Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Homage to a Hero

On an afternoon (quite a few months ago now), I hosted an art afternoon for Oliver and some of his friends but wasn't sure entirely what I was in the mood to make with them.

When they all arrived and sat at our table, they were enthusiastically babbling about a local hero they'd just celebrated and learned about at school.

Terry Fox was a student at the university in our town.  He lived a very short life, but through his courageous fight with cancer, indeed through the awareness he raised that permeates still, he made an impact that many cannot make in longer lifetime.

The children were full of inspiration, talking about Terry.  I decided then and there we'd try our hand at some art-bombing, in honor of Terry!

First, I quickly cut some heart shapes out of re-usable, red shopping bags (we have WAY too many...).  Each child got two, and we began stitching them together.



We then wrote personal notes to Terry (I spied some that read "you are my hero!" and "we love you Terry!"), tucked the notes into zip plastic baggies, then stuffed these water-proofed notes into the hearts.  We put a few stitches in to secure the note, attached a yarn hanger, and were off!




On our way to the statue of Terry on campus (with our art-hearts swinging)...




The children watched while I carefully hung their hearts on Terry's hand.  They stayed there for MONTHS in rain and sunshine, even snow!  The university photographer got a shot of it and posted it onto the university website, acknowledging the spontaneous act of love for this Canadian hero.  The children walk by the statue almost daily and were delighted with their surreptitious notes for Terry!




Terry, I hope you read our notes...I hope you know what a big difference you made!

14 comments:

  1. Melissa, this is so touching! It pleases me no end to see the kids so enthusiastic about this sweet art project :)
    You are a fantastic teacher!

    p.s. the slip on converse are VERY comfortable :)

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    1. Aw, thanks Duni! I'm glad I took advantage of the moment - kids really do love making a difference - showing their compassion and passion for something or in this case, for someone!

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  2. Oh my gosh, Melissa, what a wonderful thing to do. How special for the kids. I hope the Fox family was aware of this, too. I'm sure it would have touched them.

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    1. The kids were super energized by the thought of doing their part in commemorating his legacy in this way. I'd never really thought about it before we worked on this project but kids want to put their mark on movements and campaigns that take place in their communities! It's just a matter of creating an appropriate outlet...

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  3. I love this! Such a great thing for you to do with the kids! :)

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    1. Thanks Mary! Thinking outside of the usual 'afternoon with kids' activities turned out to be worth the effort this time. My alternative was going to be baking together...the sewing project was WAY easier to clean up ;)

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  4. What a fun way to spend the afternoon! And the kids will always remember this :) I'm sure the hearts made everyone passing by smile!

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    1. Ya it was fun! Oh, and the kids now want to art bomb EVERYTHING, everyday. I might have created monsters ;)

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  5. What a cool and touching project. And super cool that your art bombing made it to the university website. Seeing something like this would definitely make me smile :-)

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    1. Oh we were so tickled when we saw that the uni photographer captured our loving trick! The kids were shrieking and giggling when they saw it online...

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  6. I TOTALLY remember Terry and his story! So great that the kids learned about him and his demonstration of strength in the face of adversity. They made a movie about him too! GREAT project!

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    1. Heya Pamela! GREAT to hear that Terry's story made it across the pond! I mean, I think there are walk/runs held in his honor and legacy around the world...warms my heart. Thanks for popping by!

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  7. What a wonderful project! The kids will always remember it.

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  8. Love it, what a fabulous thing to do.

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