NORTHFIELD — Caledonia McKeon knows she has a lot going for her. This comes with a responsibility to help others.
It is with this in mind that the 13-year-old has, for the third consecutive year, taken on a Christmas art project to assist those in need. This year, Caledonia has decided to create greeting cards depicting three Northfield landmarks and sell them to raise money for the Northfield Food Pantry. She plans to sell the cards on Saturday at the First Parish of Northfield Unitarian Universalist Church from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. as part of “A Special Day in Northfield.” The church holds a farmers market for local farmers, artists, jewelers and craftspeople to sell gifts for the holiday season.
The images are of the Dickinson Memorial Library, Mim’s Market and the Northfield Creamie.
“I guess I just really like helping people, and I have a lot of good things in my life,” she said Thursday afternoon at CopyCat Print Shop in Greenfield, where she and her father, Terry, examined some proofs of her work.
Cards are $3 apiece, six for $15, or 12 for $25. Seventy-five percent of the profits are destined for the food pantry; the other 25 percent will go toward Caledonia’s college fund. CopyCat is a financial sponsor for the project.
Terry McKeon said his daughter always knows what she wants to accomplish and never lets anything get in her way.
“She puts her mind to something and she’s willing to spend a lot of time and effort,” he said. “She is not only talented, I think, but she has such a kind heart, because she always wants to make it mean something.”
Caledonia, an eighth-grader at The Bement School in Deerfield, said she was inspired to draw and paint Northfield landmarks after learning at a summer camp how to sketch architectural drawings.
“I wasn’t very good in the beginning, but it was really fun, so I stuck with it,” she explained. “I just thought it would be cool to have some pictures of my favorite places in Northfield.”
Last year, Caledonia crafted and sold homemade soaps, raking in more than $600 for The Jimmy Fund, which supports the fight against cancer at Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The year before that, she made star ornaments out of recycled paper and donated the $400 in generated revenue to buy solar lights for residents of Puerto Rico affected by Hurricane Maria.
People can also contact Terry McKeon to buy greeting cards or to donate money toward the cause. He can be reached at pttriguy@gmail.com or 617-504-2750.
Marge Anderson, exhibit coordinator for the Deerfield Valley Art Association, has offered to have Caledonia exhibit her originals at the DVAA Center for the Arts’ show in January.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.