Page 14 - The Decorative Painter Summer 2014

Tatum’s Garden,
the first handicap- accessible playground in Monterey County
Chapter Spotlight
CALIFORNIA CHAPTER DECORATES PLAYGROuND
BY LIZ EZELL, MONTEREY PENINSULA DECORATIVE ARTISTS
In August 2013, Monterey Peninsula Decorative Artists, located in Salinas, Calif., became part of an exciting project that gives back to the community and helps brighten the days of children with physical disabilities. MPDA was invited to design and paint artwork that would adorn play structures and the surrounding hardscape of Tatum’s Garden, the first handicap-accessible playground in Monterey County.
The park was made possible entirely through donated funds and was built with volunteer labor. Tatum’s Garden, named for young Tatum Bakker (a Salinas native who has spina bifida and depends on the use of her wheelchair), was designed with a vegetable garden theme that reflects the rich agricultural heritage of California’s Salinas Valley.
MPDA members gladly worked together to design
and paint the park’s Strawberry Shortcake playhouse
and various other areas of the playground. The chapter’s hand-painted resin tiles, depicting vegetable seed packets, were inlaid in a mosaic wall mural at the park’s entrance. MPDA also painted corporate logos, which can be seen throughout the park, for those businesses that sponsored the project.
MPDA chapter members felt it was a privilege to work on this creative venture with hundreds of other local artists and volunteers. It was also fun and fulfilling. Putting MPDA members’ painting skills to use by making a difference in the community, and especially
helping and inspiring children, was truly a heartfelt honor.
The chapter strongly encourages their fellow SDP chapters who are interested in this type of community service to contact the playground
designers, Leathers Associates, at www.leathersassociates.com. More information and beautiful pictures of Tatum’s Garden can be found at www.tatumsgarden.org.
Tatum’s Garden crew
12 The Decorative Painter
• ISSUE NO. 2, 2014
dEcOratIvEpaINtErS.Org
Shirley Jones