Pierce County Family Connection Director Paints Mural for Senior Center
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From the Blackshear Times
The Pierce County Senior Center has a new mural thanks to the hard work and artistic talent of Pierce County Family Connection Executive Director Stephanie Bell.
Bell first began designing a mural as a community art project for Leadership Pierce, but those plans were postponed indefinitely by the pandemic. She redesigned the mural and decided to get started anyway. “I just decided to go for it,” Bell said.
“It means so much to me that someone would take their own funds and time to make our building beautiful,” said the senior center’s director, Lynn Platt. “Our seniors are so proud of the building now. It’s the cutest building in the city.”
The mural has a whimsical feel to it. Bell painted a giant bear—representing Pierce County Bear pride, of course—dancing through a field of bright flowers. Bees are buzzing around the bear and Bell tagged her artwork with a motto: “We grow kindness here.”
“I wanted people to smile when they drive by and saw it, and I wanted the seniors to be proud of their building,” Bell said. “There’s nothing more I want our community to grow in than kindness. We should always be propagating those seeds of kindness, and hopefully they grow big.”
Bell worked on the mural for a week, sketching and then painting for three or four hours at a time. She’s painted little lending library boxes around town and other art projects, but the mural was her largest endeavor yet. Bell purchased supplies with a grant from an anonymous donor.
“The mural Stephanie designed and painted brings hope and promise to a community that has often been disconnected, worried, lonely, and isolated during the past year,” said Angela Manders, director of the Pierce County Chamber of Commerce. “Not only is this a fantastic message of joy for the seniors in Pierce County, it is a much-needed reminder to everyone to choose kindness. In a world divided and polarized, we must nurture kindness and respect for one another. It’s our only hope.”
Contact:
Krystin Dean
GaFCP Communications Specialist
706-897-4711
krystin@gafcp.org
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