Blades of Change collaborated with with University House (Era Living Retirement Communities) in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood to honor elders through art-making with our nuclear fan blades. We had the pleasure of working with local artists, Gina Ariko Maroni and Tom Gormally, who created new works of art based on a series of interviews with resident elders. Maroni’s resulting sculpture, was permanently collected by University House.
Special thanks to curator June Sekiguchi for helping to make this project possible.
Gina Ariko Maroni, a Ballard-based painter was paired with resident elder, Fred Minifie.
“I had such a positive experience interviewing Fred, and we had some surprising connections for two strangers meeting by chance from different generations. I really didn't know what to expect going into it, or how I would go about interpreting the conversation into a painting but it's been a surprisingly fun creative challenge.” - Gina Ariko Maroni
The quilt pattern was inspired by Fred’s love for family and his many grandchildren and great-granchildren. ‘The apple never falls far from the tree’ was one theme that inspired the work, and purple and gold color pallete speak to Minifie’s career as Professor of Speech & Hearing Sciences at University of Washington.”
Photos by Mark Woods