Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Winter 2015 | Page 58

A community art and missions major,
Kristen Brown ’14 was hundreds of miles
from home in November 2013 when
tornadoes devastated Washington,
Illinois. The home Kristen grew up in was
destroyed, and like many, her family lost
everything.

the art of healing

“My first response was shock, mixed with
thankfulness my parents were alive,”
Kristen says. “I felt a lot of grief for the
impact it had on our community.”
Returning to her hometown in the
aftermath of the disaster, Kristen began
applying the principles of her discipline.
In order to facilitate dialogue and aid in
recovery, she built a chalkboard “wall”
from tornado debris. Positioning it at
heavily trafficked locations around town,
Kristen wrote a question on the wall each
day and sat for hours, inviting passersby
to write their responses.
“Interacting and being with people in the
community has been very healing,”
Kristen says. “I feel like I have a stronger
sense of belonging than I used to.”
She has also received a multitude of
positive responses to the wall.

“Emotion in Motion”
Mixed media
by Kristen Brown ’14

“I think art can provide metaphors for
talking about things in the ‘real world’ in
a helpfully detached way,” she says. “The
wall provides a neutral third party that
helps bridge a gap between those still
struggling and those already moving on.”