Art for a cause: tile paintings brighten walls and point the way for families

Eagle Scout candidate Jeremy Gross of Wilmington; Rosanne Fogarty of Everyday Artists pottery studio in Hockessin, Kim Petrella, Buck Brownlee, interim maintenance manager: and Bob Mulrooney, vice president, Facilities and Services.

July 6, 2012

Eagle Scout candidate Jeremy Gross of Wilmington; Rosanne Fogarty of Everyday Artists pottery studio in Hockessin, Kim Petrella, RN; Buck Brownlee, interim maintenance manager: and Bob Mulrooney, vice president, Facilities and Services.

A decorating project that combines children’s artwork with direction-finding help is brightening hallways in the Women’s & Children’s Health Services wing at Christiana Hospital.

Kim Petrella, RN, in Labor and Delivery (L&D) championed the three-year project. Her efforts involved organizing the groups of child artists, including the children of many L&D unit staffers. Petrella connected with Hockessin artist Rosanne Fogarty, of Everyday Artists studio, who offered her services and some supplies, and with fundraiser Jeremy Gross, an Eagle Scout candidate who saw a ready-made community service project that could help him achieve his next Scouting rank.

The trio produced 426 hand-painted, fired and framed tiles to hang outside every room in L&D, OB/GYN Triage, OB High Risk, OB Post Peri-Op, Antenatal, Postpartum, and Pediatrics.

Many local suppliers offered art supplies at cost for the project and donated money too, as did the Boy Scouts of Troop 50, led by Gross. Christiana Care Health System helped with financial support.