Mrs. Colorado Spreads Word on Military Creative Expression Program
Posted 09/03/2010
When Mrs. Colorado Shalon Polson started packing for her trip to Tucson, Ariz., this week for the Mrs. America Pageant she needed to leave room for more than just her Colorado sash.
One of the requirements for the televised competition is that contestants bring two unique gifts for dignitaries of the hosting state. Her offerings are paintings by Fort Carson soldiers participating in a unique and promising creative expression course for wounded warriors.
Polson, from Highlands Ranch, Colo., was still unsure of what to take while watching ABC’s “The View” during a workout one morning in late July. The episode featured actress America Ferrera, who talked about her recent trip to Colorado Springs promoting a new movie and here impromptu visit with soldiers participating in the creative expression program.
Ferrara, who was also touched by the program, had purchased several pieces of art and had pictures showcasing the works. Minutes later, Polson had found the organizations responsible for the classes and fired off an email to AspenPointe inquiring about the program and how she could promote the soldiers’ work.
“When I saw the story today, I knew I wanted to pursue getting a couple pieces of art to be framed and to give away to the Arizona dignitaries,” she wrote in the email.
The creative expression classes are taught at the Fine Art Center’s Bemis School of Art in Colorado Springs. The program, created and taught in coordination with AspenPointe, was designed for injured soldiers from the Warrior Transition Battalion at nearby Ft. Carson.
The students begin working with pencils, then expand to watercolors and acrylics. They are joined by a licensed art therapist and professional counselor who help the soldiers analyze the artwork and maximize the therapeutic attributes of the process.
Polson met the students at a recent exhibit and art auction of the soldiers’ creations at the Fine Arts Center. She hand-picked the two paintings she took with her to the national pageant.
“I wanted to do something different,” Polson said at the event. “So often we honor the glorified hero, and I wanted to honor the real hero.”
Mrs. America is a reality-based prime time television special featuring the most accomplished married women of America. Each year, 51 delegates (all U.S. states plus the District of Columbia) compete for the coveted title.
The contestants earn the right to participate in the national event by winning state competitions. The winner, announced on Sept. 7, will then represent the United States at “Mrs. World.”
