The Self And The Others

Funded Oct 24, 2019

I wanted my students to reflect about their role in the world and the physical and spiritual space they occupy. Their first few projects were a series of activities designed to acquaint them with the building blocks of art making. These activities explored the elements of space, color, line, texture, form, and value using methods like drawing, painting, collage, and mixed media. Armed with the knowledge of how to apply these concepts, they began to work on a series of projects exploring "the self" and their relationship with "the others".

My proposal "The Self and the Others" was intended to expose my students to view the world through a different lense. For their first project, I signed up with an organization named The Memory Project, whose mission is to promote intercultural awareness, friendship, and kindness between children around the world by exchanging art. We were paired with refugee children from Syria; a country ravaged by civil war resulting in over 2 million displaced children. They had to create a drawing or painting based on the themes of happiness, peace, kindness, and friendship. We were able to complete this project successfully, thanks to your generosity.

For the next project, I wanted to introduce the art of sculpture to my students which in the past, with my very limited budget, was unable to do. Through sculpture, they began to explore the space they occupy and how it transforms our world. Your gift made it possible to obtain all the materials needed to work on armature-based sculpture in the style of Giacometti.

My students and I are more than grateful for your interest in their education and for affording them the opportunity to expand their artistic horizons.”

With gratitude,

Mrs. de Paz