Brewer, an artist and retired art teacher, said she was excited to participate.
“Part of who I am is always giving back to my community and other communities as well,” Brewer said. “The arts are very important to me, so the combination of being able to use my art talent and give back in some way was very appealing.”
In Centerville, a “Hope Tiles Party” was held where attendees painted tiles in support of someone with cancer, or in memory of a loved one.
On Sunday, June 7, downtown business owners, officials and a crowd of supporters gathered at the corner of Broad Street and Central Avenue in downtown Middletown for the official unveiling of “The Hope Tiles Project.”
“It all started with two downtown business owners, Lisa Little and myself,” said Jamie Murphy, owner of Bella, A Unique Boutique and Canal House Bar & Grille in Middletown. “Lisa owned a ceramic store called ‘The Splattered Platter Pottery Studio.’ The store is no longer in business, she’s doing other things, but we started painting tiles about cancer, so anybody could paint these tiles. We have about 690 tiles on a metal display unit that sits outside.”
The Hope Tiles Project started in October of 2012. Organizers hosted the first “Hope Tiles Party” with about 24 women from downtown businesses. Today, the finished display is the result of a regional effort from individuals, businesses and other area organizations.
“I am a breast cancer survivor, and Lisa’s mother had breast cancer, and passed away from a different type of cancer, but cancer brought us together,” Murphy said. “Initially, it was going to be focused on breast cancer, but it grew into any type of hope that anybody needed. This has been a fun journey, and a lot of people have been involved in it, so everyone is excited to see this put up in the form of an outdoor, permanent display.”
The display unit has eight panels, so visitors can view hundreds of tiles. Each panel includes 81 tiles, and seven of the panels have been completed to date. There is one panel of 81 tiles that is still in the process of being completed.
The ceramic tiles on the display have been fired to preserve the artwork. Messages range from “Hope,” “Love,” and “Shine,” to colorful tiles with pictures of birds, flowers, rainbows and butterflies.
“A lot of the tiles are in memory of someone, and each of the artists have painted a message, or a personal memory about the person that they are honoring, or they might share a nickname,” Murphy said. “There are words, sayings and pictures. There’s wide variety of messages that convey hope, or reflect upon a memory.
“I am proud of us all, that we all had the vision. There’s a piece of a lot of different people in this project. And for a bunch of volunteers, to finally see it finished, I’m very proud.”
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