Artists inspired by Garrison students

These photos are of children from the Edmonton Garrison visiting our display of about a dozen portraits at City Hall.

At the city's request, we are displaying and painting soldiers on site there for the next two weeks. It's an excellent opportunity to increase awareness of the project. 

The City has a resident school teacher, Linda Hut (who took these photos). Area schools are able to send their classes to the City for a week to learn about municipal government and the things that happen at City Hall - lucky for us they visited Project Heroes™ display!

When the teacher asked for a show of hands to indicate who had parents that had served in Afghanistan, most of the children's hands went up. Thankfully all of their parents have come home safe, but they were a living reminder of some of the many casualties of war when a soldier is lost. 

These students asked some very interesting and poignant questions about the project, and about creating oil portraits. They also gave Project Heroes™ 'the thumbs up!' (Top photo)

The opera Fidelio was amazing and Project Heroes™ was thrilled to be there!  A cast of soldiers, politicians, jailers, heroic women and prisoners sing a tale of love and freedom set in eighteenth century Spain. In this setting a woman disguised as a man searches for her husband who is a political prisoner. It was Beethoven's only opera and was written in the countryside near Vienna during a time of political upheaval. Days before the French army marched into Vienna the audience of the premiere was mostly French officers.

We were proud to have several portraits on display in the lobby and enjoyed the VIP party afterward.

Susan, Shairl and Cindy with some of the portraits.

Susan and Shairl discussing Project Heroes™ with guests.

Susan with 3 members of the military at the VIP party.

Portrait in Progress

The portraits are started in various ways, in this instance Shairl has drawn the portrait with pencil and done the first layer in green. We all work a bit differently depending on the photos that we are supplied. Sometimes we work from several photos and draw with pencil before committing paint to canvas. Often we will simply draw directly on the canvas using paint. No matter how we start the end result is a colourful representation of a special individual who was loved.

Shairl Honey painting Captain Jonathan Snyder

Project Heroes™ Artists at the Debney Armoury Studio

Project Heroes™ moved into the Debney Armoury studio this week. Soon this big space will be filled with portraits, a big tree with yellow ribbons (more on that later), pedestals to hold tablets for soldier's stories, three 6x9 foot paintings and much more! The military has been incredibly generous and supportive. Thank you Canadian military.

Susan Abma painting Corporal Randy Payne

Cindy Revell painting Private Chad Horn

 

Philip Debney Armoury studio

We set up more of our things in our new studio space in the Debney Armoury today . It is so amazing to have this fantastic space to work in, and for the three artists to be able to work together. Up until now we have each worked in our own studios and then travelled about three quarters of an hour quite regularly so we could meet to discuss progress of the project. We had to 'meet in the middle' to have meetings etc., and it took a lot of time in meetings because we always had so much to catch up on. We spent a lot of time sitting in Edmonton restaurants - thanks to them all for providing our free meeting space. :) We can now discuss things quickly every day as they arise, and then paint. Such a timesaver compared to spending long meetings trying to catch up with everything. Painting together is very inspiring and we are able to discuss information we have for each of the soldiers, plan details of the exhibition, etc. This generous and supportive gesture by the military, of allowing us space in the armoury,is a blessing and will be so incredibly well-used and appreciated. From the start of this project, we have been overwhelmed with the support we've received. We started out wanting to honor our Canadian soldiers for their service in Afghanistan, including the fallen, the wounded, families of soldiers, and veterans. We believed that the portraits of the fallen should be done with cooperation from the families, and that their participation would give us, and later all Canadians, a greater insight into the men and women behind the uniforms. We never knew how profoundly it would affect our lives, how important the families would become to us, what incredible people would volunteer their time and that the military would be such a huge support. We're so proud to be doing this project, and we're so thankful for the many ways that we're being helped along the way. This is truly a joint, all-Canadian effort to honor our troops. Thanks to every one of you. Whether you're actively involved in the project, or helping us by spreading the word on Facebook, Twitter, etc., we appreciate you all.

New studio space

We have such exciting and amazing news!!!! The military has graciously provided space in the Debney Armoury on the southside of Edmonton for us to use as studio space so we can finish this project all together in a single location. We are so thankful, grateful, and excited to be in the lovely space with fantastic natural lighting. As soon as we're settled in and we know more, we'll let everyone know any days that we are able to have visitors to the studio. Thank you all so much for your support of Project Heroes, and your interest in what we're involved in. We appreciate you all so much.

Project Heroes to Contribute to Edmonton Opera's Fidelio

PRESS RELEASE

April 15, 2012

Edmonton, AB

Project Heroes™ is excited to be included in Edmonton Opera's production of Fidelio at the Jubilee Auditorium. Susan Abma, Shairl Honey, and Cindy Revell are preparing a display and presentation for the opera patrons. The artists, who are the creative spark for Project Heroes™ will be available to respond to requests for information and more. Keep watching for more information about Project Heroes™ and Edmonton Opera.

What is Project Heroes™ and what does it consist of?

• An interactive, educational art and multimedia cross country exhibition inspired by 158 incredible men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Afghanistan mission.
• A symbolic eight foot tree covered in 158 yellow ribbons representing each of the fallen soldiers, complete with the soft sound of wind and wind motion that will gently move the ribbons.
• An intimate view of the 'soldier behind the uniform' through oil portraits created from family photos and in depth stories as remembered by their families.
• Interactive multimedia of family photographs, stories, music, videos and letters that capture the essence of each soldier.
• Panoramic 6x9' paintings featuring gripping depictions of the travails of the waiting families, the wounded, serving soldiers and veterans of all wars.
• Several 16"x20" paintings of various scenes and still lifes that represent the soldiers' and families' personal experiences. These will be reproduced as prints for marketing and fundraising.
• Eight to ten mannequins that will wear soldiers' uniforms and speak quotes from the soldiers.
• A full colour hardcover book including the portraits, soldiers' stories, the panoramic paintings, scenes and still life collection and the story of Project Heroes™.       
• A national tour to bring the exhibition to all Canadians starting in 2013.

 What Makes Project Heroes So Special

• The artists paint from family photos that breath life into each portrait with personality and spirit. 
• They work closely with the families of the fallen to bring each soldier's journey to life using family photos, personal mementos, videos, soldier's poetry, family stories and much more. 
• The use of interactive multimedia enriches the soldiers' stories in a unique way through individual tablets that gives us the ability to continuously add digital information over time. 
• A comprehensive artistic experience that will give Canadians the opportunity to personally connect to these brave spirits, gain inspiration from them, and strengthen our collective pride in Canada's achievements. 

 Who is Project Heroes?

• Project Heroes™ began with portrait artists, Susan Abma, Shairl Honey and Cindy Revell who wanted to say thank you to the soldiers and their families and share their inspiring stories.
• A steering committee including a radio personality, media professionals, business people and an MP along with a group of dedicated volunteers who passionately support this vision.
• A charitable organization, part of Canadian Fallen Heroes Foundation.

For more information on the Edmonton Opera collaboration with Project Heroes™, the Project Heroes™ Exhibition, and the upcoming Project Heroes™ Tour, please contact Robert Laporte, Exhibition Manager,  (780) 986-0789    

Project Heroes, Box 3449, Leduc, AB, T9E 6M2