Celebrating 200 years of Indiana

Indiana is celebrating its 200th birthday! 

The Indiana Association of United Ways and its partners have developed a “public art” Bison-tennial project in counties throughout the state.Local artists and organizations have been recruited to decorate large fiberglass bison for public display from now through December. The public art will promote the Indiana Bicentennial as well as the United Way/Fund work in local communities—helping children prepare for and succeed in school, and helping families remain stable while improving health.

I was fortunate enough to paint a mini bison that the Indiana Dunes Tourism organized. The mini bison was fun to paint and it is a great project for the state. The concept for my bison—titled Common Ground— is based on the people that make up Indiana and the impact the election year has on our community. We all call Indiana home, whether you're a Democrat, a Republican or an Independent, we need to find common ground to move this state forward. The colors mixing and bleeding together represent the hardships and struggles we go through as a community to come together—these times are not easy and form a divide within our community. The faces are a combination of fun and serious, representing the good times and the bad. Common Ground is a call for change and the goal to finding common ground.

Learn more about the larger bison found throughout Indiana by visiting the United Way website. To find my bison in a random Northwest Indiana location near (or far!) from you, visit the Dunes facebook page for news and updates.

Proceeds from the sale of my bison will benefit the Dunes Learning Center.