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JBSA News
NEWS | April 20, 2007

Randolph Elementary School art students shine in this year’s SHARE program

By Airman 1st Class Katie Hickerson 12th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs

In a child's world, things are not black and white, set in stone by an Air Force Instruction, or towing the proverbial line. Art feeds the spirit, and helps children express their innermost emotions. 

Fourteen Randolph Elementary School children were selected this month, as award-winners from this year's annual Students Help Art Reach Everyone program, to have their art pieces on permanent display at the ARC of San Antonio. The student artists will also be honored in a reception May 15th. 

Second-graders Vanessa Gomez, Lauren Graham, Eilidh McGarva; third-graders Vanessa Burkhardt, Jacob Meyer, Daniel Sanchez, Michael Moureau, Jordan Sandlin, Leah Ely; fourth-graders Sydney Gage, Skyler Moore and fifth-graders Kelly Sohan, Sean Hlinak, and Haley Dewitt were all named as award-winners from Randolph Elementary School. 

Art teachers across the U.S. have known for a long time, what the rest of us have long forgotten; a child's colorful interpretation of what they see and feel could bring joy and happiness to so many. That's what the SHARE program wants to project. 

More than 600 pieces of students' artwork, San Antonio-wide, were entered into the contest, including 75 pieces from Randolph Elementary. All of the submitted pieces were displayed for a week and a half in the gallery at Southwest School of Art and Craft this spring. After the SHARE exhibition, a jury of five members selected 100 works to be permanently hung at the ARC of San Antonio. 

"We are incredibly proud of our great artists, and we're thrilled that they have the opportunity to learn from a master teacher," said Karen Bessette, Randolph Elementary School principal. "It is such a celebration to see the pride the children have when they see their artwork on display. Their eyes light up when they hear the exclamations of their proud families and see strangers admiring their artwork." 

Ms. Bessette explained how in the classroom, Linda Heier, Randolph Elementary School art instructor, teaches the students about how art is a form of communication and provides them the skills necessary for them to create. She shows her students how to do something first, then guides them through their own discovery of art creation. 

Each student artist was notified this month that his or her art piece was selected for framing. Each piece will be labeled with an engraved brass plaque with the student's name, title of work, school district, and grade, Ms. Bessette said. 

"It made me feel nervous and surprised when they told me I won," fourth-grader Skyler Moore said. 

"Every piece is unique to the artist. They learn and gain confidence with every artistic success," Ms. Heier said. 

"I serve over 600 students here each week from kindergarten through fifth grade. They are all different, but they all seem to light up when they are creating colorful pieces of art," she said. 

SHARE is a non-profit organization developed in 1987 by two art teachers in an effort to place their students' artwork in the community. Their primary purpose is to develop opportunities for students to interact with and enlighten their community by enriching quality of life of others, while celebrating the creative spirit in all of us. Randolph Elementary joined the program during the 1990 school year, Ms. Heier said. SHARE asks students to share the joy and energy of their art with others. 

SHARE selects sites to display the student's artwork where critical, and often life-changing, events take place, Ms. Heier said. This year, SHARE has chosen the ARC of San Antonio, which provides services for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities. 

"Although we are proud of the artwork, we are equally as proud of the service aspect of SHARE, and the chance our students have been given to donate their artwork to brighten the lives of others," Ms. Bessette said. 

"The experience and satisfaction of knowing that they have served others with their talent is what I want each of the children to have," said Ms. Heier. "I teach my students, and guide them to live by what the famous educator, Booker T. Washington said, 'The happiest people in the world are those who do the most for others.'"  

By donating their own artwork, these students get the opportunity to serve others, just as their parents serve. The students whose artwork was chosen to go onto permanent display had to sign a release form agreeing that they would not be able to get their pieces returned, she said. The children understand that they are a part of the larger whole, and are satisfied enough just to have the honor of seeing their artwork framed, under studio lighting, being enjoyed by others. 

Third-grader Daniel Sanchez, who made a decorative African-mask said, "It feels really good to do something good for someone else." 

Students really do help reach everyone, said Ms. Bessette. It is important to continue to fund fine arts programs. 

"We are very proud of the fact that our students receive quality instruction in music and art here at Randolph Elementary, just as they do in academics."