We’re excited to share an inspiring new project in progress: “Veterans Peace and Healing,” a collaborative ceramic Post for Peace and Justice being created at VETART in Vista, California!
I’m teaching and working alongside ceramic artist Steven Macks Dilley and 13 incredible veterans to create hand-thrown, 14-inch diameter ceramic cylinders. Each one will contribute to a larger sculptural post installation—part of the national Posts for Peace and Justice project that I co-founded 10 years ago with Lisa Parsons, a visionary behind One Billion Rising for Justice in Atlanta.
VETART’s participant showcasing his art.
What Peace and Healing Means to Veterans
Each veteran artist is creating a personal piece featuring artwork and words that reflect their own experience with peace and healing. Through this process, powerful themes are emerging—protection, harmony, camaraderie, culture, resilience, and the quiet strength of shared experience.
Peace, for many, is not just the absence of conflict—it’s about the ability to connect, to reflect, and to heal from the scars of war and military life.
From left to right, Reggie, Kelly, Mike, VETART’s founder Steve Dilley, Bethanie, David and Kira.
The Power of Art in Healing
VETART’s founder, Steve Dilley, understands the deep therapeutic value of creative expression. His vision is to use art to support mental and physical health, prevent suicide, and help veterans manage and recover from PTSD.
As Steve skillfully throws each clay cylinder by hand, the veterans spend weeks designing their imagery and words. We’ve already completed seven weeks of this powerful journey—and have two more to go.
Of course, ceramics can be unpredictable. My own cylinder exploded in the kiln, and I had to start over. I’m actually grateful it was mine—not one of the veterans’ pieces. This moment felt like a metaphor for their stories: sometimes life shatters, and yet we begin again—rebuilding, reshaping, and making meaning in a new way.
A Continuing Commitment to Veterans’ Voices
This is the third Posts for Peace and Justice project I’ve created in collaboration with veterans and their families—each one with a different intention and message. Their voices matter deeply, and I’ll be dedicating a section on our website specifically to veteran-centered Posts.
We’re also documenting this project in a short film to capture both the process and the powerful vision behind VETART.org.
Meet the Artists
A heartfelt thank you to all the veterans participating:
Kelly, Shelley, Tonya, Peter, David, Nichole, Bethany, Nury, Josh, Chewy, and my Facebook friends @Reginald Green, @Rocio Villanueva Ruiz, and Deanne Salleh—your voices are vital to this work.
Want to Get Involved?
We welcome supporters, volunteers, and fellow artists. If you’re interested in learning more or getting involved in the Veterans Peace and Healing Post project, please contact me directly through our website.
Together, we can continue to lift up the voices that need to be heard—and create art that truly makes a difference.
Kira Carrillo Corser
@VETART
www.Vetart.org
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