The meaning behind the name
All Are We Water collective
As a youth, our Founder, Kelly Potts, formed a strong friendship with another Maui girl named Lila Roo. Lila was, and continues to be, an incredible artist (her work seen in exhibitions around the world), who ended up living and starting a family on the small island of Bequia in the Grenadines. She formed a group, New Roots, teaching youth how to embrace and express their culture and identities through art, music and performance. One such performance inspired Kelly so deeply, she asked if she could name our nonprofit based on its theme, ALL AH WE.
Check out this masterpiece that was put together by the youth of New Roots, which explains the meaning behind our name, All Are We Water Collective.
A big hug and thank you to each of the kiddos that put this performance together, which sums up the importance of life: to share what we have, to express who we are, to take pride in our culture and our identities, and that we are all together in this human experience. Thank you for inspiring us to be All Are We!
See some of Lila’s works and check out the New Roots blog to learn more.
Lilarooart.com
New Roots Blog Spot
The meaning behind the logo
While Kelly was taking ceramics in college, she found she would use this design on many of the vessels she built, which became a signature of her pieces, although it did not reveal its true meaning until years later.
During one of Kelly’s surfing lessons, she was sculpting the flow of waves coming in to land, and the channels or rip currents pulling back out to the ocean. As she sculpted, her signature appeared.
She reminded her students that if they try paddling straight through the line up they’ll be knocked back and knocked back by the waves (signified by the steps in the center of the logo). But if they take the long route back out, making sure to use the channel or rip current, they will find the path of least resistance, and the natural flow of the ocean will guide them beyond the break (signified by the arch with triangles leading to flow state or the path to enlightenment).
To Kelly, the All Are We logo has become a symbol of recognizing ways to find flow and calm in times of adversity and resistance.