OCTOBER 2008 PROGRAM
Memory Box Paint-In, Sat. Oct. 11th
with Sharon Haugen and Gwen Kenneally
Memory Box Committee Co-Chairs
DASF has a very active Memory Box Program with boxes purchased by the club and painted by our artists which are then donated to the bereaved parents following a pregnancy, infant or child loss. Hospital units including The Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida are anxious to receive our beautifully painted boxes to distribute to devastated parents so they do not have to go home empty handed. Gwen and Sharon are going to show us how to paint a box with a scene similar to those shown in the photos.
PREPARATION
Base coat the Memory Box inside and out with any shade of light blue. After it is completely dry it can be sanded with a piece of brown paper bag before the second base coat is applied.
SUPPLIES
Small sea sponge, white charcoal pencil, ruler, and usual supplies such as brushes, waterbasin, paper towels, etc. There is no pattern, imagine a garden scene, bring appropriate colors for folage and flowers for YOUR garden. Some paints will be provided.
Come join us in October to help Gwen & Sharon fill the hospitals supply of Memory Boxes. This is such a worthwhile project & DASF is very proud to be a very active participant.
For our newer members who might not be aware of how this program got started here is some of the information taken from the Memory Box website: The Memory Box Artist Program was developed to allow artists to use their creativity to benefit others by creating hand-painted Memory Boxes to be given by hospital bereavement counselors and nurses to the families of newborn infants who die in the hospital or are stillborn. Generally boxes are paper mache in sizes of 7" diameter and larger. The hospitals use the boxes to place photographs, locks of hair, hand and footprints, birth and death certificates, and other mementos of the child's life. The boxes are meant to be a celebration of the child's life, no matter how brief. Appropriate themes include anything child-like (toys, bears, etc.), as well as themes such as flowers, birds, dragonflies & ladybugs. To Find Out More about the National Memory Box Program or for free patterns to use on the boxes please visit Memory Boxes.org
