A cul de sac in their neighborhood, which is now referred to as Varrio Horseshoe, named after a local gang, will be renamed "Circle of Dreams."

On Sept. 29, the Greater Gardner Advisory Council met at the newly renovated Gardner Community Center to discuss the "Circle of Dreams" project, which will be located on the Willis Avenue cul de sac across the street from the community center.

Gardner Advisory Council Vice President Kevin Christman told the Willow Glen Resident after the meeting that he hopes the project will engage the neighborhood and show the children that there are better choices in life than becoming a gang member.

"We're trying to show them that there is a different way, an alternate to the gang lifestyle," he said. "We want to demonstrate that the community cares for them and wants them to become productive members of society."

One of those ways will be by letting individuals express themselves. Participants will be given a 5-inch wax tile on which they can create an artistic expression of their dreams. San José State University Professor Linda Walsh and her students will render the wax tiles into engraved bronze casts and install the casts on iron posts. Before they can do this, children within the community will be creating the wax tiles at the Gardner Community Center, in classes held on Wednesday afternoons from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

Originally conceived as an educational activity for students at Gardner Academy, the concept was expanded at the request of community members to include all individuals who wished to contribute to the project.

Christman said he appreciates the project's potential to foster a sense of community pride and membership.

"With this project, participants can take ownership of the neighborhood through art and make it their own," he said. "It's an opportunity to create a welcoming atmosphere and a focusing element of the community."

According to Walsh, her plans for the project are flexible and open to input from the community.

"Public art needs to belong to the public," she said. "It needs to be part of the community and from the community. I will try as an artist to keep my mind very open, so there is room for everyone's idea."

In addition to the bronze casts of community members' dreams, the "Circle of Dreams" project will also include a narrative component. Community members can submit written histories of neighborhood heroes, which will be published in a book. Students at Gardner Academy will also be involved in recording the stories.

Christman said he believes students' participation in both the narrative and artistic components of the project will be a valuable contribution to their education.

"Students will get a lot of learning yet a lot of fun out of the project," he said. "When kids take part in a project like this, they don't even realize how much they are learning, and it really comes to life for them. In the end, they see something as the fruit of their labor, not merely a grade."

Funding for both the artistic and narrative aspects of the "Circle of Dreams" project comes from a $15,000 Community Action and Pride grant. About $12,000 is budgeted to create the engraved bronze posts, and the remainder will be spent on publishing the stories of local heroes and a party to celebrate the completion of the project.

Because the grant stipulates that the money must be spent by July 2005, Walsh said the wax tiles of community members must be completed by Christmas. She and her students would cast the wax tiles into bronze and then install the posts in June 2005. She said the book is slated to be published in January 2005. Christman said there was no formal starting date for the project, but the advisory council and Walsh were tentatively planning to get children started on the project in November.

The proposal for the "Circle of Dreams" project received a positive reaction from community members present at the meeting. When Walsh asked if they wanted to contribute to the project, several people raised their hands.

Community member Maria Montez said she thought the project seemed like the kind of activity that had the potential to unite the community.

"I love the project," she said. "I think it will be inspiring. Kids will love it, and mothers who come to the park will enjoy it. It's something that can inspire kids to go to college, and not just go straight to work."