tempera, oil pastel, paper; 12×9”
ARTIST BIO: Josiyah Martin is a Grade 3 student at Frederick Douglass Elementary School.
PROJECT: Awareness is the ability to notice what is happening in and around you so that you can make a choice. Awareness is the root of empathy. Our students are learning about the environment and the effect that humans have on the earth.
Third grade students at Frederick Douglass Elementary School learned under the guidance of art teacher Katherine Smith about artists who use their artwork to make others aware of ideas such as hope for peace. Tunisian artist, eL Seed, inspired students to understand how a contemporary artist can make a whole community aware of hope for peace using words and symbols in his artwork. eL Seed’s monumental mural entitled Perception modelled for students how to create their own symbols that represent hope for peace.
The students created and designed their own peaceful symbols in colored pencils. This design was replicated in a monoprint that was enhanced with words that inspire hope and peace.