As the staff and residents at Shenandoah Valley Westminster-Canterbury (SVWC) adjust to new dining routines due to the current kitchen renovation, some good has come from the ordeal. A temporary wall was erected to block construction in the Bistro/kitchen area. At first, it was merely a blank, white, 10’x45’ wall. Then the wheels started turning in Gale Bowman-Harlow’s creative brain.
Bowman-Harlow is the in-house “art guru” who teaches classes for residents and outside artists. To her, it looked like a perfect opportunity to bring some color and comradery to the hallway. The first step was a request issued to Chris Miller (our painter extraordinaire) to get a gallon each of blue and green acrylic paint. Next, he was to apply the green to create four hills on the wall. Above the green, he was to paint blue for the sky. Next, Gale solicited a few of her art students to draw seven apple trees. They were to stretch across the four hills. And it was so. Gale bought some white sponges on plastic handles that are typically used for clean-ing. They were used instead, to apply white paint to create apple blossoms on the trees.
As of Friday evening, May 4, 148 individuals had contributed to the mural. Eighty were residents, 55 were employees, and 13 were guests. Their ages ranged from 14 months to 102 years.
-Most common comment before making their contribution: “I can’t paint.”
-Most common response after the first stroke of the brush: They can’t stop.
-Of the contributors, no more than 20 knew something about painting.
By the end of the first week, a flood of questions arose:
-How long will it be here?
-What will happen to it when it has to come down?
-Who’s in charge of deciding that?
-Can we do it again?
More troublesome questions:
-Will the panels crumble if we try to move the mural?
-If they don’t crumble, where can we put it?
Profound questions:
-How many found that the mural gave them something new to do? Maybe a dozen.
-How many had nothing to say as they passed the mural? Two or three.
-How many found joy in watching and painting the mural? A great many.
-How many returned to paint more? Several dozen.
We never know what might grow from one idea. This mural project has brought people together to accomplish something that is fun and positive, helping to distract from the inconvenience factors of the reno-vation. Maybe, just maybe, this will be the first of many murals to come to the campus of SVWC. We can only hope. For further information, feel free to contact Kitty Zuckerman, Marketing Communications Specialist, at 540.665. 5915.
