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ARTISTS HELPING CHILDREN FOUNDATION JUST LAUNCHED
By Rachel Goldstein

Remember when you were a kid and you had to go to the hospital? Remember the strange sights, the sounds, unpleasant smells, and strangers entering your hospital room? You had no idea what was happening to you and no one could explain in a way you understood. You waited a lot with nothing to do except worry about what was going to happen next.

Artists Helping Children Foundation (http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org) is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing comfort to children in hospitals, clinics, and shelters by brightening their environment with murals and other art. By painting murals and creating other art for and with the children, we create enriching and happy places to ease the children’s fear and pain, to take their minds and their hearts out of the cold and into warm and wonderful places. It is amazing how a piece of paper and crayons can divert his attention away from pain. This is because children respond to and use artwork as tools for coping.

The people who work with Artists Helping Children provide art that brings joy and happiness to the lives of ill, mistreated, and needy children in communities everywhere. Through the generosity of artists, patients and community members, Artists Helping Children helps create murals, pieces of art, and provides arts and crafts supplies for the kids we serve.

HERE ARE A FEW WAYS WE BRING JOY TO ILL AND NEEDY CHILDREN

(1) Professional Muralists - Our muralists change the look of hospitals for the better. A team will visit a site to meet with the facilities’ staff. With their help, we plan out a theme, the colors, and images that we will use within the mural. Then, we present sketches of designs appropriate to the space. Once the designs are approved, we begin recruiting volunteers and budgeting for the project.

(2) Paint-A-Mural Community Events - Community organizations are instrumental in helping us bring beautiful murals in to as many institutions as we can. Paint-a-Mural events are entertaining, stress-relieving, and a great way to bond with your community members. We provide a color-coded canvas with the mural drawn in, almost like a big coloring book. The volunteer’s job is to paint, paint, and paint.

(3) Local Stores are Getting Involved - Stores are even getting involved. Some stores have decided to
Display our pre-drawn canvas murals, cut in to smaller pieces for easier handling. These stores are able to show the local community that their store is a charitable organization and at the same time get eager children into their store to help paint the murals. After completion, we clean up the mural and donate it to an organization of their choice.

(4) Patients Can Join In - Patients enjoy the chance to get out of their rooms and do something uplifting and entertaining. Their minds are focused on happiness and they forget about their pain, if only for a short while. And even when they can’t participate first hand, we try to get them involved in the experience by providing outlets such as coloring and watercolor paint-by-number books that they can enjoy in their beds.

Please visit ArtistsHelpingChildren.org to see more about what we are doing, and how you can help our cause.

About the Author

Rachel Goldstein is Founder of Artists Helping Children Foundation - ArtistsHelpingChildren.org - A non-profit charity dedicated to bringing comfort to children in hospitals, clinics, and shelters by brightening their environment with murals, artwork, toys, and art supplies.

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Art is a part of life and for some, it is their way of life. Others usually consider art as a worthy investment. Regardless of how you see art, restoring and preserving art pieces are important techniques to maintain their value. Painting restoration is a serious matter; that is why most people prefer to have their paintings professionally restored. However, if you like the thought of restoring your own pieces, lots of practice and familiarity with techniques are necessary. Because according to statistics, more paintings and art works are destroyed each year by inept restoration and cleaning than by accidental burning or fire.

Clouded varnish, dirt, and smoke are the usual culprits that cause paintings to become dirty. Restoring paintings by cleaning it is the logical step of most owners. However, wiping paintings with rags or whatever liquid is damaging. Art restoration professionals recommend researching restoration techniques on the internet or attending seminars on restoring paintings before embarking on a restoration mission.

Art works look more elegant and classic when preserved in their original frames. As it is, detaching paintings from their frames is necessary and important before the actual cleaning. Non-removal of the frames not only causes discomfort and unease in cleaning, it also causes scratches and abrasion. Remove the frames by laying the picture backside up on a flat surface layered with foam or cushion to avoid scratching the frames. Vacuum accumulated dust on the frames’ back and remove nails gently with a metal ruler and pliers. Secure the nails on board with labels of their previous positions. For example, secure and label the nails plucked from the lower right side of the frame as “lower right”. This way, each nail fits exactly on its previous place without causing added strain on the frame. Marking the frame is also a good idea to be able to return it to its original position.

After removing paintings from their frame, it is better to inspect the kind of dirt build-up on the paintings. Knowing the kind of dirt to be removed is necessary in finding and using the right product and tools. Anti-mildew solutions remove mildew build-up or “foxing” effectively. However, soaking the painting in these solutions damages the colors and the painting. To prevent this, soak or spray the solution on a cotton pad and wipe on the area affected with foxing. Follow up with a water-dipped cotton pad and wipe dry. Periodically check cotton pads to see if some color or paint was dissolved. For dirt build-up that requires light to medium cleaning, slicing an onion in half and dipping it in lemon juice remove grime and dirt off art work. Rub paintings with lemon-soaked onion using a circular motion for even application. Slice the onion regularly to expose a fresh layer. An alternative is using warm water with lemon detergent or washing soda. Finish either treatment by wiping their painting with a moist sponge and leaving it to dry. Art works respond to this treatment with improved depth of color.

Experts recommend leaving varnish removal and painting repair to the professionals. Art works do not sell well or look good if extensively damaged. As these types of restoration require complicated techniques, the chances of botching the job are high if done by amateurs. The job is expensive but make the value of your paintings appreciate.

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