Art for the Community: Walker-Grant Middle School Art Students Partner with Animal Shelter
The students will create illustrated adoption profiles for available dogs at Old Dominion Humane Society.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Cadence, a student in the gifted visual arts program at Walker-Grant Middle School, showed the pencil portrait she’d been working on to the subject.
The subject sniffed her portrait and then barked.
“I think she likes it!” said art teacher Hannah Carter.
The subject of Cadence’s portrait was a dog currently available for adoption from Old Dominion Humane Society.
Carter took students in the gifted visual arts program on a field trip to the shelter on Friday, where each student chose one of the adoptable dogs to feature in a custom pet portrait. The completed portraits will be posted on the shelter’s website and social media pages, where they’ll hopefully attract more public attention to the adoptable dogs.
Carter said the goal of the field trip, beyond helping the dogs find forever homes, was for her students to understand that “their art can help the community.”
She got the idea for the project from a post she saw in a Facebook group for art teachers, and thought it would be a good experience for her students.
On Friday afternoon, almost every dog at the shelter had a middle school student sketching away in front of it. Many of the dogs posed like professionals for their portraits, sitting up close to the bars of their kennels and making eye contact with the artists.
The completed portraits can be done in any style or medium the students choose, Carter said. They’ll be posted on the shelter’s website and featured on the Facebook page when complete.
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Mrs. Carter is amazing!!!!! What a super idea - I love it!
What a great idea!
Walker Grant is lucky to have Mrs. Carter. <3