Creative Expressions

ART BUS PROMOTES HEALING FOR CHILDREN WITH LIFE-LIMITING ILLNESSES.

Art has long been used as a form of healing the body, mind and soul. For some Metro children, creativity and restorative care come by way of an art center on wheels.

For children like Felix Brunelle, 5, his mother can see just how much art can make a difference. “Felix was born with a one-of-a-kind chromosome deletion, presenting as several different physical challenges, medical complexity and the need for a 30-plus strong medical and therapy team to follow him on the regular,” says Felix’s mother, Haley Brunelle of Minnetonka. So, when Felix encountered Ziggy’s Art Bus, a bus that serves children with life-limiting illnesses by indulging their creative minds, his creative self took flight.

Felix’s first creation at Ziggy’s Art Bus was a birdhouse he made three years ago that is still used today. Brunelle says, “We enjoy the chickadees that make this little birdhouse a home in our cherry tree every spring. Although Felix is nonverbal, he reminds me [of his art] when we’re watching the birds move back in [during the spring]. He points to [the birdhouse] in the tree and then to himself—he’s clearly quite proud of his work. This is just one of many projects he’s come home with. During the pandemic, Ziggy’s even made us a little home art kit with all the supplies to make a name mobile at home.”

Founder of Ziggy’s Art Bus Gina Zaffarano of Minneapolis says she knew this artful idea had to come into play when she was introduced to Crescent Cove, a respite home and care facility for children in Brooklyn Center. “I realized when working at Crescent Cove that there was not a lot of space for creative endeavors for these children ... Art is such an equalizing experience for everyone, regardless if they think they have artistic ability or not, and it is something that takes people out of their heads and into their hearts,” she says. From there, Zaffarano drafted the idea of an art bus to make the experience as accessible as possible for every child.

Brunelle says that Felix’s first encounter with the art bus was at Crescent Cove, his home-away-from-home. “Every time Felix has stayed at Crescent Cove, we request Ziggy’s Art Bus to be a part of his activities. He always comes home

with remarkable work [that] he’s so proud to show off and even give as gifts,” Brunelle says. “It’s always a challenge for kids like Felix to find activities they can do and enjoy and sometimes even harder to get there. The fact that Ziggy’s Art Bus comes to us is brilliant and, in some cases, necessary. We love the art bus for making art accessible for all.”

The art bus travels year-round to three locations, including Fairview Children’s Hospital, the Ronald McDonald House (on the University of Minnesota campus) and Crescent Cove. “We want to bring joy to children with lifelimiting illnesses. That is our sole foundation for Ziggy’s Art Bus,” says Zaffarano, who wants to offer programming five days a week. Volunteers can make that dream come alive by applying on Ziggy’s website, but, for now, the bus runs just twice a week and every other weekend.

When the bus arrives on site, volunteers help facilitate

the art-making process for the children. Sometimes it is very hands-on for volunteers, or the kids take over the projects themselves. “We generally curate these art projects based around the demographic of kids we are seeing that week,” Zaffarano says. “For example, with [the Ronald McDonald House], we have pre-planned art projects we bring that week. Crescent Cove is very different though. Many kids we serve there aren’t able-bodied … In that case, it is very volunteer dependent, and we look to them to create a beautiful experience for the child.”

Raina Estrem, Ziggy’s volunteer, pediatric nurse and daughter of Zaffarano, says that it was beautiful to watch the art bus come to life. “My mom is sunshine in a human form, and that is what Ziggy’s has become. Ziggy’s has been such a ray of sunshine for so many children and families, and it’s pretty amazing to watch it firsthand,” she says.

Since Estrem is a pediatric nurse, volunteering for Ziggy’s has become second nature. “It’s part of my daily work to live in the mindset that this is families’ hardest times of their lives … we are always looking for opportunities of how we can lighten their load, and Ziggy’s embodies that,” she says.

The volunteers also receive a biography of the children they are working with prior to the bus arriving in order to provide the most enjoyable and engaging experience possible. “The really special thing is letting the kid lead because they can get what they need to get out of the experience. The outcome of the project might look different for every kid, but what’s important is that they had that joy and sunshine while making it,” Estrem says.

The art projects provided by Ziggy’s are created and developed by an artist on the Ziggy’s Art Bus team, Richfield’s Vicki Craig, who has made, curated and manufactured around 80 projects for the bus throughout the years. Some projects that kids have enjoyed have been butterfly, caterpillar and cloud making, candles and jars.

“One cool project we have done in the past is a journey box,” Zaffarano says. “We encouraged kids to make this project in a way to process their stay at the hospital. They got to make the box and fill it with trinkets or anything meaningful to them.”

While at Crescent Cove, Ziggy’s also curates its art projects based on the kids they are seeing that day. “Our artist goes into Crescent Cove to get a summary of the kiddos, and she’ll make changes to the project from there. For example, she tweaked one project differently when she found out a kid really liked pink and butterflies. We changed the project a bit to really help channel that child’s individuality,” Estrem says.

Ziggy’s Art Bus teams hopes that every piece of art made by the children will become a legacy project that they can look back on, knowing that they created a little piece of sunshine—for everyone.

ziggysartbus.org @ziggysartbus

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