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Art at Corrie’s: Foxes, Racons, Flowers and Martha’s Stained Glass

Corrie's Mom

Art is how we make sense of the world when logic fails.

Fusion Art, a gallery in Palm Springs, California; accepted my piece called “Pink Dress” as part of its November 2020 “6th Annual Leaves & Petals Art Exhibition.”

Before this, I’d never thought of the work I did at Corrie’s gravesite as “art.” I could not stand to think of her grave as undecorated. As I started work over the summer, I started to “adopt” other children’s graves.

I believe in service, but I also think you have to take care of yourself first. This fall, I thought: Do what you can with where you feel comfortable.

As I clean and decorate Corrie’s site, I still decorate and clean about 22 other children and babies’ graves.

I took rose petals and out them around baby Gary and little Charlie’s graves last Saturday. They still looked pretty yesterday.
I added a new fake and real flower at Edith’s memorable grave along with yellow petals.
Olivia Kate’s often gets covered in leaves right now due autumn.

As I created Martha’s Stained Glass, below, I took an autumn racoon or fox to each of my children’s graves on the Kinder Memorial Walk.

I also started taking the rose petals to create more of a frame.

When I returned to work on her grave yesterday, Corrie’s flowers still looked good from last week. I started to take apart “Naomi’s Liberty Bell,” and create “Martha’s Stained Glass” in honor of my Aunt Martha who died on Friday morning.

I took apart the liberty bell, and worked with the pieces I still had.
I built the frame for my aunt’s window with new rose stems.
Petals from the flowers that had laid across the bottom added color to the frame.
I used red roses for the decorated parts of the frame.

I also added a turkey, fox and new floral arrangement with the roses for Martha and Corrie.

Martha’s Stained Glass is in honor of my aunt, who was such an influence in my life always and forever.

By Rebecca T. Dickinson

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Published by Corrie's Mom

They say teacher turn over is high right now, and many teachers will leave the profession in five years or less. I will enter my seventh year as a full-time teacher, and my 12th year in education after I'd started as a sub and teacher assistant. I was the student in the 1990s you did not want in your classroom because I was diagnosed with ADHD and did not know how to socialize with other kids. I was due to be tested for autism, but this was considered an ostracizing experience for a child then, especially a girl. I am a third generation teacher and author of seventeen creative works.

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