For my Art Service project, I decided to volunteer at the Deering Estate. It was not originally my first choice since when we visited earlier in the semester and I was attacked by bugs and since I am allergic to mosquito bites it wasn’t that fun for me. However, when it came time to choose where I should do my art service, the Deering Estate seemed like the best option. Other institutions have volunteers watch art all day which just seemed boring to me. At the Deering Estate you actually help preserve and clean up a historical venue which seemed more rewarding in my eyes.
The Deering Estate is a land of property with many different houses built by the Richmond family and Charles Deering. Before Deering’s arrival to the estate, the land had already held 10,000 years of human occupation including Paleo-Indian shelters, Tequesta settlements, Seminole hunting grounds, Bahamian and Florida Cracker homesteads and the town of Cutler. Deering also had a Stone House to hold all of his art collection that he was bringing from Spain. The Stone house was completed in 1922. Charles Deering died in 1927 and remained the owner of the Deering Estate until 1986 and then was bought by the State of Florida and then soon added to the National Registry of Historic Places. The Deering Estate holds a lot of history fro how Miami was before, the real Miami.
During my time volunteering at the Deering Estate I helped with a variety of different tasks. In the beginning at my time at the Estate my classmate and I helped pick weeds out of the wall as seen in the first picture.
This was something I hadn’t done in years, however, it’s nice to see that those who work in the Estate still care about the well-being of the house enough to have volunteers pick weeds from the walls.
After we had finished picking weeds from the house. It was time to help set up for a event that was happening right at the Deering Estate. In this time we basically just helped decorate the house and the courtyard with different Christmas decor. The Deering Estate is known for having amazing Christmas decorations since 1922 and some of the decorations used were actually from 1922.
After we finished our volunteer time I felt extremely satisfied. Helping preserve one of the oldest estates of South Florida was very eye opening and something I’d never thought I’d see myself doing.
http://www.deeringestate.org/events/category/holidays/
http://www.deeringestate.ord/history/
Miami in Miami 