PAINTING A PICTURE PERFECT WORLDSR ARTIST SHARES PROJECT FOR PEACE WITH PETALUMA

Winifred Potenza is certain most people will snicker at her naivete, but

she doesn't care, she'll say it anyway:

''One day we'll look back at the '90s and say, 'My God, we fought wars

then,' just like we say, 'My God, we burned witches.' I don't know why I know.

I guess I just trust human beings.''

The Santa Rosa painter and sculptor doesn't merely talk peace, however. She

has created a monumental, on-going project to spread her optimism across the

globe, to each of the 185 countries. Starting Friday, Flag Day, Potenza's

''The Hearts of the World'' will be displayed at galleries and shops

throughout Petaluma for two weeks, a highlight of Petaluma Artwalk, a

celebration of the arts sponsored by the Petaluma Downtown Association.

''The Hearts of the World'' is a series of 60 acrylic paintings, each

5-by-6 1/2 feet, each depicting a nation's flag; incorporated into each

national symbol is a heart.

Some are quite literal, such as Japan's: a white background with a red

circle in the center; inside that, a heart. Some tend to the abstract, ''a

difficult thing when you're working with geometric patterns,'' she says, such

as Germany's, the black, red and yellow bands distinct in the background, a

swirl of multilayered hearts overlapping them. Ireland's is a harp transformed

into a heart; the United States' is a firework-like blaze of stars, stripes

and red and blue hearts.

They are not sentimentalized, but the message is clear: ''If you come from

the heart, you're not going to bomb your neighbor,'' said Potenza, 50.

She was inspired to start the project during the Persian Gulf War, when

someone knocked on her door seeking food and clothing for the Iraqi Kurds,

''and I thought, 'Oh, this American heart, this great American heart,' '' she

said.

Also on display during Artwalk will be Potenza's ''The Peaceable Realm,'' a

360-foot-long, 7-foot-high canvas and a centerpiece of celebrations that

marked the 25th anniversary of Earth Day in Washington D.C. It depicts the

rainforest, peoples of the world, dance, peace, motherhood, and because of its

size and 450 pound weight, only a section will be displayed in Petaluma.

''What I want to say can be said on a postage stamp, but 360 feet, people

listen to that, so scale is important, because it helps you see the potential,

and the possiblity affects you forever,'' said Potenza, whose work has been

displayed at the Bronx Museum, the California Museum at the Luther Burbank

Center, the African Museum in San Francisco and the Metropolitan Museum of Art

in New York City. In New York galleries, it fetches $1,000 to $10,000, though

Japanese firms have paid $25,000 to use her work in ad campaigns.

''The Hearts of the World'' paintings have had the widest international

audience, however. Fifty-one, representing the United Nations' 51 charter

countries, were displayed at the Moscone Center in San Francisco during the

U.N.'s 50th anniversary celebrations last year. Also last year, Potenza

traveled to South Africa to present ''This Heart of South Africa'' to

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and 5 years ago presented ''This Heart of the

Philippines'' to President Corazon Aquino.

'Heart of Greece'

At 5 p.m. Friday, Potenza will give ''This Heart of Greece'' to the

consulate general of Greece in a ceremony outside the Petaluma Historical

Museum, 4th and B streets; there is already a spot for it at City Hall in

Athens, she said. Countries that accept them must agree to display them

publicly.

As she completes the total of 185 planned works, one for each country, she

hopes to travel to each nation to present them to the country's leader. She

has invitations to 30 countries so far, but not the finances.

''All the money I make goes into 'Hearts of the World,' no question,'' she

said.

But she does have other projects, such as a new series of paintings,

''Blessed are Women.'' One is a life-size portrait of Mary, Byzantine in style

and perspective, subdued in color but for a gold halo. Another is of Sakhmet,

the ancient Egyptian warrior deity; a portrait of Eleanor Roosevelt is

planned.

Focus on women

Women are a favorite theme, particularly motherhood and the place of women

in society. One of her most successful series is ''Domesticated,'' which

features canine-like women bowing at the knees, cramping the canvas, barely

able to fit within its confines and ''getting ready to pounce,'' said Potenza,

who moved from her native Scotland to New York at age 20, studied at the Art

Students League there, and moved to Santa Rosa 5 years ago to remarry.

Apart from ''Hearts of the World,'' her most ambitious project may be six

10-acre sculpture parks she hopes to build, each in a different country, the

first to be in Sonoma County. She envisions a maze of 20-foot-tall walls of

stone and stained glass, ''bigger than Stonehenge,'' she said. From the air,

the walls will read ''We the People.''

Like all her work, it will have a message.

''Why is it important to me to paint a message, something beyond a nice

image, a vase of flowers? Because I love life and all the facets of life,''

Potenza said. ''I'm passionate about life and that's why I paint how I

paint.''

Of course, she must intersperse her grand plans with about 125 more

''Hearts of the World'' paintings, a task made ever more daunting by political

instability, particularly the break-up of the Soviet Union.

''What some people will do for a Potenza painting,'' she said.

Petaluma's Artwalk starts Friday with receptions at participating galleries

from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and runs through June 30. For maps and more

information, call 762-1241.