- February 10, 2025
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Glenn Standiford adjusts his charcoal drawing at the Veterans Art Show at the Ormond Beach Memorial Art Museum. The weekend show features the art of veterans. Photo by Jacque Estes
Keri Leon, the psychology technician at the Veterans Wellness Center (PRC) joined the other veterans by submitting her drawing of a sneaker. Photo by Jacque Estes
There’s a special bond between a group of veterans at the Veteran Wellness Center (PRC) and the Ormond Beach Memorial Art Museum and Gardens.
Museum art instructor Regina Stengel conducts a monthly art class at the Wellness Center in Port Orange. The projects are designed for successful outcomes that will relieve stress and reduce anxiety.
The outreach program was started by the museum in 2010 as a way to continue its commitment to local veterans. As of September 2016, more than 1600 hours of outreach to veterans in the greater Daytona Beach area has been accomplished through the Veterans Wellness program, according to Museum Director Susan Richmond.
Glenn Standiford said he doesn’t have an art background, but will admit to “a little bit” now. For Standiford the art projects divert his mind from things that might bother him to thoughts of joy.
An Army Vietnam-era veteran, Standiford, who has lived in Ormond Beach since 1959, said the Wellness Center gets him out of the house and interacting with others.
Standiford was one of many veterans who participated in an art show at the Ormond Beach Memorial Art Museum, a first for him. He had two displays, one charcoal still life drawing and a clock he made.
The idea to display the veteran’s artwork beyond the walls of the center occurred to Keri Leon, psychology technician and an Air Force veteran, a few years ago.
“Art is beneficial for them and as I walked around the room I realized the talent I was seeing,” Leon said.
Putting the art into a community setting like the museum is also part of the mission of the Veterans Wellness program.
The weekend show started as all shows do, with a reception for the public. The veteran’s art show reception attracted more than 75 guests.
Art comes in many forms and, for Jennifer Taylor of Flagler Beach, it’s poetry. Taylor said she has written several poems but decided to display, and read, one of her favorites, “Shine a Light.”
“Her poem is being entered into the National Competition for veterans,” Standiford said proudly of his fellow veteran.
Even as late as the morning of the reception, Taylor wasn’t sure if she wanted to read her poem at the event, but is glad she did.
“Standing up and reading my poem made me feel good, and like I was helping people,” Taylor said.
Asking the veterans to display their artwork prompted them to encourage Leon to do the same, another first. Her entry was a charcoal drawing of a sneaker. Leon said she had an “ah ha” moment when the art concepts clicked and the sneaker became more than a flat drawing, but a three-dimensional artwork, something that took patience on her part.
“Patience is the key,” Leon said. “People tend to struggle to get better because it’s not immediate.”
