WITH, I WOULD WISH FOR PEACE. I WISH FOR WORLD PEACE. WORLD PEACE. FOR EVERYONE IN THE WORLD TO BE SAFE. I WISH THAT PEOPLE WOULD STOP HURTING OTHERS. AN END TO VIOLENCE. WORLD PEACE.

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Animals13

I WISH I HAD A PUPPY. I’LL HAVE A SHELTER FOR DOG PUPPIES CATS AND KITTENS. I WISH I HAD 7000000 TURTLES. I WISH I HAD A PARROT. TO BE A SQUIRREL. I WISH I COULD GET A BIG PANDA BEAR. I WISH I HAD A DOG. I WISH I HAD A PUPPY. I WISH I HAD A PLATY-PUS. I WISH I HAD A PUPPY (FRENCH BULL-DOG). I WISH I HAD A PET SNAKE. I WISH FOR MY OWN HORSE TO TAKE CARE OF AND IT WILL BE A PAINT KIND AND ALL HORSES WOULD BE FREE. MY WISH IS TO GET A DOG. I WISH I HAD A WHITE DOG WITH BROWN EARS. I WISH MY DOG WOULDN’T BARK SO MUCH. I WISH FOR THIS PUPPY THAT I SAW NAMED TEDDY BE-CAUSE I LOVE AND MISS HIM. I WISH TO GET A MONKEY. I WANT A TURTLE. I WISH I HAD A LION CUB. I WISH FOR A MONKEY THAT WOULD HELP PEOPLE. I WISH I HAD A PET THAT I COULD HOLD. I WISH FOR A CHESTNUT HORSE. I WISH FOR A GOLDEN COCKER RETRIEVER. MY WISH IS I COULD HAVE MY DOG MURPHY COME BACK AND LIVE I COULD PLAY WITH HIM AND FEED HIM I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE HIM WALKS AND I WOULD LOVE TO CUDDLE WITH HIM. I WISH FOR A 3RD DOG. I WISH THAT NO ANI-MALS WOULD BE NEGLECTED OR UNLOVED AND THAT ALL ANIMALS HAVE GOOD HOMES. I WISH TO GET AN ATHLETIC DOG. I WISH I HAD A DOG TO PLAY WITH EVERY SINGLE DAY.

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Poverty

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I WISH FOR NO POLLUTION IN BIG CITIES LIKE CHICAGO OR IT WOULD BE A BIG FINE. I WISH FOR A BETTER ECONOMIC SITUATION. I WISH THAT WE COULD FIND A SOLUTION TO GLOBAL WARMING. I WISH THAT THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS LITTERING. I WISH THAT ALL PEOPLE WOULD HAVE FOOD AND SHELTER. I WISH THAT WORLD HUNGER WOULD END. I WISH FOR POVERTY TO STOP. I WISH THAT NO ONE WAS POOR. I WISH THERE WOULD BE NO MORE HOMELESS PEOPLE. I WISH THAT NO ONE IN THE WORLD WOULD EVER GO HUNGRY. I WISH THERE WAS NO LITTERING OR STEALING. I WISH THAT GLOBAL WARMING WOULD STOP. I WISH THERE WAS NO FAMINE OR DRAUGHT IN THE WORLD. I WISH FOR AN END TO POVERTY. I WISH EVERYONE HAD A HOME AND FOOD. I WISH FOR SAFETY AND PROTECTION FOR ALL PEOPLE. I WISH THERE WILL BE NO MORE POVERTY. I WISH HUNGER WOULD END. I WISH FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T HAVE HOMES TO GET HOMES AND FOR PEOPLE THAT DON’T HAVE COATS AND SHOES GET THEM.

I WISH THAT EVERYONE WILL HAVE A HOME TO STAY IN AND TO BE ABLE TO GO HOME TO A DINNER. I WISH THAT NO ONE WILL GO HUNGRY AND EVERY-ONE WILL HAVE AVAILABLE FOOD. I WISH THAT ADULTS AND CHIL-DREN WOULD HAVE RESPECT FOR EACHOTHER. FOR PEACE AMONG PEOPLE THE END TO HUNGER IN ALL LANDS. I WISH THAT EVERYONE COULD GET ALONG! I WISH THAT EVERYONE WAS TREATED EQUALLY. I WISH FOR THE GENOCIDE IN DAR-FUR TO BE STOPPED. I WISH THAT PEOPLE WOULD NOT BUL-LY. I WISH THAT THE WORLD WOULD BE A BETTER PLACE. I WISH EVERYTHING WAS FAIR. I WISH THAT EVERYONE COULD GET A GOOD EDUCATION. I WISH FOR GAY MARRIAGE TO BE LEGAL IN ALL 50 STATES. I WISH THAT PEOPLE WOULD NOT WASTE ENERGY. I WISH TO END HUNGER. I WISH THAT EVERYONE CAN BE SAFE. I WISH TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

