Ellen’s Work Blog
March 2026
Every year by the time we get to March, I am ready for spring—dulled out by the same gray, dismal cold.
To fight the winter blahs, I try to work on something exciting and new with emphasis on bright colors. We’re back installing the collaborative art pieces created over the years by 15,000 kids across the country. If I were to suggest all the work on our back ramp happened in the last few weeks, that would totally misrepresent the length of time taken installing these projects back there. Justin, Rick, John, Don, Josh, Shari and I have been hard at work on this for over two years. And John Jacquier’s crew came in this past year to fabricate all the railings on site. And then there's all the kids' contributions from across the country.
Taking in the overall scale of the mural for the first time is a rush. By contrast, this walk 'back stage’ from the second to the third viewing platforms will be powerful because of its intimacy. As visitors go from one state collaborative project to the next, they will be right on top of all the kids' work. And there is no mistaking every student's ownership of his or her piece—it is there in every brush stroke and every line of copy they have contributed.
