Signs of Grace
www.gracehappens.com  CAN THIS BE EINSTEIN'S ISLAND ?
Story By Pat Waring Photo By Betsy Corsiglia

I believe that life is what you say it is,"
declares Tricia Newell emphatically. "If you say the cup is half empty, that's the way it will be." But for this vibrant Chilmark woman, the cup is far from empty. It is brimful of love and humor, challenge and joy and grace, and she dearly wants others to share this experience.
In her counselling practice, Ms. Newell guides adolescents, children, and families to that sense of wholeness and abundance. She has designed a curriculum for pre-school children, especially those from troubled homes, based on the same outlook.
But when she had a cheery bumper sticker drawn by a young friend printed up, Tricia was amazed to discover she had found yet another way to spread her up-beat message
  
reads one of many dictionary definitions. "Divine favor unmerited by man," reads another. "A free gift of God to man."
To me it means there aren't, any mistakes, the universe is perfectly in order," explains Ms. Newell, choosing her words carefully. Though personal interpretations may vary, she is confident that those who buy, wear, and show the slogan share her belief in grace. And they are all spreading the word.
Of course, some are attracted to the logo for more quirky personal reasons. Like the father-to-be to whom Tricia presented a sticker the day after he and his pregnant wife had chosen the name Grace for their unborn daughter."That's wonderful, because Grace is about to happen in our home," the happy man told Tricia.

 

"Grace Happens" proclaims the perky graphic, fetchingly hand-lettered with a dancing star in the middle. Beneath, a poetic quotation from Albert Einstein speaks of an Island for "those that are wise and of good will," a phrase that many like to see as a reference to the Vineyard.
In just a few months, the jaunty white sticker with its blue and gold design has appeared on Volvos and V.W.s, pick-ups and mini-vans across the Island. Now it's being spotted on the mainland too, and is apt to appear in Europe soon thanks to a summer resident who took off to France with a suitcase full of "Grace Happens". Another entrepreneur has just approached Tricia with proposals for global distribution — including translating the slogan into several languages.

Grace Happens

"I made it so people on the Island would experience grace, but what happened is I've experienced it," laughs Ms. Newell , her hazel eyes sparkling. From the enthusiastic response of friends , strangers, and storeowners who gladly promoted it, to the pleasure of seeing the optimistic slogan on car bumpers from Edgartown to Gay Head, Ms. Newell is finding continual affirmation of her point of view. "Now every time I see it, I remember that grace happens," says Tricia, a trim, energetic woman in her early 30s with a slow but sunny smile.
Along with encapsulating one of Ms. Newell's fervent beliefs, the statement was also a response to the negativity which can become prevalent during grey Island winters, often showing up on bumper stickers.
"I thought, wouldn't it be nice if this Island were a place where everyone was happy about being here and supported each other," Ms. Newell recalls.
Producing a logo which would appear on bumper stickers and T-shirts by the hundreds was far from Tricia Newell's mind when she sat down for an "art afternoon" with Anika Hodson and her son, Russell, one wintry day. The friends often met to work on creative projects - Christmas cards. Valentines. This day the subject was bumper stickers.
Tricia loved an old sticker on Anika's car. She asked eight-year old Russell to reproduce it in his own style. "Grace Happens" was born.
Tricia affixed Russell's first version to her bumper, then decided to have it professionally printed, with only slight changes, as a ninth birthday gift for him. "Grace Happens" was an idea whose time had cornel
At the Tisbury Printer, manager Chris Decker urged Tricia to expand her original 100-sticker order. In a quick walk up Main Street, Ms. Newell found some half-dozen potential distributors. She ordered 2,500 and the sticker is now in its second printing. "Grace Happens" tee and sweatshirts were produced this summer in response to popular demand.

Telling the World

For Tricia Newell, the slogan's success is a thrill, not because she is counting on fame and fortune from the sales, but because it means she is not alone. Many people believe in grace, and they are wearing it, selling it, and driving around telling the world about it. Even those shopkeepers who sell the goods are showing their support of the concept, Ms. Newell says. The Black Dog displays the sticker prominently in its General Store. Grace church in Vineyard Haven bought a supply to sell at its Holly Day bazaar, and two otherGrace churches -Washington, D. C., and Florida- stock the stickers in their bookstores.
"I think the message really touches people's spirits," says Tricia, who enjoys the frequent feedback from people who tell her about the experiences of grace in their lives.
"Grace: beneficience or generosity shown by God to man,"

  

Positive Heritage
Ms. Newell's unwaveringly positive attitude is deeply rooted, thanks in great part to her parents. Successful artists and musicians, the Newells passed on their confidence and faith to their children. They believed the cup was half full, Tricia says." That was the language spoken in our house - that the cup was half full and to be grateful for it. With both parents members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and surrounded by a community of artistic family friends, Tricia looks back to a childhood rich in culture, warmth, and creativity. "My dad always usedto remind me that whatever I thought was wonderful or magical came from God," Ms. Newell recalls fondly.
Tricia grew up in. the Unitarian tradition and retains a strong faith in a force greater than humanity at work in the universe. "I believe there's a higher power out there and it doesn't matter what you call it," she says.

Signs of Grace

As her life has continued, Tricia has seen many signs of grace, including the development of her career and her move to Martha's Vineyard.
"I'm coming to believe that my medium is people," says Ms. Newell, explaining that for years she struggled to choose between art, writing, and athletics. "Working with children and families can be an art."
While artistic pursuits came naturally to her, Tricia was drawn to psychology in college. After graduation from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, she worked in Western Massachusetts counselling children and families with substance abuse, violence, and other difficult issues.
During the same period, she wrote a pre-school curriculum titled "I'm So Glad You Asked," specifically geared to allowing troubled children to speak openly about their problems. Earning a Master's Degree in Education and Psychology from Mount Holyoke College in 1994, Ms. Newell now maintains a counselling practice here.
Like many dyed-in-the-wool Island transplants, Ms. Newell's settling here in 1992 evolved spontaneously. It began with a summer of waitressing eight years ago, a trip to Menemsha three years later where she recognized the site of childhood visits. Another summer Job at Larsen's Fish Market put her in touch with friends she hadn't seen for decades. The experiences filled in unclear places in her early memories.
"If that isn't grace, I don't know what is," she smiles. Friends assured Tricia that the Island would support her if she was meant to be here, and that has proved abundantly true.
In her work, as in her living, Ms. Newell attempts to pass along the principles that are so important to her. That life is full, that a troubled past need not preclude a bright to morrow, and that one's outlook makes all the difference.
"Living in a state of grace is a choice," says Ms. Newell. "You can change your mind any minute. This minute is as good as any other minute to let grace in.