The Life and Legacy of Alvin Luhr

                                               The Life and Legacy of Alvin "Tuffy" Luhr -->

I never imagined community art, as a difficult process to implement. Whether, I was simply naïve or ignorant I am unsure, but needless to say this my shared art project was a learning experience. Initially, everything went smoothly. I had a partner, a well planned out art project and a written proposal. However, I left for Belize the day before we were supposed to put on our art project. So I contacted Joy at the Rockwood and left her a message. I left for my trip knowing I had to implement a whole new project when I got back. After I returned and came up new with an idea, I wrote up another proposal. I then talked it over with Katie, who made some valid suggestions for the project, which I added to the proposal.  I contacted Joy again as soon as I got back, with still no response. I called her 5 times before finally making the trip down to Rockwood to talk to her in person. When I arrived I waited in the lobby for 30 minutes before she told the front desk that she wouldn’t see me. I left frustrated and worried for my project. Luckily, she eventually called me and we worked out what I thought I would be doing for my Shared Art project. However, life threw me another curve ball and when I arrived at the Rockwood to do my project, it changed yet again. Joy showed me a time capsule booklet that she was keeping and so I decided that my art project would be writing out someone’s life story and adding it to the time capsule. So I met and interviewed Alvin “Tuffy” Luhr, one of Rockwood’s residents and a WWII veteran. Although, the interview and writing process were both extremely time consuming, they were both worthwhile. I learned the most intricate details of Tuffys life from when he was born all the way up to his 95^th birthday. I experienced his hardships and joys, relived the moments of his life that defined him, and witnessed some incredible historical moments. More importantly, Tuffy got to relive and enjoy some of his most precious memories. The art in this project wasn’t a tangible piece of work; it was the beauty of life captured in the memories of an individual. My hope for this project is that others can experience Tuffy’s life through the time capsule entry for many years to come.