Denton ISD Our Impact In Your Community Magazine Summer 2018 | Page 9

project could create an impactful
combination of world perspective and
artistic expression.
“At first, I was shocked by the idea
and when I figured out that this was
a project to make art for a specific
person, that’s when it took on even
more powerful meaning,” said Joy Ebri
Ibor, sophomore. “It changed my life
– the idea that my art could impact a
specific person’s life – not just making
art for the sake of making something.”
The idea that people from other
countries would take the time to create
an original drawing of refugee children
is part of Memory Project and the idea
of founder Ben Shumaker. Denton
High students have now joined
thousands of artists from across the
U.S. to create hand-drawn portraits of
displaced children.
Volunteers then hand deliver them to
the camps where the children and
their families live in make-shift
villages in Syria.
Evan Stout created a pencil and ink drawing in anime style of a young boy who lives in
a refugee camp in Syria.
Evan worked to create a more non-traditional
portrait in his anime-style, starting with a simple
pencil drawing and then sketching with fine ink
to achieve an image that he described as white
with black shadowing, backlit by red – the boy’s
favorite color.
“After researching, I learned that these kids
are left with nothing. Compared to them I have
everything, so I wanted to use my best medium
and really produce something as near to perfect
as I could,” said Evan, junior. “I see how
important this image really is, especially
after seeing the video.”
A few months later, Mr. Rosin started class with
the announcement that the portraits had been
delivered. He had confirmation from Memory
Project, and Denton High was featured in a
personal video expressing gratitude. It was then,
the young artists said, that the profundity of the
project really echoed a more powerful lesson.
“It never occurred to me that the parents of
such beautiful children would not have dozens of
pictures of their own child,” said Joy. “That point
was really driven home when I saw the conditions
in which they live.”
She shared that while she was creating the
portrait of the young girl with her hair in pigtails,
she realized that the drawing might be one of
the girl’s most prized possessions, and more
specifically, might be the most reflective image
she owned of herself.
“In the video you see that they live in huts of mud
and paper, so not only do they not have pictures
of their childhood, they might not even have a
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