Paintbrushes connect Cal State Fullerton art students with Mexican schoolchildren

Rose Adams’ art students at Cal State Fullerton traveled to Mexico in January to give of their time and expertise. But they brought back much more.

For the second year, a group of Adams’ students traveled to Ojos de Agua, in the state of Guanajuato, to teach art to children ages 3 to 14. The children each painted a 12-by-12-inch canvas that became part of a mural for the town’s community center.

The college students each created a piece of art when they returned to campus, often in the same bright paints the kids used. Those pieces are on display in the Center Gallery of the Titan Student Union at Cal State Fullerton along with the students’ reflections on the trip and their art.

The works of art are for sale for $125 each or best offer; all proceeds go to the town. Last year, a campus art sale generated $1,200 to purchase school supplies for the town’s 150 children. One project is to turn a dirt field into a proper soccer field and sports complex.

About half the rural community migrates to the United States each year in search of work opportunities, said Adams, a lecturer in art history. Children begin to work from a young age in factories and on farms to help support their families.

“Our goal is to help develop communities where potential outcomes include self-sustainability and job creation,” she said.

Yazmine Rodriguez, a third-year art history major, was inspired to paint “Cultivating a Creative Revolution” by the work of Mexican muralists José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. She emulated Orozco’s simplistic style and Siqueiros’ theme of creative, knowledgeable revolution.

The theme the students presented to the students was community. Many of the kids hadn’t painted before or seen a paintbrush, Rodriguez said.

“One boy painted a trash bin and people throwing away trash because to him community means helping out,” she said.

The trip fueled her interest in pre-Columbian art and in working in a museum. “Going on this trip and learning more about the Aztecs and all the indigenous cultures really solidified what I want to do.”

Catherine Carrier painted “Ojos,” which shows two children and a tree branch with orange flowers where nothing else but cactus was growing.

“This spoke to me of determination to make something beautiful from very little, such as the spirit of the people,” she wrote in her reflection.

Jordan Freeman Young created the ceramic vessel “The Gift of Food” to reflect the open arms with which the students were welcomed.

“Our hosts graciously made a delicious meal for us to devour as if we were family being welcomed home,” Young wrote in his reflection. “The town is small and the people don’t seem to have much but the locals are still extremely generous and compassionate to strangers.”

A photo of three boys captured the trip for Angela Lessing, a graduate student at UC Riverside who also went on last year’s trip as a CSUF student. She wrote that her gratitude for the knowledge, global connections, friendships and memories she gained will stay with her for life.

“When I returned home from my program last year,” she wrote, “the appreciation I felt for others, my education, and myself blossomed into an exuding and empowering confidence with a grounded side of humility.”

In March, Adams and four students will take a mobile medical clinic to Ojos de Agua, a first for the town. The clinic is the result of a partnership among Walls That Unite, Adams’ nonprofit; the state of Guanajuato; Club Ojos de Agua y el Novillero Unidos, a local nonprofit; and Missions for Life, a nonprofit that sends doctors and nurses on medical missions.

Adams and CSUF students have also guided schoolchildren in creating murals in Orange County.  Last fall, a group helped kids at Jefferson Elementary School in Santa Ana create a mural and spoke with them about college and career preparation. Last spring, they did a similar project with the Savanna School District in Stanton.

Students who want to get involved in Walls That Unite can contact roseadams@fullerton.edu.