IN THE ARMS OF ANGELS
After my mom lost five babies, our family decided we wanted to do something for other moms suffering through infant loss.
WE MAKE ANGELS OF ALL NATIONALITIES TO GIVE THE MOTHERS A PERSONAL KEEPSAKE TO TAKE HOME SO THEY DON'T LEAVE THE HOSPITAL EMPTY-HANDED.
HOW WE GOT STARTED
We lived in Chicago, Illinois for ten years. In that ten year time period my mom lost three babies at 18 weeks and a set of twins at 10 weeks. It was a hard time for my family. We decided we were going to make something for the boxes given out to people who have miscarriages. Grace (my older sister) and I set to making about seventy clay angels of all different nationalities. We sent them to the hospital where my mom delivered her babies that died. Shortly after, we received a thank you card and they wanted to interview my mom for the Daily Herald. Lisa Sullivan, the clinical director of baby delivery, said,"I just thought it was the sweetest gesture, for someone who had a loss to think of us," she said. "That is so amazing, just such a selfless act." Making the angels is really fun and time consuming, but it is always worth the effort. Mothers need help going through this trial and Helen Keller summarized this saying, "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."
www.dailyherald.com/article/20161213/news/161219560/
Lisa Sullivan, clinical director of labor and delivery at Northwestern Central DuPage Hospital, admires a small clay angel created by patient Melissa Callister and her daughters.
Bev Horne | Staff Photographer
STARTING THE ANGEL PROJECT IN OUR NEW COMMUNITY
In my english class at Timberline Middle school we were each given $10 to make a difference in our community like Malala Yousafzai did in her community. Mike Anderson said, "We need to know that we can make a positive difference through the work we do." I like that quote and it is our goal for this project. I decided that I would do my clay angels for the project and donate them to a hospital in Utah because it is really sad that mothers have to go through this loss. Cezar Chaves said, "We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and posterity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own."
My Uncle, David Haselton, who is an Associated Chief Medical Officer for IHC and an Emergency Physician, put us in touch with Heather Barnes, Director of Volunteer Services American Fork Hospital & Orem Community Hospital. I sent her an email explaining our project and asked if she would be interested in starting our angel project at American Fork Hospital. Heather was so excited and said she wanted to meet us. We made more angels and presented them to her. She replied saying, "That is so thoughtful!" She was so touched by our project that she said she is going to introduce us to other Labor and Delivery directors from local hospitals so we can expand our angel project to reach even more mothers who suffer through infant loss.
My Uncle, David Haselton, who is an Associated Chief Medical Officer for IHC and an Emergency Physician, put us in touch with Heather Barnes, Director of Volunteer Services American Fork Hospital & Orem Community Hospital. I sent her an email explaining our project and asked if she would be interested in starting our angel project at American Fork Hospital. Heather was so excited and said she wanted to meet us. We made more angels and presented them to her. She replied saying, "That is so thoughtful!" She was so touched by our project that she said she is going to introduce us to other Labor and Delivery directors from local hospitals so we can expand our angel project to reach even more mothers who suffer through infant loss.
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
The angels are really fun to make. We get our clay from sculpey and it is good quality. We make the body and then spend lots of time on the different hair styles. We can make curly, straight, long, short, braided, buns, and even twisted hair. The hair is probably my favorite part of the process. We then make the baby and carefully place it in the angel's arms. Then we take a sharp edged tool and gently stroke it over the body to add texture. Then we bake it in an oven for fifteen minutes at 275 degrees. When they have finished cooling we put mod podge all over them to make them smooth, shiny, and strong.
reflection
When I found out we were doing this project it was easy for me to figure out what I wanted to do. We lived in Chicago, Illinois for ten years and during that time period my mom had five miscarriages. We moved to Utah and made clay angels for the hospital in Illinois where my mom had her miscarriages. It was a fun process that my sister Grace and I experienced together. For my project I decided to make the clay angels again and donate them to a hospital in Utah because is is sad that mothers have to go through this loss.
