Some Danville High School art students are using their talents to help other teens improve their health and outlook on life. The students in instructor John Rackow’s class have been working on projects for the I Sing the Body Electric program. Their works will be among those displayed in May at Danville Area Community College.
Seventeen-year-old D.H.S. junior LaShawn Reed described his oil painting. ‘’It was about abuse and different types of abuse, and what kinds of forms it comes in.’’ And when asked what message he was trying to get across, Reed responded: ‘’That everyone goes through it, and shouldn’t anyone go through it.’’
Tanea Brigham is a sixteen-year-old sophomore hopes her art project will help others. ‘’My project, I decided to use charcoal. And my message was to bring awareness to anxiety. There’s a lot of people that go through it, and it’s not something that’s easy to get over,’’ said Brigham.
Another Danville High School sophomore, sixteen-year-old Lauren Ellis, also selected a topic for the up-coming art show. ‘’I did it over stress just because it’s something I feel everyone, not just high school students experience. And it’s gotten to be something that’s become serious.’’
Instructor John Rackow likes the fact his art class can help other students. ‘’The goals of the project are to create awareness and information. So if students are experiencing things – such as some of the topics they deal with – they have outlets to seek help, (and) coping strategies to get around some of those things they’re dealing with.’’
I Sing the Body Electric is a program sponsored by Presence United Samaritans Medical Center. In January the program released results of a survey among Vermilion County teenagers that showed a dramatic drop in the use of alcohol and tobacco. But the survey also showed concerns in other areas including the fact that the number of county teens who said they had attempted suicide is nearly double the national average.
[**Note: You can click on the photos to enlarge them.]
