Three Square Blog

Claire Whalen, OSF shares why she chose the particular card images for this new game.

Sun, 4 May 2008 11:09:53 -0400

The back of each card shows our home planet as seen from space - a single living whole, a blue-green amazing planet unique in our solar system - and possibly in the Universe. We see no political boundary lines dividing the peoples of Earth - we are all one human community and share this beautiful planet with the entire Earth Community. Hopefully this image will remind us of our role and responsibility to live sustainably so as to preserve Earth and her finite resources for future generations of Earth children, both human and other than human. I hope to remind all who play this game that what we do to Earth we do to ourselves.

The playing card faces feature common plants and animals and the four Earth elements; namely air, water, fire and earth. For the element of earth (-3), I wanted an image to represent the whole Earth, not just soil or bedrock. You will see many Earth features on that card, including the human species. Cards depicting other Earth elements of air, water and fire also include a person engaged in some activity. Humankind is represented interacting with the basic elements of Earth: flying a kite in air (10), fishing on the earth card (-3), using fire (0) to roast food, and contemplating the power and beauty of water (11) and all nature as water cascades in a waterfall.

Why did I choose the particular plants and animals for the card faces? These are images common to eastern and central United States mostly in the mid-latitudes where I have lived all my life. Of the plant cards, trees are “number 1” because they are that for me and probably most significant for all Earth creatures. They are the lungs of a living Earth and as such regulate the oxygen and carbon levels of Earth’s atmosphere. They are essential for life as we know it. They play a significant role as food and shelter for us and all animals and serve as a natural “cover crop” to hold soil in place. They, and all of nature, inspire poets and artists of every genre.

Several food plants - wheat (3), corn (5) and apple (9) are staples in our bioregion. When I cut an apple across its “equator line” rather than down the middle from its stem section, I see the star feature that reminds me of my cosmic origins from the explosion of supernovas that gave away their very substance to generate new stars and eventually our sun star and all the elements comprising planet Earth. These same elements are part of my physical makeup. I am truly “star dust,” a child of Earth and of the Universe.

A flower plant needed to be represented and I chose the hardy and ubiquitous daisy (7) to represent all other plants that reveal the beauty and diversity of life on Earth built into the divine plan of Creation. Without Earth’s beauty beings, our imagination would be very sterile. And of course, all Creation reflects God’s power and majesty and great love for all life. As a Franciscan religious, I often pray - even sing - St. Francis of Assisi’s hymn, the “Canticle of Creatures” invoking all beings to praise God, the source of my being.

Among the animal images represented there are land, sea and air animals - mostly the wild ones who remind us of our deep relationship to the animal kingdom and to the “wilderness” in us that resists being tamed. These are fox (2), dolphin (4) and eagle (8). This feature is our deeper connection to Mother Earth and invites us to contemplate who we really are and what our life’s purpose is. How many of us find peace and harmony as well as radical amazement when we spend time “in Nature”? So we know we must keep as many “wild places” as possible on Earth. That is why I chose the “Earth card” (-3) to be the wild card for this game. And as the wild card it offers a bonus by subtracting 3 points from the score of a given hand for each wild card on the playing square. And as a wild card, it also facilitates the making of sets which is the object of the rummy game. Lastly the butterfly (6) reminds us of the fragility of life and the essential dignity of every creature. The butterfly represents the insect world and the importance of pollinators to our food system. More importantly, the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly is an amazing mystery that speaks a word of hope for me that humanity can also move beyond its adolescent stage to a new mode of being, living in harmony with the entire Earth community.

Thank you Rose-Ann, S. Sandra and Scott!

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:11:13 -0400

Three persons contributed to the marketing of this new eco-game. Photos of Rose-Ann Heath and Sandra Schweitzer, OSF have been included in the Three Square Team section of the Blog. We hope to have Scott Froendhoff’s photo included soon.

Rose-Ann Heath created the Three Square website and will be the webmaster for it. Rose-Ann is the Office Manager for the Oldenburg Franciscan Center and is involved with several entrepreneur ventures of her own. Please visit her website at www.rose-annheath.com. We are grateful for Rose-Ann’s artistic layout and design of our website.

Sister Sandra Schweitzer, OSF is an artist who specializes in painting spirituality and prayer prints around the life of SS. Francis and Clare, doing graphic design work for religious and Church purposes and designing of/for prayer spaces. S. Sandra's website is www.franciscanartist.com and her email is studiotau@aol.com. S. Sandra designed several Three Square poster displays used at various trade shows and exhibit sites where the game is sold.

Our third additional contributor, Scott Froendhoff, created several posters used for marketing the card game. These have been extremely valuable in attracting attention at stores selling the new eco-game. Some of his posters are used on this website.

Join us for the Cincinnati Earth Day Celebration!

Wed, 5 Mar 2008 20:09:52 -0500

Sisters Claire and Janet will be selling "Three Square for Earth Care" at the Earth Day Celebration at Sawyer Point in Cincinnati, Ohio on April 19, 2008 from Noon through 6:30 pm.

This is an annual event sponsored by The Greater Cincinnati Earth Coalition that draws 9 - 10,000 people. The theme this year, "One Earth . . . One Chance" will actively involve environmental groups, government agencies, businesses and citizens of all ages in demonstrating their contributions to the beauty and quality of life through their positive actions. They will also display material about Michaela Farm.

We look forward to meeting you at the Celebration!

Three Square at Marian College!

Wed, 5 Mar 2008 11:27:46 -0500

“Three Square for Earth Care” can now be purchased at the MARIAN College Bookstore in the college library building on Cold Spring Road in Indianapolis, Indiana. The bookstore’s hours are: Monday - Thursday from 9 am - 5 pm and Friday from 9 am - 4 pm.

We’re off and running!

Mon, 3 Mar 2008 20:49:28 -0500

Co-creators of "Three Square for Earth Care," Sisters Claire and Janet, are looking forward to a wide dissemination of this unique game. They have high hopes that the attractive EarthCards will inspire more people to care for Earth in new ways.