Several art students from Heritage High School have taken part in an international art project with children in Sierra Leone.
The students received photographs of children in an orphanage in Africa's Sierra Leone. They then sketched their pictures and sent them back to the children. The art students received pictures of the kids they drew, holding the portraits. Plus, they got to see a video of the children’s reactions when they received their portraits.
The students first became involved in this project when Heritage High School art teacher Jon Roark responded to a card that came in the mail. The students were very interested, and even though the project took a lot of effort, they worked hard to get it finished. They brought in 25 or 30 photos and shipped out 20, so there are at least 10 more to send.
The project was so inspiring, that the student artists are sending out a new group of portraits in the next couple of weeks – this time to Honduras and Guatemala.
The art students became emotional watching the video and seeing the stills of “their” kids holding the portraits. It made them feel good about themselves, said Mr. Roark. It was a great way to teach portraiture, talk about making an impact in your world, build some confidence and explore media they might not have been very experienced with. Mr. Roark said that even though the project didn’t go perfectly, he is very proud of his students’ achievement and will do this project again.
Mr. Roark even contributed three of his own, and students Brandy Nguyen and Gabrielle Waller have done at least two already.
