Saturday, January 12, 2013

I volunteered today at Ben's Bells Project!

I needed to volunteer, so when I heard that I could scuplt and paint bells, I was excited. I love ceramics so this should be fun. WAS IT EVER?! I can not wait to go back. I plan on taking my daughters next Saturday so we can do it together.

First Id like to share the story of how they were created. The story alone makes me want to keep going back!
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Our Story

March 29th, 2002 started as a very normal day in our lives. Our sons, Matthew – nearly 6 and Ben – nearly 3 – were home playing with a playmate. Ben had a cold and a bit of a croupy cough. We were not alarmed. Never did it enter our minds that Ben was seriously ill or that he could die. And then he did. It only took seconds for him to become unconscious after his airway swelled shut. Jeannette’s efforts at rescue breathing and CPR were in vain as Ben’s airway was completely closed. In those moments on the morning of Good Friday our lives changed forever.
The depth of pain we were experiencing was beyond description. Every parent’s worst nightmare was our reality and we didn’t know how we would possibly survive. More than anything we just wished we could die. Perhaps we would have died if not for Matthew. He was still alive and he needed us as he had never needed us before.
Slowly, we began incorporating coping strategies into our lives. We came up with a design for Ben’s Bells and started making them in our back yard studio with friends. The therapeutic effect of working with clay was amazing as was the power of being surrounded by people talking and working toward a common goal. We decided to make hundreds of the Bells and distribute them randomly in our community to encourage the kindness that we so depended on to get through each day. Since Ben’s death, it had been the kindness of others, strangers and friends, that had helped us begin to heal. We wanted to find a way to pass on that kindness and to help others in the process.
On the first anniversary of his death, hundreds of Ben’s Bells were distributed throughout Tucson, hung randomly in trees, on bike paths, and in parks with a written message to simply take one home and pass on the kindness.
The ripple effect that followed was wonderful and startling. Individuals finding the Bells had stories to tell - lots of them - about grief and healing and hope. Our local newspaper printed the story - front page - next to fast breaking news of the recent war in Iraq. School groups and businesses and individuals began calling to see how they could get involved and in no time, hundreds and hundreds of Tucsonans were involved in crafting Ben’s Bells.
Ben’s Bells symbolize kindness and its power in healing. We hope that they will touch others’ lives and help to make our community a more gentle place to live. We are so very grateful for our community’s incredible enthusiasm for the project and we know that we can make a difference.
Jeannette, Dean and Matthew
In memory of our beautiful boy ..."

So, as for what I did today....

You sit at a table with these in front of you:
Paint, bells that have been sculpted (sometimes you would be the on doing that part)


The only thing they ask of you is that you paint 3 base coats and then any design. You can put any design that you want on them. Obviously being respectful, as these are given to people and sold in this childs memory.
Here were my designs. Im no artist, so dont laugh!
In the end, after firing and all that is done, there are also volunteers that fire the parts. This is what the end result is. 
 
 You dont get to see the entire process but you get to see a part of it. 


If you are in Tucson, I HIGHLY recommend you check them out. They have two locations, both about 5 minutes from each other but towards the downtown area. There site is http://bensbells.org for anyone interested!
 

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