Club earns honors for work with Sharon artist

SHARON — The Sharon Woman’s Club was recently honored with awards at both the state and national levels for its support of the American Mural Project, created by Sharon artist Ellen Griesedieck.

Judy Albright, a newer member, brought the project to the club’s attention.

“My daughter had a wonderful opportunity when she was 16 to be an intern with Ellen,� Albright said. “One element of the mural is a space studies element. Ellen wanted to connect scientists and engineers with kids across the country to learn what the scientists did to put the rover on Mars.�

Albright’s daughter was a member of the Housatonic Valley Regional High School robotics team, so the internship was a natural fit. Albright said she was impressed with the experience her daughter had.

“When I became a member of the Woman’s Club, I decided to bring the American Mural Project to the club’s attention by organizing a meeting at Ellen’s studio,� Albright said.

The American Mural Project is a tribute to the American worker. The mural is so big it takes up an entire building in Winsted. Its dimensions are 120 feet long, five stories high and 10 feet deep. Griesedieck has collected unique pieces from throughout the United States and works with school children to prepare them for installation in the mural. A curriculum has been designed to be incorporated in school classrooms.

Once the Sharon Woman’s Club was convinced of the worthiness of the project, the next step, Albright said, was getting the Connecticut chapter of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC) involved.

“The state president came to see Ellen’s show at The Hotchkiss School art gallery and got very excited about it,� Albright said. “From there, Ellen got to speak at the state GFWC convention. The international president was there.�

With the support of the Sharon club and the state federation, the American Mural Project was selected as GFWC International’s Partnership Program for Arts in the Community.

“Clubs all across the country are going to be supporting it,� Albright said. “That’s 180,000 women.�

Each member of a woman’s club associated with the GFWC has been asked to contribute a wristwatch and $1 to the mural. The wristwatch symbolizes the time woman’s club members donate to their community. Griesedieck plans to encase the watches in resin and form them into a chain that will run throughout the mural.

“The only other nonprofit represented in the mural is Habitat for Humanity,� Albright said.

The Sharon Woman’s Club was recognized with the Arts Community Service Partnership Program award for “creativity in implementing an effective Arts Community Service Partnership Program.�

“It’s a big project and we’re a small club, so we’re pretty proud of it,� Albright said.

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