Art for Children's Sake

Jacksonville, FL — CSX employee, Pat Murphy, posed proudly with her personalized sea turtle sculpture in June. The turtle, like others for this year's campaign to benefit troubled children, will be on display near the CSX headquarters building in Jacksonville until it is auctioned off this fall to benefit the Child Guidance Center.

CSX is a corporate sponsor of the fundraising initiative, supporting the Child Guidance Center whose mission it is to provide resources and education to children, adolescents and their families in coping with behavioral health issues.

The sculptures were precast in fiberglass, and area artists submitted their proposed designs to judges before being selected to add their decorative touches.

"My idea was to create a sort of Hawaiian design in stained glass mosaic," said Murphy. "For a cause as important as this, I wanted it to be a lasting work of art." From start to finish, the project took almost all of her spare time for the past nine months.

This is the second time Murphy has won a spot among the artists participating in similar campaigns. Two years ago, her education-themed jaguar sculpture was on display and successfully auctioned off for several thousand dollars.

"I had help this time, though," Murphy explained. "I opened my studio to neighborhood children and turned them loose with the caulk gun as a base for the glass tiles. No matter that I had to scrape off some of their handiwork. It was a good way to get them involved as young volunteers."