My understanding of this problem has changed sincerely since I started. I realize when I make them that I might have a miscarriage one day so it is important that I understand how it feels and can continue to work on this skill. Having a miscarriage can be a traumatic experience, but at least they won’t leave the hospital empty handed when they receive the clay angel. This is a topic that should be taken seriously and not shrugged away by those who don’t know what it is like to have a miscarriage.
A problem I had was contacting the right nurse. It took me while to contact my uncle and ask him for some information on who would be best to talk to. After a while he sent me a nurse’s contact and we got in touch. After contacting the nurse the only other problem we had was that the brown clay was coming very slowly . Sometimes when the angels were baking in the oven their heads might fall off because I did not attach them firmly enough. That was an easy fix because all I had to was glue it back on with a hot glue gun. Other than that, the process was smooth and fun!
My project relates to the theme of Making a Difference because it helped our community. Infant loss is a sad situation to be in and it affects so many families. We are happy to do a small part to lift their burdens. The nurse that we met with had a miscarriage too and was still sad about
it, so I chose an angel that looked like her and gave it to her. She was so happy and I liked the impact that it has on people because it makes me happy too. That is how I made a difference in my community.
My understanding of this problem has changed sincerely since I started. I realize when I make them that I might have a miscarriage one day so it is important that I understand how it feels and can continue to work on this skill. Having a miscarriage can be a traumatic experience, but at least they won’t leave the hospital empty handed when they receive the clay angel. This is a topic that should be taken seriously and not shrugged away by those who don’t know what it is like to have a miscarriage.
A problem I had was contacting the right nurse. It took me while to contact my uncle and ask him for some information on who would be best to talk to. After a while he sent me a nurse’s contact and we got in touch. After contacting the nurse the only other problem we had was that the brown clay was coming very slowly . Sometimes when the angels were baking in the oven their heads might fall off because I did not attach them firmly enough. That was an easy fix because all I had to was glue it back on with a hot glue gun. Other than that, the process was smooth and fun!
My project relates to the theme of Making a Difference because it helped our community. Infant loss is a sad situation to be in and it affects so many families. We are happy to do a small part to lift their burdens. The nurse that we met with had a miscarriage too and was still sad about
it, so I chose an angel that looked like her and gave it to her. She was so happy and I liked the impact that it has on people because it makes me happy too. That is how I made a difference in my community.
Clay angel videos
a Special Thanks
Thank you to all the investors that helped me with the costs of purchasing clay for my project. My other expenses were the cost of packaging and glaze for our angels. We are going to contact Sculpey and ask them if they would be interested in donating clay to our future angel projects.
Expenses
Clear fabric bags - $8.88
White Clay - $11.28
Brown Clay - $5.24
Shred for bags - $5.98
Expenses
Clear fabric bags - $8.88
White Clay - $11.28
Brown Clay - $5.24
Shred for bags - $5.98
more quotes
"Unless someone like you cares a awful lot, it's not going to get any better. It's not."
-Doctor Suess
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
-Mahatma Gandhi
"The best way to find yourself is to loose yourself in the service of others."
-Mahatma Gandhi
"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory."
-Mahatma Gandhi
"Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go."
-Mother Teresa
"To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity."
-Douglas Adams
"It is not the style of clothes one wears, neither the kind of automobile one drives, nor the amount of money one has in the bank, that counts. These mean nothing. It is simply service that measures success."
-George Washington Carver
"Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy."
-Mahatma Gandhi
Quote Sources
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/service
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/service
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/service
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/mother_teresa_153714
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/mahatma_gandhi
-Doctor Suess
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
-Mahatma Gandhi
"The best way to find yourself is to loose yourself in the service of others."
-Mahatma Gandhi
"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory."
-Mahatma Gandhi
"Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go."
-Mother Teresa
"To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity."
-Douglas Adams
"It is not the style of clothes one wears, neither the kind of automobile one drives, nor the amount of money one has in the bank, that counts. These mean nothing. It is simply service that measures success."
-George Washington Carver
"Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy."
-Mahatma Gandhi
Quote Sources
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/service
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/service
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/service
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/mother_teresa_153714
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/mahatma_gandhi