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Sports21

I WISH TO MEET DERRICK ROSE OR KEVIN DURANT. I WISH THAT I WILL BE A PROFES-SIONAL VOLLEYBALL PLAYER. I WISH THAT I WILL BE A PRO BASKETBALL PLAYER. I WISH THAT I WILL GET TO THE MAJOR LEAGUES. I WISH MY HOCKEY TEAM WOULD WIN A GAME. I Wish I COULD BE A PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PLAYER. I WISH I COULD HAVE TICKETS TO EVERY MSU GAME, BLACK-HAWKS GAME, AND BEARS GAME. I WISH I WAS A PRO SOCCER PLAYER. I WISH THAT I WILL GET AN A+ IN MATH, AND TO BE IN THE OLYMPICS FOR GYMNASTICS. I WISH THAT SOME DAY I WILL BECOME A PRO SOFT-BALL PLAYER. I WISH I CAN BECOME THE NEXT AMAZING NBA BASKETBALL PLAYER. I WISH I COULD GO TO A SUPERBOWL. I WANT TO PLAY NFL FOOTBALL FOR THE ARIZONA CARDINALS. I WISH THAT I WAS A CHICAGO HOCKEY PLAYER TEAM CAPTAIN. I WISH THAT I COULD BE THE BEST SOCCER PLAYER ON MY TEAM. I WISH I COULD MAKE THAT VOL-LEYBALL TEAM I TRIED OUT FOR. I WISH I CAN BE AN AMAZING GYMNAST LIKE GABBY DOUGLAS. TO PLAY IN THE NHL.TO BE IN THE NBA. I WISH I COULD DO AN ARIEL A BACK-WALKOVER AND A FLIP FLOP ON MATS. TO WIN 1ST OVERALL AT MY DANCE COMPE-TITION. WIN A GOLF TOURNAMENT. TO GO TO THE OLYMPICS. I WISH I HAD ALL THE KEVIN DURANT BASKETBALL SHOES IN THE WORLD. I WISH I WAS A FLEXIBLE GYMNAST.

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Money25

I WISH FOR A TON OF MON-EY. I WISH I WAS RICH. I WISH I COULD BE A BILLIONAIRE AND GIVE A LOT OF MONEY TO CHARITY. I WANT TO WIN THE LOTTERY. BE A MILLION-AIRE WITH SUPERPOWERS. I WISH I HAD A MILLION DOL-LARS. I WISH I COULD HAVE $3 MILLION DOLLARS. MY WISH IS TO WIN THE LOT-TERY:). I WISH FOR A MIL-LION DOLLARS. I WISH I HAD 100,000,000,000 DOLLARS. I WISH TO GET EVERYTHING THAT I WANT. I WISH THAT ALL MY WISHES WOULD COME TRUE. I WISH I HAD A LOT OF MONEY. I WISH I WAS A BILLIONAIRE. I WISH I HAD A BILLION DOLLARS AND MORE GENIES. I WISH FOR A LOT OF MONEY. I WISH THAT I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS. I WISH I HAD 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. I WISH I HAD MORE TIME AND MORE MONEY. I WISH I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS. $ I WISH I WOULD WIN THE LOT-TERY$. I WISH I WAS RICH.27

School29

I WISH TO GET GOOD GRADES IN HIGH SCHOOL. I WISH TO PASS THE SCIENCE TEST. I WISH THAT I COULD GET STRAIGHT A’S. I WISH I HAD TWO MONTHS OF SCHOOL. I WISH THAT MY SON WILL GET INTO THE COLLEGE OF HIS CHOICE. I WANT TO GO TO HARVARD. I WISH THAT OUR CLASS WOULD STOP TALKING SO WE COULD GET OUR WORK DONE. I WISH I WILL GET INTO ST. IGNATIOUS. I WISH TO GET GOOD GRADES IN HIGH SCHOOL. I WISH THAT SCHOOL WAS ONLY 4 DAYS AND WEEK-ENDS WERE 3 DAYS. I WISH TO GET STRAIGHT A’S THIS TRI-MESTER. I WISH FOR GOOD GRADES. I WISH FOR A QUIET CLASS. I WISH TO GET AN A IN MATH. I WISH I HAD 2 MONTHS OFF OF SCHOOL. I WISH WE HAD I DAY OF SCHOOL AND 16 DAYS OFF. I WISH I COULD CHANGE ALL MY B’S TO A’S. I WISH FOR SUMMER VACA-TION. I WISH THAT SCHOOL WASN’T SO BORING. I WISH TO GET GOOD GRADES.

