Art show benefits Parkinson's Foundation

Mallery Nagle
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND November 18, 2006 07:16 pm

— The residents and staff of Bradford Village and the Parkinson Foundation of the Heartland would like everyone in Edmond to experience the “Art of Retirement Living.”
“During the month of November, (we) are conducting a month-long art exhibit, displaying incredible works by local artists, members of the Parkinson Foundation, University of Central Oklahoma students and residents of Bradford Village,” said Tricia Jones, retirement counselor at Bradford Village.
The exhibit will conclude with a fundraising gala at Bradford Village, 300 Enz Drive, from 6:30-8 p.m. Nov. 30, with proceeds benefiting the Parkinson Foundation. Local merchants and artists have made donations of items for a silent auction and area restaurants have donated food for the event.
Jones said the idea for the exhibit and the gala came about because so many Bradford Village residents have been touched by Parkinson’s disease. Either they are afflicted with the condition themselves or family and friends have suffered, she said. The Parkinson Foundation also meets at Bradford Village.
Jones said she has been overwhelmed by the response to the call for exhibit pieces. She said not only current residents have lent their works to the project, but staff and family members have brought works by former residents, as well.
“At first it was just in the great hall,” she said. “But we’ve filled that up. It’s in the lobby and down the halls. Every day someone asks if it’s too late to bring something.”
Of course, Jones said, it is never too late to add a piece to the exhibit.
“It really reminds people how deeply rooted we are in the community,” she said.
A variety of media is represented in the exhibit. The show includes photographs, oil paintings, water colors, quilts and sculpture.
One contributing artist is resident Mary Elizabeth Work. Four of her paintings are on display. She also has donated some photographs for the auction.
Work said her love of painting began in second grade. She recalled painting “The Ant and the Grasshopper” with water colors purchased in a small tin at the dime store.
She did receive some formal training in painting in Tonkawa when her husband was a minister in Perry and she has taken painting courses at University of Central Oklahoma.
“The paintings for the show are very special to me,” Work said. “One is my mother’s home where I was born in Durant. Another one is of the church where my husband was the minister for 11 years.”
One that has significant meaning to her was done after her husband’s retirement. “It’s of two ears of corn,” she said. “After my husband retired, he started a garden and this is corn he grew. He made the walnut frame and cut the mat.”
Another painting captures a magnolia in glorious full bloom. “A neighbor brought it to me and I painted it,” Work recalled. “My husband said not to lose this one.”
Although she said she really does not paint anymore, she does small projects for her son.
Besides lending her artistic talent, Work has another interest in the event. Her sister, Laura Louise Gunter, died of Parkinson’s disease two years ago.
She displays her work in memory of her sister and in hopes that treatment and cure can be found for the devastating illness.
The Parkinson Foundation of the Heartland is a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding the cure for Parkinson’s Disease and to providing services and educational programs for people with the disease, their caregivers and to health care professionals.
Reservations for the event may be made by calling 341-0810. The exhibit is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday at Bradford Village.

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