This month, students from Mrs. Fuller’s art class at Assumption Catholic Secondary School joined the Paul Hansell Foundation at the Art Gallery of Burlington to help make the #ConvoPlate–>a plate that gets people talking about mental health.
Grade 12 student Patricia Schiller talks about her experience making the plates:
“Over the past two Saturdays I was welcomed with open arms to an accepting environment at the Art Gallery of Burlington, where I met up with peers from Assumption and the Paul Hansell Foundation to create the newest edition of the conversation plates. For someone who is not very artistic and has only worked with clay in art class, the art gallery was very helpful at making the process well organized in simple steps; they even provided stamps to ease the stress. We were allowed to choose our own messages about mental health on the plate, using our creativity, creating individualized plates. Each person made two plates: one to be put out in the world using the hashtag #convoplate and will be passed around the world spreading awareness and keeping the conversation around mental health going; the other plate was ours to remind us of this unique experience. My experience creating these plates was so amazing: we laughed at Paul’s favourite jokes, shared stories of his musical talents and cherished his personality. My experience at the art gallery was very valuable; I created new friends and strengthened old friendships. The most important event that occurred in my opinion was that during those days it caused me to reflect on my support system and who I feel comfortable to talk to in a time of crisis, and who I can help, and be a part of their support system to help them work through problems so that they are not struggling on their own.” ~ Patricia Schiller Grade 12 Assumption student
The next round of plates will be launched in May. You can follow the conversation on social media using the #ConvoPlate.
Here are some picture of the plate making!
