TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Creating Art From The Soul

ADVERTISEMENT

By MEGAN HUSSEY

Tribune correspondent

Published: December 14, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - How do you turn a refrigerator magnet into a tool of compassion?

The Altered Art for the Soul artists of Seven Springs Middle School transform recyclables into cards and gifts for people suffering from multiple sclerosis, a disease affecting the central nervous system.

They could turn a small discarded bottle into a Bottle of Hope. They could mold discarded paper and a decorative napkin into a holiday card. They could transform tissue paper, sparkle and coffee filters into a colorful plaque.

"It's about taking everyday castoff items and making them into something beautiful," said Debe Friedhoff, a visiting artist who supervised the work of the seven participating artists last week at Seven Springs Middle.

And something needed, according to Jan Mallett; the SSMS art teacher who supervises this project.

"A lot of people with MS are stuck in their homes," she said. "This is something to cheer them up."

Both Friedhoff and Mallett have MS. With the help of Florida Learn and Serve grants, Mallett oversees SSMS projects to benefit multiple sclerosis patients. In Be a Star for a Brighter Tomorrow, students create jewelry to sell at school to benefit the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. In 2007, this project netted $214 for the foundation; in 2008, Mallett predicts a donation of more than $500.

"Each piece of jewelry utilized a star in its design representing the buyer's support for people with MS," she explained in a letter to Christine Ratliff, editor of MS Focus Magazine. "We also ... created two display boards in 2008, to provide visuals to assist in clarifying ... what MS is."

The effects of this incurable condition include numbness, mobility problems and weakened eyesight.

"It affects everything you do," Mallett said.

Mallett's involvement in an online MS message board inspired her second project, Make A Difference, this year. In this project, students send handmade cards and gifts to MS patients who are members of the message board.

"The goal of this project is to bring some cheer into the lives of people with MS by showing that they care about them," she wrote in the letter to MS Focus Magazine.

Students have sent cards, bead necklaces, and other mementos to patients across the United States and Canada, and as far away as Dubai; among the recipients was Friedhoff, a Missouri artist who also liked to make gifts for other MS patients.

"When people receive something they're not expecting, it's a way to reach out and touch them," she said.

The Altered Art for the Soul artists kicked off this school year by procuring renewed Learn and Serve grants for their projects; these student-written grants netted $550 for Make a Difference and $500 for Be a Star for a Brighter Tomorrow. Then they decided to use part of their jewelry sale funds to bring Friedhoff to Florida.

Last week Friedhoff supervised the work of these artists, many of whom have personal reasons for participating.

Gianna Richko, 12, a seventh-grader, has a mother who suffers from multiple sclerosis. She gives some of her handmade jewelry to her mom.

"This gives me a good opportunity to learn about MS," she said.

Katie Chissell, a 13-year-old eighth-grader, credited her involvement to a dual love for art and community service.

"I like making people happy," she said. "And I like drawing and art."

The girls seemed to feel that their work lives up to the project motto, a quote from Picasso:

"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."

The Altered Art for the Soul artists are Samantha Branson, Claudia Cancello, Katie Chissell, Elisabeth Hilt, Molly Keane, Gianna Richko and Kayla Fuhrman.

Keyword: Altered Art, for more photos.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT