7 artists pool talent to help the hungry

A mobile with brightly colored masks dangles from the ceiling, paintings dot the walls, and decorated glass vases sit atop desks and window sills in the dining hall of The Interfaith Nutrition Network's soup kitchen in Hempstead.

The pieces were created by local artists and donated by a group of friends who call themselves The Seven of Us. For a decade the close-knit group of women -- all artists -- has used its collective conscience and creativity to raise awareness and money to help The INN continue providing an open door, a hot meal and a helping hand to Long Islanders who are hungry and homeless.

The Seven -- Norma Brown Hill, 58; DeeDee Lichtenberg-Scanlan, 56; Erica Popkin, 60; Carla Raben, 69; Louise Sharakan, 76; Tracy Arnold Warzer, 53, and Graziella Weber-Grassi, 63 -- met while serving on the art gallery committee of the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center in East Hills.

About 16 years ago, when the center hosted a photography show about homelessness, Lichtenberg-Scanlan, then the gallery's director, met Rob Kammerer, a member of The INN's board of directors and fundraising committee chairman, who told her about the nonprofit's mission and programs.

That led Lichtenberg-Scanlan, a Great Neck resident who teaches at C.W. Post's graduate art therapy program, to begin exploring ways she and other artists at the JCC and in the Long Island arts community could raise money for The INN.

Their chance came when the women served on the decorations committee for the annual fundraiser, the INNkeeper's Ball. Instead of buying expensive floral centerpieces, Lichtenberg-Scanlan, an art therapist and artist, enlisted The Seven members and other local artists to transform plain wooden birdhouses -- a symbol of The INN's mission to feed, clothe and house anyone in need -- into original art. Not only did they save a bundle, they also displayed and sold the embellished birdhouses at a local gallery, making money for The INN and helping to publicize the ball.

"We had over 50 artists join us that first year, and we sold every birdhouse," Lichtenberg-Scanlan says. "It really was because of the success of that first presale and show that we've done it ever since."

The Seven have been repeating their success for the past 10 years, coming up with a different art project each year. With donations of supplies and services from local merchants and the talent of other artists, they've created and sold masks, vases, trays, frames and holiday cards -- raising thousands of dollars for The INN.

Some artwork also has been given to The INN for the staff and clients to enjoy, including a quilt stitched together from  50 hand-painted canvas panels  that graces a wall in the Mary Brennan INN in Hempstead.

"Art gives us all hope and a sense of comfort . . . and reminds us that there is beauty amidst all of the challenges," says Jean Kelly, The INN's executive director.

The Seven say they've also tried to heighten awareness within the arts community about homelessness and hunger here. Last year, they created the "Light of the World Mandala," a wall hanging comprised of seven rings that together form a circle. Each of the women worked on a single ring and then the rings were stitched together.

Raben, a Roslyn artist and sculptor, says the angels, cherubs and Buddha she incorporated into her ring express "peace and love and hope to people who are in a bad way."

For her part, Warzer, an art therapist, multimedia artist, gallery owner and director of outreach for arts education at the Great Neck Arts Center, combined paint, leaves, letters from a book, glitter and thread to resemble a flowing river. "It's about enlightenment and love and being expressive and that sense of community," she says.

To Sharakan, a Sea Cliff resident, jewelry designer and fabric artist who wove together a mixture of silver leaf, beads and crystals to form the nucleus of the mandala, the piece also represents the "soulful connection" that exists among the seven women.

"It isn't like we see each other all the time or speak to each other all the time. You know how it is with family? You may not see your cousins or your sisters or brothers, but when you're together, there's this total understanding of love and connection."

Popkin, a lawyer and amateur photographer from Great Neck, says, "You don't get the opportunity to acquire women friends very much after you leave your college years. But to pick up six sisters is amazing." To express her feelings about the group, her ring is decorated with seven different flowers connected by a single piece of thread.

"It's like the Mafia," Hill quips. "You lose a finger if you leave the group. "I think we'll be together until the end."

The group has remained close despite Hill, a photographer-artist, moving to California and Weber-Grassi, a painter, leaving for Vermont. They try to support each other's special events and meet at least once or twice a year. Recently, they gathered for a birthday lunch for Hill at her parents' Floral Park home. Seated around a large dining room table, they joked and finished each other's sentences.

They also finalized plans for this year's art project for The INNkeeper's Ball, Thursday, May 12, at the Long Island Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in Uniondale.

A poster of the mandala that commemorates last year's event hangs in Kelly's office at The INN. The original mandala will be displayed in a specially designed glass case in the Mary Brennan INN's dining room in Hempstead. The INN also plans to name an award in honor of The Seven of Us to recognize future groups that also do something of great magnitude to support the organization's mission, Kelly says.

"It's all been an education and a labor of love," Lichtenberg-Scanlan says. "It's not work, and it's not volunteerism. We have fun, and we share a very basic understanding and feeling about humanity. We just kind of miraculously came together. We are special to each other, doing this special work and having this shared vision."

INNkeepers' Ball

Tickets to the INNkeepers' Ball on Thursday, May 12, are $200 each ($106 deductible). Even if you don't have a ticket, you can meet members of The Seven of Us, from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Long Island Marriott lobby, where they will be selling this year's fundraising art project -- decorated glass platters ($75) -- and the mandala posters ($20). For more information, contact Nora White at 516-486-8506, ext. 108, or go to the-inn.org.