TOY GUNS ARE TRANSFORMED INTO A COMMUNITY ARTWORK

In Buffalo, NY, on May 14, 2022, a mass shooter killed ten people at the Tops Supermarket on Jefferson Avenue.The peacekeeping group,  F.A.T.H.E.R.S., had been working with youth in the neighborhood for over twenty years. They set up a program to exchange toy guns for healthy toys and collected hundreds of guns. Rather than just toss them in a landfill, I volunteered to find a way to turn some of the plastic into an art project. The guns were difficult to break down into useful pieces and at one point had to be crushed with a steamroller.  With the help of a wonderful group of people, we went through the process of cutting, drilling and twist-tying pieces together to form a 'quilt.' Designs were loosely based on 'underground railroad' patterns.

I am so grateful to all of the people who helped. They are, in alphabetical order: 
Marti Cat, Hal Leader, Rowan Leader, Charles Martin, Becca Schwarzberg, Rose Synor, Phyllis Thompson, and Shirley Verrico. THANK YOU!