The warehouse at Angels’ Arms has a new bit of decoration — four colorful mixed media collages, courtesy of Lindbergh High School sophomores. Their artwork was done as part of their IMPACT class, which helps students participate in real-world experiences. For this project, students created art that will hang in the food distribution warehouse of Angels’ Arms, a local foster care service.
“Our program is primarily based on making an impact on the community and getting kids out into real-world situations,” IMPACT art teacher Jessica Fisk said of the class.
The collaboration between Lindbergh and Angels’ Arms began when Fisk reached out to Melissa Singler, who takes care of program services at Angels’ Arms. Fisk asked how LHS students could contribute something to the organization.
“I started thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, we have this warehouse, and it really could use some brightening up,’” Singler said. “Our families go monthly and get to shop every month. The families from (foster) homes shop for food and essential items like laundry detergent and toilet paper. We also use the space for meetings with the foster parents and also training sessions.”
Angels’ Arms has a mission of keeping sibling groups together in foster care. The organization aims to provide support to foster parents who are fostering siblings or multiple children; Singler says that some families have six to seven foster kids in their homes. Since this means a higher cost for food and supplies, these foster parents can get supplies from the depot.
With this idea for how to use the students’ artistic skills to give the organization’s space a refresh, they got to work. The project began with a “client meeting” between the LHS students and representatives from Angels’ Arms, including Singler. Per Fisk, students interviewed Singler about her ideas for the art piece.
“I said, ‘We would love it if you guys could create something that brightens up the space and brings joy to foster kids,’” Singler said. “So we presented that, and they loved that idea. Then we gave them a lot of creative liberty, and we just said that we want something with happiness that reminds you of childhood.”
Fisk said that the representatives from Angels’ Arms had “really good” ideas and were great to work with, allowing the kids to be creative while following set guidelines and goals.
“That was a really neat experience for the kids, because they got to sit in on a simulated, client-based meeting in a professional way and hear how that would go if they were in the real-world setting,” Fisk said.
After that, the students had to decide what to create. According to Fisk, this was the most difficult part of the project for them — learning to work together and compromise on their vision for the piece.
“They were so invested working for a real client that they all came in with ideas of what they wanted, that it was a little hard for them to compromise and let go of the one idea they wanted in order to work with the group,” Fisk said.
But eventually, the group came together with the idea to do four canvases, each portraying a different toy or childhood memory: a dinosaur, game board pieces, a teddy bear and sports equipment. The 4-foot by 4-foot canvases display a collage of the subject and simple, abstract backgrounds in bright colors.
“That was the neatest part for me as a teacher — just to take a step back and see them work together in a group,” Fisk said. “Working with 10 people to collaborate on one project, one idea, is a challenge. Watching them work through different ideas and having to compromise and come up with something that was unified was really neat. It was cool to see the challenges they faced working in a group, but then coming through that and creating something that turned out really well.”
Between interviewing Angels’ Arms and working on the art itself, it took the IMPACT students five weeks to complete the project. Then, it was time to present their work to the organization.
The students received a tour of the Angels’ Arms facilities, getting to see the place where their artwork will live. Singler says that, if the art is ever moved, it could go to an Angels’ Arms office space — allowing the piece to have a longevity that will last years. Singler says it was neat to watch the teenagers take in the warehouse and the mission of the organization, and especially because many of the foster children served by Angels’ Arms are in the teenage age range.
“Lindbergh is so supportive of Angels’ Arms. We actually have foster kids in Angels’ Arms that go to Lindbergh Schools, so they’ve always been a great support system for us,” Singler said. “I told them that they’re making artwork, and people their age are going to enjoy it and think, ‘Maybe I can make artwork like that as well.’”
Fisk added, “I think it was really neat for the kids to experience not just being there and seeing their artwork there, but seeing what the organization offers our community. Being in the space helps them understand that kids in our own schools are using this service. Some of them made comments about, ‘Oh, we should come back and donate things.’ They know this service existed, and hearing about it from Ms. Singler brought it to their mind, but being there helped them realize they’re making a difference in the community, and this is an organization we want to contribute to.”