The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘Heart houses’ on display but they’re not for the birds
MADISON — Brightly painted birdhouses adorned with inspirational quotes, colorful artwork and personal messages perch on the front lawn of the First Congregational Church.
Yet these birdhouses are not for the birds. Known as “heart houses,” these works of art are expressions from the heart, individually painted to share how the year 2020, including COVID-19, has impacted the artists.
“The idea being just an opportunity for people to express all that they’ve been experiencing and going through – grief, hope, loss, new learning,” says the Rev. Sarah Vetter, who along with her husband, the Rev. Todd Vetter, is the church’s clergy.
“It’s been a very challenging time, but also really full for people to examine what matters most and rethink some things,” she adds.
With input from artist
Sanna Stanley, the community art project was born.
Stanley collaborated with the Hearts for Healing program at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital to create the Our Hearts Grow Wild project at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital in 2018. The images of the birdhouses used in that project inspired the local heart houses project.
The church supplies the birdhouses to the artists, who then return them once completed, to be included in this unusual art installation.
Vetter encourages community members to contact her at 203-245-2739, ext. 12 or svetter@fccmadison.org to be part of this project.
Stanley views this project as important for the people who choose to visit it, as it is for the artists who created the heart houses.
“The idea was to bring people together, to build community and to give an opportunity to people, through a creative way, to express how they have felt with what they have been through,” the Madison resident says.
Started about a month ago, there are currently about a dozen large heart houses and another dozen small heart houses created by the Sunday school children.
The cedar bird houses are transformed using acrylic paint, permanent markers, fabric, yarn, natural materials including stones, twigs, moss and seashells.
“People have gotten really, really creative with them,” says Vetter.
Linda Tutschulte’s heart house incorporated a print of one of her original pieces of artwork. The painting, done during the pandemic, signifies what she believes many people are experiencing as COVID-19 continues to plague the community.
On the bottom of the painting is a cozy house, snuggled in the woods, a bright line burning, and the top half shows a person sitting with his head down and his arms folded.
“It’s to depict the difference between the utter despair that we feel - one minute you can be all warm and cozy and then the next minute you just feel terrible with everything that’s going on,” the Madison artist explains.
She also incorporated examples of what she views as silver linings throughout the last 10 months.
“(Being) retired I’ve been able to really appreciate the quiet and the silence and pay more attention to nature and look at what we have without always wanting more,” she explains.
Yet, Vetter stresses that artistic perfection is not the aim of the project. She invites anyone in the community to consider contributing to the project.
If you or your team or organization would like to be part of this project, contact
the Rev. Sarah Vetter at 203245-2739, ext. 12. You can also email svetter@fccmadison.org
For more information on
FCC, please go to www.fccmadison.org or visit us on Facebook at First Congregational Church of Madison, CT.