The Foundation would not exist without inspiration from Olivia and Leslie, as well as their artwork. Enjoy this gallery of selected pieces of their creation.
Olivia Kuenne
1991–1997
From an early age, Olivia loved to draw, paint and dig her hands into wet clay with tactile delight. We would often find her hunched over a piece of paper drawing yet another rainbow or trying to figure out how to draw the roof of our house in perspective. Her creative energy was nothing short of miraculous.
Olivia was killed in a freak accident. Her funeral took place the week before she would have started first grade. At the reception, following the service, we displayed hundreds of her artistic creations. Many of our grieving friends and family members sought comfort from the tragedy of Olivia’s death by digging through closets and basements to find their children’s artwork so they could display and celebrate the creative spirits of their own children. This experience helped to catalyze one of the originating ideas of our foundation’s work.
Leslie Kuenne
1960–2019
Leslie loved observing the interplay of light and color in unexpected contexts. Her whimsical pen and ink drawings revealed her sense of humor as she hid little hints intended to evoke a smile or a smirk. Leslie’s artistic intention was to transmit not only what she saw, but the way she observed it, while leaving room for the viewers’ imaginations. She once explained, “What the artist leaves out draws the viewer in allowing him or her to own a little piece of the experience.” Art was deeply personal to Leslie, allowing her to express visually what she sometimes found difficult to say aloud.
Leslie died of ovarian cancer after a short and intense battle. Peter, William, Matthew and I would like to believe that she is now basking in the warmth of angels, making art with Olivia and thrilled to see how their combined artistic gifts are inspiring other young artists and their parents to share the joy of creativity.