Art students in New Hampshire are bringing people's cherished memories to life.
It was an emotional assignment for AP art students at Spaulding High School in Rochester, New Hampshire. Each of them was paired with a resident at the Gafney Home, an assisted living center. The artists spent hours learning their partner's life story: the places, the people and the memories that made them who they are.
"I really loved coming in and talking with Barbara and learning more about her past, where she grew up, what her hobbies were," said Molly Stanley, a junior.
It was then up to each artist to use brushstrokes to bring those memories to life.
"I think we all wanted to make sure they looked good because we felt it as an obligation," said Spaulding senior Logan Charette.
The project is the brainchild of art teacher Jennifer Daly.
"It's just fun for them to get a new sort of fresh outlook on what art and art making can be all about," Daly said.
The Scene
A little more than a week later, the student artists presented their "memory paintings." For Lorraine Norman, her painting transported her back to her beloved Alaska.
"I miss it. I miss it," Norman said through tears.
"I think that's my goal as an artist. To make her feel something," Charette told necn.
Copies of the paintings will hang in the residents' rooms, and in September, the original works will be on display at a pop-up space at the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts.
