Kathy Cocuzzi

This is a live auction artwork.

When I saw the mailbox, and began to think about the theme of staying connected, I began to think about what this mailbox had seen over the years.

Changes to structures, to people, to the community, yet it was still the same.

I thought of all the things that have happened in Westerville over the years, yet it retains the small-town feel of yesteryear.

How many letters bearing news of births, marriages, deaths, vacations and the other journeys of many lifetimes did this mailbox hold?

How many new neighborhoods were created, how did the businesses come and go and how did they affect our City?

So, I thought of keeping the integrity of the mailbox - the vehicle for sharing news of all the changes and events - and putting some of the old as well as some of the new on it.

For that I enlisted the help of an artist, Jordan Whatley to actually paint the scenes you see on the mailbox.

In order to get the mailbox ready for painting, I stripped off all the paint. Then, my husband David took it to his workplace where some very talented tool-oriented people cut a hole in the top and covered the sharp edges. Then I primed and painted it to give Jordan a clean surface on which to work.

After we discussed my vision, he painstakingly painted each scene onto the mailbox.

From there, I turned it into a planter. To me, plants symbolize growth and continuity. New ones are always forming, older ones bloom and keep growing.

So, that's the story behind my mailbox planter. I hope you enjoy it.

Kathy Cocuzzi