SJM Student Artists Express Themselves and Support Others

Art instructors Denise Zanutto and Joanie Hathaway have kept their students thinking about the wider world and their own inner worlds this semester with creative art projects.

Zanutto's students participated again this year in The Memory Project, a non-profit dedicated to fostering understanding and kindness between school-aged students across the world. The class drew Syrian refugees this semester (above top images). The images will be delivered to the children by the organization. The class also donated $15 per portrait to the organization.

Joanie Hathaway's senior art class also tackled an important project: concept art (above lower images). The class made masks of their faces and then turned to the task of decorating the masks as a representation of where they are in their lives right now. The result was poignant and representative of a time of great transition in many high school student's lives.


"I always have them do this project as seniors," said Hathaway. "This is a period of their lives when they are coming up against big changes: leaving family and places they've been living their entire lives. These are some of the biggest changes they will face in their lives. I want them to freeze the moment in art."