Powers

I survived the Pandemic with two teenage girls stuck at home. To stay sane, I took long walks and began taking photos of anything positive I could find; cats roaming around empty streets, families playing catch, homemade signs on windows telling me to hang in there.

One day I found re-purposed, whimsical trash sculptures hanging on telephone poles, that read: ‘LAUGH OFTEN’, ‘BE LOVE’, ‘BIG HUGS, and more. They lifted my spirits instantly. I searched online to learn about the artist who made them. Much to my surprise I couldn’t find anything, except that people had the same question. WHO IS THIS ARTIST?

One day, I happened upon a sculpture in a front yard, like the ones on the poles. A woman appeared. I asked, “Are you the artist who makes the telephone pole sculptures”? “Well, yes,” she said. “But don’t tell anyone.”

Over the next year-and-a-half, I went to Lori Powers’ studio almost daily, filming her on my iphone. Our visits became my lifeline… something I could create while the world paused. I sensed that by making myself happier, I could be in service to others, and that this story could be a gift for the world.

As a filmmaker, I believe it’s my purpose to reflect ‘hope & joy’ through my lens. I hope Lori Powers’ story uplifts many people and that audiences will be inspired to commit random acts of kindness in their own neighborhoods. But mostly, I hope watching POWERS turns their Joy dial Waaaaayyyyy UP!