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hand in hand (leadville, co)

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Artist’s Statement Read at Mural Dedication

"Hand in Hand" we can make a difference.

I saw that firsthand in Leadville during January, as we convened community meetings to address our mutual concerns. I experienced that at Pizza Hut where about two dozen adolescents came together to discuss their community. I witnessed it at the Church when meeting with Mexican nationals who sought to create a spirit of community. It was evident in all facets of Leadville life.

Leadville, as America since time immemorial, has also witnessed this. As a society we contract to help one another to bring our diverse skills to the table and jointly arrive at solutions. Always valuing each others contributions, working Hand in Hand.

In designing the mural we are unveiling today, I tried to capture the spirit of Leadville. Each of us helping one another, understanding that when one suffers the community suffers. That the whole is made better when each individual's quality of life in enhanced. When families are empowered to reach out for a better future.

I felt that spirit coming alive in Leadville. I wish I could be with you today to tap into the energy. I wish I could be there listening to you, partaking in the celebration and breathing the crisp air that caresses Mt. Massive and Mt. Elbert. Know that I am with you in spirit and quite obviously through my art. I am honored that the mural is going to be unveiled at the Center, I was quite touched as I walked through its halls and saw how the community cared for its most valuable resource--its children.

I hope that today's unveiling isn't simply the grand finale--the celebration to mark the great united effort that brought a community together to assess itself. I hope that its more than a ceremony to congratulate those committed individuals who devoted endless volunteer hours to reproduce my design onto these 8 x 4 planks of wood. I hope we are not here just to commemorate the end of a process, or to recognize the creation of an artistic product.

I hope this beautiful event to be all of that and more. I hope that it is a beginning. That the mural before you serve to inspire others to act. I hope that this mural becomes a template for others to follow. That its ownership extend beyond these walls. That others work Hand in Hand to expand upon it. That the empty grids be filled by local initiative to depict Leadville's history and passion and continue to capture its essence. That it be a living testimony of your Spirit as a community.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank some individuals who made this happen. First of all, I would like to thank Allison Manthey for her brilliant leadership in coordinating the artistic effort, as well as her art students at Lake County High, and all those in the community who were involved in the different facets of this mural's creation.

I'd like to thank the caring and committed Erlin Martinez, who introduced me to Leadville and provided me with the resources, community access, innovative ideas and unconditional support in this endeavor. She even put me up at her home so this mural could be completed! She and the individuals, providers, colleagues and volunteers who collaborate with the Central Rockies Prevention Project were instrumental in bringing the community together.

I would like to personally thank the visionary Bob Gammelin, Director of the Central Rockies Prevention Project, for breathing life into this project, for having faith in me, for bringing me to Leadville, for helping me grow artistically and personally through this endeavor, for being a friend.

But most of all, I would like to thank the people of Leadville. All the people of Leadville -- A TODOS LOS QUE VIVEN EN LEADVILLE-- for whom I dedicate this mural, entitled "Hand in Hand." I hope that Hand in Hand you will continue to come together to meet your challenges. It's the only way you truly can.

God bless you.