Soon a mural celebrating the Somerville Home's contributions to the community will be here. By Julia Fairclough Not only will the Somerville Home feature art by local artists for Somerville Open Studios again this year, the residential care facility will also unveil a new mural that is the fruition of a community project. Barbara Lindstrom, a Boston-based artist and member of a contemporary art gallery, Galatea Gallery, in the SoWa district of Boston, who lived by the Somerville Home on Summer Street for many years, wanted to give the home a sense of community. She applied to the Somerville Arts Council for a grant to run an art workshop for the residents working on the panel. The Somerville Home is a privately owned, non-profit residential care facility for senior citizens. Incorporated in 1898, it has served the greater Boston community for over 110 years.

"I used to get off the 85 bus and see the residents sitting on the front porch," Lindstrom said. "I've always honored that place as something special in the community. It's a question of respect and honor."

The mural will be six by two feet, and will fold into panels for easy transport to different areas. For its unveiling during the May 1 and 2 Somerville Open Studios (SOS) weekend, the mural will hang in the corridor leading to the dining room.

Ten residents worked with Lindstrom on the project, which spanned six workshops. People painted houses that they saw outside their windows, drew the flowers that grew in the front garden, and an image of the resident cat named Princess. As they painted, residents told stories about what it was they were drawing.

One resident was a talented artist, Lindstrom said. He created abstractions using the colors he experienced in the surrounding landscapes of Somerville.

"It was about the individual experiences, as well as people sharing what they experienced in their community," she said.

Residents used watercolor, crayons, markets, and stamps; as well as paper flowers out of folding paper. They drew pictures inside of abstract hearts.

"This represents working with people who have a very genuine approach, which can be very innocent in some way," Lindstrom said.

State Senator Pat Jehlen, who has served on the board of the Somerville Home, bumped into Lindstrom at a labor event and was delighted to hear about the mural project. It's a great opportunity to draw people to the Somerville Home, since many people in the community are not aware that such a great place exists, Jehlen said.

"Art has a great way of expanding peoples' mental capacities," Jehlen said.

Housing members of society are sometimes forgotten, combined with the present recession, the Somerville Home has been particularly hit hard in this economy, according to Lori Verrecchia, activities director for the Somerville Home.

Lindstrom has volunteered her time teaching painting to the residents, as well as offering workshops through arts council grants. Lindstrom has experience facilitating activities for people with various types of disabilities.