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And if that’s the case, the Thurston County Food Bank is feeding the entire community.
Glass marbles, pieces of tea cups, shells and an assortment of shiny doodads have been incorporated into mosaic designs bordering two main entrances of the food bank’s headquarters in downtown Olympia.
“People who come to the food bank say it brightens their day,” said Fran Potasnik, who has spent the past two summers working on the artistic door surrounds, which are scheduled to be finished next month.
Food bank executive director Robert Coit said many of the items used in the artwork were donated by the same people who are served by the nonprofit.
“People brought in marbles, tokens, bits of glass,” he said. “It’s community art in a very real way because the clients participated in the work with their donations.”
Potasnik, 71, of Olympia, is a retired elementary school and art teacher. She began volunteering at the food bank about six years ago after her husband died.
Her first job was helping to sort items and work with fresh produce one day a week. As she learned more office skills, she took on more projects.
These days, Potasnik volunteers about 40 hours a week at the food bank; her varying job duties include designing marketing materials and coordinating local food drives.
It’s a labor of love that has helped her make new friends and become part of the community she moved to from Michigan about 12 years ago to be near children and grandchildren.
“I have a new family at the food bank,” Potasnik said.
She usually works on the art project when the weather is dry and she has a few minutes to spare from her other duties, or when the food bank is closed to the public.
Potasnik places items in a cast-iron frying pan, covers them with a towel and breaks them with the hammer.
“Whatever comes out, that’s what I use,” Potasnik said.
She secures items on the door surrounds with a construction-grade polyurethane adhesive.
The first door was finished last fall. A local contractor grouted the surface and only charged for materials, Potasnik said.
The scene – created with pieces of orange plates, copper buttons, seashells, mirrors and blue glass – was designed to depict a sun, an ocean and flowers, she said.
It includes a small plaque dedicated to Jessica Moore, a late food bank employee.
“She was kind of my mentor,” Potasnik said. “She loved to travel and had been all over the world.”
Potasnik hopes the second door – designed with a moon and forest theme – will be ready to grout in about a month.
Potasnik hasn’t kept track of how many hours the project has taken.
“I have no idea; probably longer than it would take a normal person,” she said with a chuckle. “It’s like doing a puzzle.”
Potasnik said the project has given her a chance to talk to people in the neighborhood.
Clients often search for objects they donated for the project; children often turn the murals into a game of “I Spy.”
“The people who feel the closest to this go to the Union Gospel Mission,” Potasnik said. “They walk by it every day. They watch it grow.”
June Kerseg-Hinson of Olympia, a studio artist, saw the artwork a few weeks ago while driving to the Olympia Farmers Market.
“My first reaction was, ‘I certainly hope that the grant you applied for was well-funded,’” Kerseg-Hinson said. “And then she told me there was no funding; she was doing it all herself.”
“I was so taken by it,” she added. “It’s welcoming and uplifting, and it creates a sense of place to honor the spirit of those in need.”
The eye-catching doorways were part of a larger makeover for the terra-cotta-colored building, which also includes new downspouts installed in a way that they can hold flowerpots.
Coit said more beautification and community art efforts are planned for the 1940s-era former warehouse and machine shop.
“It’s just an ongoing effort to fit into the neighborhood,” he said. “We’ll see what the future brings.”
Lisa Pemberton: 360-754-5433
lpemberton@theolympian.com
