Original artwork of the Red Heart Medal
“Clara Barton Red Heart Medal” Painting in honor of all our courageous healthcare workers. When COVID19 first hit our country I prayed and asked, ”What can I do with my gift to honor all the brave men and women healthcare workers that are putting their lives on the line to help others?” I got a picture of a red heart with a woman’s profile wearing a mask, then I got this idea of a “Red Heart Medal.” So I painted the idea on canvas this past May.
Photoshop example of “Remember the Brave – Red Heart Medal” on a building in New Haven, CT
It is based on the military “Purple Heart” All of the colors and elements symbolize valor, bravery, courage, purity, protection, victory and innocence. I called the medal “The Clara Barton Red Heart medal” Clara Barton was a famous nurse in the American Civil War that the soldier’s named “Angel of the Battlefield” She started the Red Cross.
At first I thought of making actual medals, but how expensive and what an undertaking that would be, so then I thought of making T shirts to donate to all the health care workers. I knew I would have to start someplace so New haven being my hometown I thought I would start with Yale New Haven Hospital. I would raise money on gofundme, to make and donate the T shirts. After talking with some people at Yale New Haven Hospital who were very helpful I became very discouraged at all they said would go into getting the15k+ T-shirts to our healthcare workers. Attached are some ideas for the T-shirts.
Ok, so how can I “simplify” this thing to make it work? So I bumped into a childhood friend one day who suggested stickers, inexpensive stickers like the “I voted today” stickers or even better quality plastic stickers that can be placed on glass, car glass, on plastic, on a mirror or the back of a cell phone. I’ve got pricing for 15-20k.
Another version with likeness of Clara Barton
Finally! This sounded much more do-able. But after talking with Yale the problem of getting the stickers to each department would be very involved in get them to all the healthcare workers sounded like a logistic nightmare. So I hit another wall.
Well, I’m not the sharpest knife in the draw, but I thought, “Hey let’s just set up a table for a week or two somewhere in the Hospital, put the word out and if you want a sticker then come and pick it up!” Simple right? I also thought to sell them to the public on line to raise money and also down the road donate the original painting itself to raise money for helping our healthcare workers that were traumatized when this thing first hit us.
Over the past year I’ve shown it to a few nurses and Doctors and they were blown away by it. So as I mentioned earlier, I painted the idea on canvas this past May and ever since I’ve been trying to figure out a way to get it to these brave people. I think this symbol would be a blessing to them, but also in hopes that folks would see this “image” and be inspired and encouraged and how it can be used to honor and support our brave men and women on the frontlines for the past year. I hope to get this as a mural on a building in New Haven Ct.
Shore line paper article:
WTNH Ch 8 news story:
Marc Potocsky – MJP Studios
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