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Kids Kreative Korner |
These Creative Young People Found a Way to Create Art and Cheer Children Who Are Fighting Illness.
By Bonnie Drew
Creative teens Ramon Aceveda and Andre Llinas of Chicago are friends and budding artists with a special mission to cheer sick children. A few years ago, they were commissioned to create seven "friendly" ceramic tiles for a new pediatric unit at Chicago's Resurrection Hospital.
Planners of the new unit believed that child-friendly art would help children and their families feel less afraid of medical procedures. They commissioned Ramon and Andre to create seven different 8.5-inch square ceramic tiles, one for each new room in the unit. The tiles are mounted in the wall beside each door, which is named for the picture on the tile. Room numbers appear on companion tiles, also designed and created by these talented tile artists.
Ramon and Andre were selected to make the tiles for Resurrection Hospital because they're members of a ceramics apprenticeship program in Chicago called The Tile People. The program was created to assist low-income individuals in learning a marketable skill.
Working as a team, Ramon and Andre spent Saturdays for several months designing, making, selecting colors, and glazing the tiles. Each tile has a raised design of a rainforest animal such as a monkey, toucan, or iguana. As they worked, the boys imagined the giggles down the hall when nurses tell children they're going to the "Monkey Room."
Now that the project for Resurrection Hospital is finished, Ramon and Andre are ready for a new challenge. The hospital allowed them to retain the rights to their tile designs, so the boys have hopes of seeing these designs being sold one day in gift shops and stores across Chicago.
Congratulations to Ramon and Andre.
Bonnie Drew is the author of FAST CASH FOR KIDS (2nd edition), published by Career Press (1-800-227-3371). She is also the creator of the KIDS BUSINESS software for young entrepreneurs, available from Homeland Publications (713-332-9764).
Drew is also Editor of YoungBiz online magazine, published by Kid's Way, Inc., a company that helps youth prepare for business and the workplace of the 21st century. For more information, write to Kid's Way at 5589 Peachtree Rd, Chamblee, GA 30341 or call toll free 1-888-KidsWay (1-888-543-7929). YoungBiz magazine can be found at http://www.youngbiz.com
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