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bjbj My name is Carien Quiroga and I would like to share with you the story of a recent
new and profound experience as a Class Acts Arts Teaching Artist. During a Visual Art
Residency in November 2012, I worked with patients, parents and staff from the various
children s wards at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital to create a 3 by 9 feet glass and
metal mosaic mural entitled Rainbow Wishes . This Class Acts Arts project was spearheaded
by Dr. Judy Rollins, supported by the Childlife Specialists and funded by the Bear Necessities
Children s Cancer Foundation. The residency at the Pediatric Wards was an adaptation of
my regular 6-day mosaic mural residency for schools, but it could not have been more different.
As a Teaching Artist I work mostly in Elementary and Middle schools, but instead of working
with boisterous classrooms filled with excited chatter, I found myself at the bedside of
at times some very sick little children. I did a lot of planning and adapting in anticipation
of the residency, focusing on compacting and organizing materials and presentations in
order to make the time spent with the participants at their bedside as efficient as possible.
Logistics was one of the biggest challenges while working in the hospital wards, as I
had to take all my supplies and tools on a cart for room to room and mosaic mural making
involves a lot of materials. Tools had to be sterilized before and after working with
each child and at times I had to wear a gown, mask and gloves. Something I had not anticipated
was the slow pace as the children were often weak, with low energy and without much strength,
so quick activities that I took for granted were at times painfully slow. Lessons were
learned every day, and adjustments made as I went along. However, the true wonder of
this residency was the intimacy and the peacefulness and the fact that I had the chance to sit
down with each participant and really connect with them, talking and engaging with them
and their caregivers as we created the small metal embossed and mosaic elements together.
It was wonderful to observe parents working with their children and the young patients
becoming engage in an activity that was clearly a distraction from their illness, discomfort
or medical procedures. Ultimately they were just regular kids eager to learn and have
fun. The process of creating the mural involved the children making drawings or sharing thoughts
around the theme Happiness is... . Based on their ideas and drawings I created three designs
that everyone voted on to decide the final mural design. I then worked at the bedside
of patients in three pediatric wards. I also spent a day in the Lombardi Clinic where we
started working on the three large panels. On the final day of the residency we worked
in the Pediatrics playroom, where patients who were able to leave their rooms, parents,
staff and volunteers completed the mural by filling in the background. Rainbow Wishes
depicts a young child blowing a rainbow of colorful bubbles. During the design phase
one of the moms shared that blowing bubbles and making dandelion wishes were two of her
child s favorite things to do. The fun activity of blowing bubbles represents much more than
just playing, it is however also used as a distraction technique by the Child Life Specialists
during medical procedures. Each bubble was created by an individual child representing
their personal wishes. When asked what happiness looked like, being at the beach and seeing
a rainbow were recurring themes, hence the swirling rainbow and the blue of the ocean
water. This has been a most inspiring project as I witnessed during the process of creating
a mosaic mural the resilience of the young patients, the courage of their parents and
the dedication of the ChildLife Specialists and other staff. The residency also reaffirmed
my strong belief in the power of art and my deep appreciation for Class Acts Arts dedication
to their artists and their commitment to the diverse communities that they serve. |t|i^
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