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Family33

I WISH THAT I CAN BE THE BEST PERSON TO MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY. I WISH THAT MY FAMILY WILL STAY AS HAPPY AND HEALTHY AS THEY ARE NOW. I WISH FOR ALL PEOPLE IN HEAVEN TO COME BACK. THAT MY FAMILY COULD ALL BE HOME AND HELP ONE ANOTH-ER. I WISH THAT MY PARENT WOULD STAY HOME AND PLAY WITH US. I WISH THAT MY GRANDMA AND GRANDPA ARE COMING BACK SOON. I WISH THAT BY GRANDPA WAS STILL ALIVE SO THAT I COULD MEET HIM. I WISH THAT MY FRIEND WILL BE OKAY WHEREVER HE IS. TO HAVE MY OWN ROOM. I WISH THAT MY DAD WOULD GET A JOB. THAT MY BROTH-ER WOULD FIND PEACE. THAT PEOPLE WHO NEED HELP WILL GET HELP. I WISH THAT GAY MARRIAGE WAS LEGAL IN ALL 50 STATES. SO WE DON’T DIE LIKE MY GRANDMA AND GRANDPA AND MY CAT I ALSO WISH TO SEE MY COUSINS MORE THAN I HAVE. I WISH I COULD ALWAYS BE WITH MY MOM AND DAD. I WISH YEARS OF HEALTH AND HAPPINESS FOR MY FAMILY. I WISH FOR GOOD HEALTH AND A LONG LIFE FOR MY FAMILY. MY COUSIN GETS BACK SAFELY. I WISH THAT MY DAD COULD STAY HOME FROM WORK AND NOT TRAVEL ALL THE TIME. I WISH TO BE LIKE JESUS. I WISH I COULD HAVE A BIG MANSION WITH MY WHOLE FAMILY ALL HEALTHY IN IT I WHISH THAT I CAN MAKE A TWO STORY TREEHOUSE.

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Travel37

I WISH TO GO TO FLORIDA, KEEP SECRET. I WISH I COULD GO TO HAWAII. I WISH FOR A TRIP TO FRANCE. I WISH TO GO TO MY LAKEHOUSE. TO GO VISIT MY BEST FRIEND WHO MOVED TO COLORADO. A WISH I HAVE IS FOR OUR COUNTRY TO HAVE A GREAT PRESIDENT. I WHISH I CAN GO TO CHINA AND JAPAN. I WISH TO TRAVEL THE WORLD SOME DAY. I WANT TO GO TO FLORIDA. I WANT TO LIVE IN A PLACE WERE IT IS WARM. I WISH THAT I CAN GO TO POLAND. I WISH I COULD GO TO DISNEY WORLD FOR A WEEK. I WISH TO VISIT POR-TUGAL SOMEDAY. I WISH TO GO SOMEWHERE WARM AND SUNNY AND GET A TAN. I WISH IT WILL BE SUNNY IN FLORIDA. I WISH I COULD GO TO SAINT LOOUSIS. TO GO TO MY MOM’S HOMETOWN IN GLASGOW SCOTLAND AND SEE WHAT IT IS LIKE THERE. I WISH I COULD GO TO NEW YORK CITY. I WISH FOR WARM WEATH-ER ON MY TRIP TO FLORIDA.

Illness

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KILL CANCER. I WISH I COULD FIND A CURE FOR ALL SICKNESS. I WISH THAT WE COULD ALL BE HEALTHY. I WISH THAT MY MOM GETS BETTER. I WISH MY MOM DIDN’T GET BREAST CAN-CER. I WISH THAT PEOPLE DID NOT HAVE ALLERGIES TO PEANUTS. I WISH THAT MY SISTER WAS BETTER. I WISH THAT I WOULD NEVER GET SICK AND ANYONE ELSE. I WISH THAT THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS PEOPLE GETTING SICK. I WISH THERE WAS NO BREAST CANCER.

