Residents Come to Help Build Community Art Project at East Valley Community Health Center

 On Saturday, January 10, 2015, East Valley Community Health Center hosted a community painting party at its Pomona location for individuals, families, and businesses from across the San Gabriel Valley as part of its Adopt a Butterfly Campaign. Beginning this past October, East Valley began to offer donors the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy on the Pomona community and adopt a ceramic butterfly that they would be able to paint and decorate and that would be permanently placed on a large ceramic mural outside of the Pomona health center location. More than 70 participants in the event were provided with painting supplies and a 4”, 7”, 9”, or 15” ceramic butterfly to decorate. The event took place from 2­—4 p.m. at East Valley in Pomona, at 1555 S. Garey Ave.

The painting event was just one piece of the creation of a large art mural, entitled “Catching Hope,” which celebrates health, wellness, and community participation.  The mural is being created in handmade ceramic tiles and will depict the silhouettes of children at play as they reach to catch bubbles and butterflies suspended in the air. These bubbles will each have images of health and healing to symbolize the community’s aspirations for wellness, growth, and prosperity. The artwork, which will be finalized in the spring of 2015, will be installed on the clinic’s exterior front wall, facing Garey Avenue. The artist chosen to create the mural is Alison Petty Ragguette, a professor of art at California State University—San Bernardino. She was selected through a public art competition organized by East Valley during the summer.  

Following the workshop, the butterflies will be glazed and high-fired in a kiln. The final step is the installation on the wall.