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Gilbert artists’ work honors medical workers

BY SRIANTHI PERERA

GSN Contributor

People lucky enough to escape the debilitating illness caused by COVID-19 may not have met the healthcare workers on the frontlines.

But they are aware of the critical and dangerous role they are playing during these troubling times.

Four members of the Gilbert Visual Art League joined the international community to pay homage to healthcare workers via brushstrokes.

Jane Bradley, Rosalie Vaccaro, Shelley Marler and Glenda Nieman have painted their appreciation of medical heroes and sent their portraits to the subjects.

“Each health care worker has a story. The bravery and selflessness of those on the frontlines is amazing. The art that has been created for them around the world is a small offering for what they do,” said Jane Bradley, who took the initiative on the project on behalf of the Gilbert group.

Bradley created a portrait of an anesthesiology resident in Chicago and a high school’s speech and debate team, 17-year-old Delaney Krieger is trying to fill a need she sees in Gilbert as the General Election approaches.

So the Gilbert teen, a senior at Arizona College Prep – Erie in Chandler Unified, has launched: time-to-vote.com to promote knowledgeable voting by young people – a subject she is passionate about.

Delaney said what she learned in speech and debate about the nation’s

“The pandemic is frightening to everypolitical process enabled her to see deficiencies.

“I started to think, what is one of the largest issues relating to people my age? This was when I came across a statistic representing ages 18-28 having the lowest voter turnout,” Delaney explained.

“I was shocked since these are the exact individuals that are our future and possess the power to make a change,” she continued. “So, to put it simply, my first goal was to just increase voter turnout.”

Through research of organizations with a similar mission, Krieger learned about advocating for voter turnout – but

Gilbert Artist Jane Bradley painted this portrait of a Chicago anesthesiologist.

just have to do the best to stay sane as we can and to find a way to help others. For me that is painting,” she said. The project started in England when artist Tom Croft presented an online exhibition of more than 700 works of staff at National Health Service during U.K.’s lockdown. His idea was to galvanize artists across the country and celebrate the frontline workers. The idea spread around the world’s arts community almost as easily as the virus did. Bradley was contacted by French artist Aldo Balding who started a group called Soignantssurlefront on Facebook. “We put offers on our pages both on Facebook and Instagram for Rosalie Vaccarro paid tribunte to Jacqueline Rios, a phlebotomist at New York City’s Montifiore Hospital. people to request paintings.After doctor at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospisome of my students also followed. tal, among others. Once we painted these, we posted them

She plans to do more as soon as she rewith information about the people we covers from eye surgery. have painted,” Bradley said. one. It has changed the whole world. We see PORTRAITS page 20

Gilbert teen’s site connects youth to issues

BY STACI HAUK GSN Contributor

After spending four years on her

completing two of my paintings, that didn’t seem sufficient.

While she believes that goal is important, she also feels too many elected officials don’t necessarily seem to accurately represent the views of people her age share.

That presented a larger problem that she set out to solve.

“I continued to do more research as to why my demographic isn’t going to the polls,” she said.

“I conducted informal surveys, spoke with some of my friends and others and found that one of the major inhibiting

GILBERT SUN NEWS | SEPTEMBER 6, 2020 COMMUNITY 19 San Tan Charter speakers discuss ‘connection’

GSN NEWS STAFF

San Tan Charter School teachers and staff recently gathered wearing masks and maintaining social distance for a back-to-school pep talk on the importance of socio-economic connection and consideration for educators.

The Back to School Speakers event has been a key part of launching the new school year at the Gilbert school, but this year there was only one day of in-person training and professional development instead of the usual three.

The other meetings and trainings were conducted via Google Meet, pre-recorded trainings and/or other virtual meetings.

Kris Sippel, CEO and Superintendent of Schools, said relationship building was the theme of this year’s event.

“Since our inception as a school community, we have wanted to be known as a school that inspires, encourages and supports people in being and doing their best,” Sippel said.

He presented a COVID-19 timeline and what teachers and staff could expect this year and next.

“I also asked for continued grace and flexibility that is needed for these challenging times,” he said.

Alisa M. Johnson, a second-grade gifted teacher at San Tan Charter School also spoke during the event.

Johnson, who is starting her eighth year at the school, presented a speech titled “Social Justice, a More Perfect Union.”

“We talked about ideas and concepts that can prevent us from going after the students in our class that are not keeping charge that in the middle of COVID and having to rethink how we deliver education, this could be the very catalyst for change to become culturally responsive teachers,” Johnson added.

Kami and Larry Kerby, a husband-wife team who specialize in helping parents and teachers thrive with children through their company, Kerby Seminar Group, spoke about “Nine Essential Skills for the Love and Logic Classroom.”

Kami said the philosophy of this curriculum is supported by the school’s values.

“The teachers and staff re-committed to lead and manage their classrooms with

love and empathy,” Kami said. “They left with a connection plan to implement because they know powerful relationships are critical in creating an environment where students want to learn.” Adam Lee Teachers and staff at San Tan Charter School in Gilbert gathered for one day to hear inspiraBrooks from tional speakers. (Special to GSN) Drive to Save in step with the majority of the students, aged teachers and staff to remember that be it academically, behaviors, special everyone has the need for connection and needs, etcetera. Biases, particularly teachbelonging. er bias is real and can be explicit as well as Sippel said he and the other presenters implicit,” Johnson said. finished the Back to School Speakers event

“We ended our discussion with the feeling positive and inspired to start the

Lives encournew school year.