I WISH THAT CELIAC DISEASE WAS NOT REAL. I WISH THAT WE WOULD FIND A CURE FOR CANCER. I WISH I COULD FIND A CURE TO A SICKNESS. I WISH THAT MY MOM DIDN’T GET BREAST CANCER. FOR EVERYONE TO STAY HAPPY AND HEALTHY. I WISH THERE WAS NO CANCER. I WISH THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS CAVITIES. MY WISH IS THAT MY LITTLE SISTER LOLA WILL GET BETTER FROM THE TWO HOLES IN HER HEART.

Miscellaneous45

I WISH I COULD THINK OF A WISH. I WISH TO MEET BARACK OBAMA. I WISH I WILL BE A HERO. I WISH FOR SAUSAGE. I WISH I COULD THINK OF A WISH. I WISH EVERYTHING WAS FAIR. I WISH THAT I WILL BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE MY GOALS. I WISH THAT ALL THOSE THAT WANT A BABY GET PREGNANT. SO THAT EVERY-ONE HAS A VALENTINE ON VALENTINE’S DAY. I WISH FOR ALL OF THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY TRANSFORMERS. I WISH TO BE ABLE TO SEE SOME PEOPLE THAT I CAN WATCH. I WISH FOR A LIFETIME SUPPLY OF PIE. I WISH FOR ALL WISHES TO COME TRUE. A WISH I HAVE IS FOR OUR COUNTRY TO HAVE A GOOD PRESIDENT. I WISH THAT I COULD FLY. I WISH I HAD AN IRON MAN SUIT WHO WOULDN’T. I WISH I COULD MEET ONE DIRECTION LOUI LIAM NIALL ZAYN. I WISH FOR A FRENCH MUSTACHE. TO HAVE AN UNLIMITED SUPPLY OF COOKIES. I WISH THAT ALL MOVIES THAT I WATCH ARE REAL. I WISH I HAD A JIMMY JOHNS BLT. DUNKING OVER HAKEMOLAJUWON BY RECEIVING AN ALLEYOOP PASS FROM JORDAN. I WISH FOR ADVENTURE TIME LANDSCAPE. I WISH IT WASN’T SO COLD. I WISH I HAD MORE TIME. I WISH I WAS A SUPERHERO. I WISH TO SWIM ACROSS THE OCEAN. TO NEVER HAVE TO TALK TO YOU AGAIN. TO STAY AT A SPA FOREVER. I WISH THAT CHILDREN WOULD HAVE MORE RESPECT FOR EACHOTHER AND ADULTS.

I WISH I COULD MEET ONE DIRECTION. I HOPE PEOPLE CAN KEEP DONATING TO LINCOLN PARK ZOO SO IT CAN STAY IN BUSINESS. I WISH I COULD FLY. TO TELEPORT ON COM-MAND. I WISH I WOULD GET TALL. I WISH FOR LOTS OF GOOD TASTING FOOD. IF I HAD A WISH IT WOULD BE TO FLY AND HAVE WINGS I WOULD SEE THE CLOUDS AND SOAR THROUGH THE SKY I’D LOVE IT. I WISH I WAS A SUPER SAIYAN! I WISH THAT I COULD MEET J.K. ROWLING AND DANIEL RAT-CLIFF. I WISH I WAS A PRINCESS. TO HAVE AN UNLIMITED SUPPLY OF COOKIES. I WISH I HAD 100 MORE WISHES. THAT WHAT START-ED IN SEPTEMBER HAS A HAPPY ENDING. I WISH I WAS FINN FROM ADVENTURE TIME. I WISH I HAD MY OWN JAR OF PEANUT BUT-TER. I WISH I HAD MORE HOPS. I WISH FOR A SANDWICH. MY WISH IS TO GO ON A CAN-DYBOAT TO CANDY LAND. I WISH I COULD GO BACK IN TIME TO FIX MY MISTAKES. FOR SOMETHING TO GO GOOD. I WISH FOR A LAPTOP. I WISH I COULD GET AN IPOD MINI IN SIX DAYS. I WISH I COULD FIND CLEOPA-TRAS TOMB. I WISH FOR MORE WISHES. I WISH I WAS A PROFESSIONAL YOUTUBER. I WISH FOR A WII. I WISH I WAS A RAPPER WITH THE NAME CHIEF LIL JOJO. I WISH I COULD DATE RON WEESLEY IN HARRY POTTER. I WISH I WAS CUPID. I WISH THE WORLD WAS MINDCRAFT. I WISH FOR SUPERPOWERS.

A WISH PROJECTCOMPLETED MAY 2013BY DONNA SKONNING