Cincinnati, Ohio, February 8 – In Saint Ursula Academy’s art classes, students are encouraged to share their artistic talents with others. Art Teacher Kurt Nicaise recently guided students through a community art project. The artwork, titled Feeding Our Souls will hang in CAIN’s (Churches Active in Northside) Welcome Area.
CAIN is a neighborhood ministry that transforms lives and inspires hope by providing nutritious food, crisis assistance, resources, and compassion in a way that respects human dignity and builds a more vibrant community.
Saint Ursula students began the project several weeks ago by reflecting on the name of CAIN’s food pantry, the Rainbow Food Pantry. Shelves are color-coded in the pantry and visitors to the pantry are encouraged to choose foods from the various shelves to ensure they are getting food from each of the major food groups. Because of the name, students knew the artwork must be colorful. Each student created a personal mark representing themselves. Then, they painted their mark many times on the canvas with a color they created specifically for this project.
Students also reflected on CAIN’s motto, “Feeding Body and Soul” and they wanted to ensure the artwork would feed the soul of the people who visited the center. To convey this message, individual students created images of their own hand and how it would look if they were “reaching out to help the community”. These hand images were then added to the colorful backdrop of personal symbols.
Judy Radina, Volunteer Coordinator for CAIN, accepted the gift on behalf of CAIN.
“This piece of art will hang in our reception area to welcome everyone who enters. Feeding Our Souls is something beautiful to be seen by those who live in poverty, and we will be happy to share the story of its creation with our visitors,” said Radina.
This project reflects the mission of Saint Ursula Academy as students are encouraged to be reflective thinkers, committed to building a better world.
Saint Ursula Academy is a Catholic, college-preparatory, secondary school for young women known for academic excellence and rich tradition. Saint Ursula welcomes students from more than 90 grade schools in the Greater Cincinnati area. The Academy is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School. The campus, located at 1339 E. McMillan Street in East Walnut Hills has been the home of St. Ursula Academy and Convent since 1910. The Class of 2017 earned college scholarships totaling more than $21-million.
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Photo caption: Saint Ursula Academy students presented “Feeding Our Souls” to CAIN’s Rainbow Food Pantry. Photo includes (l-r): Ella Becker of Hyde Park, SUA Art Teacher Kurt Nicaise, Maddy Reischel of Blue Ash, Kaelynn Corl of Montgomery, CAIN Volunteer Coordinator Judy Radina, Claire Prather of Blue Ash, Jane Malone of Anderson Township, and Melina Canter of Loveland.