2008
Summer Camp Dates!!!!
Camp dates for this year are Aug. 4th - 8th. Please fill out your
application form and snail mail it to
Monica Joyce. All
information can be found by clicking
here.
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Summer of 2007 For The Slam-Dunk Kids
Facing Diabetes Together
It was summer of 2007, that I was called to produce a mural
with the children and families of the summer basketball
camp, Slam Dunk for Diabetes. Emma Villarreal, the mother
of one of the older children, Olivia, had recommended me to
the Director, Monica Joyce. Olivia and her sister,
Veronica, had worked with me on some large mural projects I
directed through After School Matters at Chi-Town Futbol on
Throop Street in Chicago. Upon arriving at one of the
afternoon Slam Dunk sessions to meet the director, children,
parents, and coaches at De LaSalle High School, I was
immediately struck by the loving community spirit. Diabetes
educators and other related personnel were coaching children
on the sidelines about proper nutrition and giving them food
and drinks appropriate for diabetes following considerable
exercise. People were smiling and hugging each other and
giving encouraging words. The director and coaches beamed
with pride at what progress the children were making. Benny
the Bull was making the rounds and shaking hands. With the
up-coming mural in mind, I took several photos of the
children playing basketball and sitting with friends and
family along the sidelines.
After this initial visit, I envisioned the mural being a
three-dimensional row of children whose facial features are
strongly pronounced standing shoulder-to-shoulder in a line
with coaches and basketball players behind them. Being an
artist who loves to paint nature, I conceived of an entire
three-dimensional border of vines, flowers, butterflies,
birds, fruits and vegetables protruding beyond the row of
children and protectively surrounding them like a walled
garden; hence, the words “The Slam Dunk Kids Facing Diabetes
Together” were incorporated into the design. In the
preliminary study there were eight children in the row; in
the final mural there are ten, and all are holding
basketballs. Both the preliminary study and the final
version portray the director, coaches, and a few children
playing basketball behind the line of children. The many
butterflies signify the fragility of the children’s lives
and the need to fortify them in all possible ways.
Every minute spent in the working sessions on the mural with
the Slam Dunk Kids and their families was pure joy. I feel
that I have many new friends. They all were so easy to work
with and very eager to do whatever task was assigned! In
the first session we literally began with a blank white slab
of 48”x80” plywood fortified by a bracing made with 1” x 2”
furring strips. Coach Ed and his fiancée helped to prime
the canvas. While I labored to cut out the organic border
with the jigsaw, the children, their siblings and parents
drew and cut out shapes of various imagery using x-acto
knives, scissors and museum board. Subsequent sessions
involved more cutting, gluing with various adhesives,
painting, and covering painted areas with oriental papers to
produce a uniform textural surface. Discovering different
people’s strong points was a lot of fun, especially seeing
the satisfaction in their faces. During the work sessions
it was touching to witness the families sharing ways that
they cope with their children’s diabetes. They shared diet
plans, pertinent medical information and ways their life
styles changed after finding out that their children had
these special needs. In addition to producing a work of art
together this type of sharing was what made the mural itself
so special – a true labor of love and solidarity.
Anne Farley Gaines
The mural can be seen on our News
page as well as replicas that you may purchase for your very
own.