Recovery Tree (in Mosaic)

The patients in the Horticulture Therapy program here are primarily referred from programs affiliated with substance abuse and/or homelessness. Although not a licensed addiction therapist, I try to provide constructive advice regarding living a life that is productive and clean and sober. I also try to have activities that are meaningful, have purpose (ie will be sold to customers or will decorate something) and can translate to hobbies that can be worked on in their own personal lives.

In the Flower Shoppe, customers have been few lately and therefore work for the patients is slow. It's that time of year after Christmas and before Valentine's Day. I decided to breath life into the mosaic projects which are dear to my heart ... especially one of the bigger projects. We take ceramics from the recreation clinics that veterans have left behind and smash them up into small pieces and adhere them to various items with Tile Adhesive. We have covered the laminate on old work benches so far. We have started working on clay pots.... In October I received an award from the Recycling Committee for a creative use of pots into mosaic art and I am very proud of this.

Since last year, I couldn't get the veterans to initiate a creative masterpiece on any of the workbenches. So today I just drew the outline of a tree on the workbench and dubbed it the Recovery Tree. I started working on it with another veteran. Now, I have someone working on it by themselves, and it is coming out well.

Here is the beginning from the early conception and the last picture is at closing time today.

Horticulture Rocks!!