GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A mother, wife, home school teacher— and now college student is adding ArtPrize entrant to her list of accomplishments as she works toward a Guinness World Record.
Chirstina Hindley, 46, went back to school out of necessity— her husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease last year, leaving her looking for employable skills to secure their future.
She already has a Gerontology Certificate from Grand Rapids Community College; the classes there inspiring her to use the Michigan Reconnect program to work towards a degree in psychology.
“I am going to need to work at some point in the near future, and I’ll need to have a job that will pay decently." Hindley said in an interview released by GRCC.
And while juggling this massive change in her life— she's also teaching home school to her high school senior and working on an ArtPrize entry that will (hopefully) earn her a spot in the Guinness World Record books.
A fan of the publication, Hindley says her entry— called For the Love of Hope and Harmony — is on the right track to earn the honor.
The piece is made of over 14,000 paper-quilled hearts on a 4'-tall by 8'-wide board, arranged to resemble a sunset. Hindley says it represent vastly different individuals coming together to create the whole of something beautiful.
“My purpose is to show everybody that we are a lot more similar than we are different,” she continued in the interview. “All of the hearts are individual but similar and then put together in what looks like a sunset because that's something that everybody can see all over the world from anywhere you are. So, it's a unify-er. I feel like there's just so much division right now. I wanted to do something to pull people together.”
Hindley's work must be displayed for at least 5 minutes to qualify for the record. She will be showing it during ArtPrize at Park Congregational Church near the GRCC downtown campus.
