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Text from Ponca City, Oklahoma Newspaper,
May 27, 1992
Rhonda Flood, local artist, was named the grand prize winner of the
amateur competition in the Tenth Annual Old School Campus Art Show at
the Osage Tribal Museum in Pawhuska.
Rhonda's achievement could be termed a
miracle, as she has been a victim of Cerebral Palsy all her life.
She is the daughter of the artist, Donna
Jones Flood, and Rodney Lee Flood. She grew up around art. Donna
gives this account of Rhonda's entry into the art world:
"Students came and went for years through the living room of the
Flood family. The smell of turpentine, and always the easel standing in
the middle of the floor were a part of the furnishings.
"Because of Rhonda's severely
disabled Cerebral Palsy hands and body no one thought to ask her if she
would like to have lessons."
"One day she asked for a lesson or
rather insisted on lessons and that paints, brushes and materials be
pulled out for her. Next it was necessary to find an acceptable method
for her to use the brush."
Donna said, "The pain of
seeing her hold the brush upside down and at an angle caused me to have
to leave the room. No one can imagine the surprise upon returning an
hour later to see the beauty of a pale off white flower upon a lovely
soft gray background painted by Rhonda."
Rhonda was born with cerebral palsy on
August 22, 1959. She has been through many years of therapy and
training. She was the Easter Seal poster child when she was five years
old in Dallas.
She had schooling and therapy at Norman,
Oklahoma Cerebral Palsy Center, Oklahoma Medical School, Oklahoma City,
Carrol School for the handicapped in Dallas.
She was in the Doman Delacatto Academic
and Physical Therapy in which the firemen of Ponca City participated.
Mrs. Flood said because there was no one to man the elevator at Ponca
City High School, Rhonda was only able to finish tenth grade there in a
special program.
Rhonda is the granddaughter of John and
Wynona Flood, 213 Irving, and Velma Louise Pensoneau Jones 810 South
Fifth, and the late Lee Otis Jones.
A prestigious educational facility, "The
Dallas School of Music," has invited Rhonda to show her artwork during
a special music program. This is an invitation in order to honor Rhonda
for her spirit to accomplish in the face of her disability. The date
will be announced at a later time. Here is the Url for the school.
http://www.dsminfo.com/
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