Artists on the rise in Cambodia

During my Christmas weekend I stayed at my site and helped my friend Erin paint a Cambodian map at a near by highschool. I was excited to see and work on  the project so it can later help and motivate me to get a similar project going at my school. Doing a world or Cambodian map is a great way to get the students to interact with each other and to work on a project that is on a grander scale. This is probably one of the best ways to boost a high level of confidence and motivation in them. I can't wait to get one going at my local high school.

On that same day I had my art club. I was really impressed to see that my students drew amazing drawings of Lady Gaga. The week before the students had asked if I could print out a step by step of how to draw Lady Gaga. A week later they came up with these beauties and other creations.

I"m so proud of all the them. They're such a talented bunch.

You should've seen how excited they got when I showed them the picture of Lady Gaga. The girl above was almost ready to cry. They asked me if next time I can bring Justin Bieber. I might not like the artist of their choosing but if it makes them happy who am I to judge?

I believe this art student is going to be a fashion designer. She draws images of women wearing the most beautiful and elegant dresses.

I love the details that she portrays in her images.

This is another student's art work who also does some amazing stuff. I might not be able to fully communicate with them in Kamar but I hope they know of how proud I am of them. My counterpart, Vanny, and I have some really great ideas on how to push these students to the next level. Every week I try to introduce them to a new artist by showing them images of their work that i try to download on the internet. Sometimes it really astounds me that most of these students have never laid eyes on works of art that we are constantly bombarded by in America. These students had never seen the Mona Lisa until I showed them a body of work by Leonardo Da Vinci. So if anything my goal is to try to open up their eyes and imagination to a whole new world of art. Whether it be through showing them the great works done by master artists or by introducing them to to whole new spectrum of art I hope that it's something that they can enjoy. Watch out 2012! You have a whole new group of up and coming artists who are coming your way.