Yale New Haven Children's Hospital, New Haven, CT

Working closely with the Child Life Arts and Enrichment (A&E) department at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital, I spent five days helping to create a large community weaving. This project, which involved nearly 225 people, contained four elements: the woven circular hoop, clothespin people, a ribbon with a wish, and a written entry for the project journal.

Other artists involved in this project included a poet, a musician-story teller, a music therapist and the A&E coordinator. Our team of artists visited the oncology floor, the clinic waiting room, inpatient floors, and the infusion clinic, as well as distributed small packets of material for staff and families to create on their own. As one parent said: "(I valued) sharing my story with other people. Art makes people feel normal in a totally abnormal environment. Bright colors help lift spirits." June, 2005