DAYTON, Ohio — As more pandemic restrictions are being lifted, families are spending more time outside. Some are even spending time at the park. Owen's Place, a children's park in the Dayton area, will soon look a little bit brighter with the help from We Care Arts. 

Vickki Reese is one of the artists at We Care Arts who’s been working on the new gnome installation project at Owen's Place. We Care Arts is a nonprofit arts organization that provides a variety of services to individuals of all ages with disabilities. 

“A lot of us have depression and other types of problems other than, you know, mental so it’s nice to hook up with people that you’re similar with,” said Reese.

She’s working on painting her second gnome. Reese said she really enjoys doing projects like these.

“I think art is soothing and it helps the soul,” she said. 

Executive Director Darlene Langhout has been the lead on the project. She said they’ll be accepting sponsorships for the gnomes until the end of April. Their goal is to get at least 100 of them sponsored.

“It’s just exciting to know that your artwork has inspired or has made someone else’s day brighter, and I think the gnomes are a perfect example of that because they’re all going to be different, they’re all going to be bright and cheery and how can you not smile when you see a hundred gnomes in a children’s park,” said Langhout. 

The gnomes will be installed at Owen’s Place in May. Owen’s Place is a playground in the Dayton area that is accessible for children of all abilities. Reese said she looks forward to installation day. 

“It makes me feel great,” said Reese. “It means that we have some type of purpose of doing this art that we’re doing and it will be awesome to see them out there and see what people think.”

For more information about sponsoring a gnome, click here.