In the fall of 2020, as we emerged from Covid lockdown and isolation, we were eager to bring hope to families and joy into the lives of the children who returned to spend their days with us. Throughout that fall we experienced many unexpected moments of gratitude and grace, including the arrival of a frolicking baby cow in the field adjacent to our classroom. Every day the children and teachers would watch for the calf and its mother to appear from below the hill. The tenderness of the mother and the sweetness of the baby melted our hearts.

The Story of the Baby Cow

“Baby Cow” a collaborative painting by Jack Yuen and the Garden Gate children

As the 2020-2021 school year came to a close, the baby cow had come to symbolize all the wonder, love and joy we had experienced that year together. The children are big fans of Jack Yuen, a professional artist and former Garden Gate graduate, and were familiar with him from their earlier work with him in the Featherstone Gallery. They were eager and excited to collaborate with Jack on a painting of the cow they loved so much! The children were first to work on the canvas, spending their mornings gazing out into the field and capturing the greens and blues of the grass and sky. Then began the collaborative process as the painting traveled back and forth from Jack’s studio in Providence to Garden Gate. Jack inspired the children with his techniques for dips and splatters and added his own touches to the painting. The result, we believe, is a creative, joyful representation of the Garden Gate Approach and a testament to the power of arts and nature to soothe and inspire.

Tuition Subsidy and Scholarship Fund

In 2022, Garden Gate moved permanently to the campus of Featherstone Center for the Arts. and the Garden Gate Tuition Subsidy and Scholarship Fund was established with the goal of making high quality early childhood education equitable and accessible. We are currently offering limited edition signed prints, notecards, poster prints and stickers with the Baby Cow image to anyone who donates to this fund.