“We also received a great deal of positive feedback from the teachers that focused on their appreciation for spending this time with them and providing such valuable, helpful, inspiring and encouraging information,” he said.

San Tan Charter School is a K-12 public nonprofit tuition-free charter school with two campuses.

The Power campus serves students in grades 7-12 and the Recker campus is an elementary school serving students K-6 including a private Montessori preschool infant, toddler, and PreK.

The school uses a Love and Logic approach to classroom management that is focused on building relationships and communicating with respect and focuses on “Education with a Purpose” – which means teachers encourage love of learning to help youngsters build skills to face challenges and develop critical thinking skills.

Information: santancharterschool.com.

ANSWERS TO PUZZLE AND SUDOKU on Page 31

Nieman completed two portraits of nurses on the COVID-19 frontlines: Corey, an RN in Ohio and Ginny, who answered a call to work with New York state patients.

A retired educator from the Chandler Unified School District, the artist said she is humbled to be a part of the movement and will continue to explore more avenues to share. She paints nature, animals and portraits of people.

“I want very much to be able to give to others, especially to those who are risking their own lives to help those in need. When Jane (Bradley) offered this opportunity, I jumped on it.I felt that this would be one way to honor our medical heroes,” she said.

“I may not have the skills necessary to help ease someone’s pain in these difficult situations, but I can share the skills I do have,” Nieman added.

Shelley Marler asked around for subjects and settled on Dayton Gardner, a frontline medical worker on the emergency respiratory floor in a Utah hospital.

“It was a great experience painting Dayton,” Marler said. “I kept in contact with him throughout the project and came to appreciate what he does to help his patients.

“The doctors and RNs don’t get enough credit for the time, expertise and extra hours they put in treating COVID-19 patients. Anything we can do to show our appreciation is worth it.”

VOTE from page 18 factors for people my age was that they are not current with the issues.”

She also found an overwhelming majority of young people don’t watch the news or even do their own research, trusting instead in social media posts.

“Very few people my age want to sit down and read an article written with the rhetoric and word choice for older generations,” Delaney said. “It takes too much effort to try to conceptualize and understand the history and political context behind the articles written by news sources.”

Time-to-Vote.com is dedicated to presenting information in relatable terms so potential voters can understand the ballot issues and identify candidates who will best represent them.

Krieger feels it’s key to offer an unbiased source that spells out facts without editorials and name-calling and her website explores the history behind topics, simplifying major issues into digestible chunks.

Her hope is to entice young voters to gain wisdom which readies them to vote – and makes them excited to do so.

“It seems as though there are very few sources that properly present pure media and state only facts without having a slant in some direction. Additionally,

“I believe she deserves a portrait,” Vaccaro said. Even if most people are not working in medical care, they are dealing with the depressing effects of long-term quarantining. “As all of us, we are feeling tired and confined, but trying to keep our spirits optimistic,” Vaccaro said. “I miss the camaraderie of painting in groups with other artists. I am painting other portraits and paintings to keep my skills improving.” Nieman said that the pandemic took her by surprise. “I never imagined the scenario that we are now living with. It saddens me to hear of all the suffering that it has caused throughout the world,” she said. “At the same time, I am more aware of what is importShelley Marler painted Dayton Gardner, a frontline medical workant in life and value the kindness er on the emergency respiratory floor in a Utah hospital. and concern that others share.” Bradley received an email from many sources that are unbiased ultimately are written as scholarly articles or use rhetoric that is difficult to grasp. “With Time to Vote’s focus on educating young adults, I feel as though it fills both voids.” Delaney is currently focused on writing articles with titles like “The Candidate That Wins the Most Votes from the People Wins the Election Right? Not Necessarily.” And she plans to continue to explore topics that could figure heavily into campaigns over the next two months. Delaney plans to continue her site and add new contributors when she goes to

Marler, who creates a type of circular a colleague of the anesthesiologist dotted paintings called mandalas, is also she painted out of a photograph. She creating a medical mandala for Gardner, wrote: and others for a chiropractor, holistic “James is an Anesthesiology resident medical doctor and a urologist. in Chicago who has been taking care of

Of the two portraits Vaccaro creatCOVID patients.As an anesthesiologist, ed, one is of her granddaughter who is he is responsible for performing emerworking in an assisted living facility in gent procedures which place him at the Connecticut, and who recently got lihighest risk of COVID exposure, as those censed as a CNA. The young woman beprocedures aerosolize the virus. Howcame sick with the virus but has since ever, he never complains and whenever recovered. there is downtime, he is always goofing

Glenda Nieman painted Ohio Registered Nurse Corey.

around and cheering people up.

He hates taking pictures of himself, but before the pandemic, he had a slow shift and took this silly photo.He is holding a laryngoscope, which is the tool used for intubations.They are the most common tool of an anesthesiologist and is used on most COVID patients who end up needing a ventilator.”

To read more about these artists, visit their websites at janebradleyart.com; glendaniemanfineart.com; rosalievaccaro.com; and shelleymarler.com.

Gilbert Visual Art League: gval.org. college, where she aspires to study business, law or even marine biology.

“I believe it is important to have an impartial way to discuss the election and political issues with no bias because of the polarized nature of today’s society,” Delaney said.

GOT NEWS? Contact Cecilia Chan at 480-898-5613 or cchan@timespublications.com