Calling all artists!
Hannah Perry, owner of The Giggling Pig art studio on River Road, is kick-starting a project and benefit concert to raise money for music and art therapy at Sandy Hook.
"We feel a great need to do something. Lots of the kids who come here are from Newtown so we feel this extra connection," Perry said. "We don't want to just say we care, we want to be show it."
Perry's project involves getting 26 artists to each paint a large wooden heart with the theme "hope, love and peace" in mind. Her ultimate goal is to have all of them hung in the new school as a memorial, with a plaque on each piece bearing the artist's name and the student or teacher it was painted in memory of.
"They're 3-D hearts and if we can hang them all up together they will look like balloons flying on the wall," Perry said. "In 'The Giggling Pig' book, the characters meet in a heart-shaped balloon."
Two NYC-based artists, William Quigley and Jared Aufrichtig, have already signed on to the project. Perry said she is hoping to get local artists on board as well, but is willing to ship the 2-foot hearts around the country.
"The hearts are big, heavy and expensive to mail around so keeping things within the Tri-state area would be ideal," she said.
If the hearts cannot be hung at Sandy Hook once completed, they will be auctioned off and they money raised will be put toward a larger monetary donation to come from a benefit concert -- the other half of the project.
Details on the concert are slim, and Perry is putting out a call for help on getting it together.
"We need a space," Perry said. "I want it to be in Shelton so our town can make this event their own and show their support. And we need to keep it safe and organized."
Thus far, a handful of musicians have expressed interest but Perry is hoping to sign people on by the end of the month. She hopes to hold the concert in April, when the weather gets a bit warmer.
Any artist or musician interested in being a part of this project should contact Hannah Perry: hgperry@gmail.com or 203-919-1153.
