$8,000 left to raise for 17 ACHS students headed to Italy
Don’t be surprised if you hear someone yell “Go Wolves!” in Milan this summer. Or in Venice. Or Rome. Safe bet it’ll be American Canyon High School students.
Seventeen art students and eight parents are set to travel from American Canyon to Italy on June 13. They’ll spend the next 10 days exploring the country and its rich history — the Vatican, the Pantheon, gladiator school and the Romeo and Juliet balcony, to name a few.
“I’m really excited about it,” said sophomore Zielle Bell. “I’ve been focusing on traditional art, and I’ve been wanting to do more — clay, glass making. I think this trip will inspire me.” Bell is already serious about art and plans to have a career designing characters for film. Marvel comic artist Ryan Ottley is her current favorite.
Over tacos at Taqueria Maria in early April, a dozen students and their parents convened for a trip planning session with art teacher Chelle Thompson, aka Mrs. T, who handed out itineraries and tips on what to pack and how to act in a foreign country.
“I’m telling you: Even though you may think you don’t look like a tourist, you look like a tourist,” Mrs. T joked to the group. “A lot of the streets over there are cobblestone — and you’re in charge of your own luggage.”
Most important? Their Italian tour guide’s number one rule: No American restaurants. “If you want a Starbucks, her rule is you will have to pay her five bucks,” said Mrs. T.
In Italy, students will get to apply much of what they’ve learned this past year. “We did projects based off of Leonardo da Vinci drawings,” said Mrs. T. They’ve also practiced perspective techniques, which should help when they sit in the squares of Florence for charcoal drawing sessions.
Last year, students learned the history of stained glass. “They all made paper stained glass and we filled our windows,” said Mrs. T. When they got to Paris, they still weren’t prepared for the real deal. “The students walk into Notre Dame and just sit there in front of the stained glass that’s the size of a wall — but so small in our books,” she said.
The trip is organized and funded independently by student families, Mrs. T and their supporters, including the American Canyon Arts Foundation. Still, it’s not cheap. Each high schooler’s trip costs $5,205, a big investment for most families. Some have received scholarships through Explorica, the organization that partners with teachers to coordinate student tours, and a few have been individually sponsored by friends and family members.
For the rest, fundraising is the name of the game. Senior Itzel Trujillo and sophomore Zielle Bell have been cranking out pins to sell at local shops and at events, some bearing custom drawings and phrases. They’ve raised hundreds from pin sales to put toward their trip.
Now, the group is in a push to raise the last $8,000 for their trip. Saturday, April 11, is the group’s big push to raise the last $8,000. They’ll host a Sip and Paint party at the Mikolajcik Center from 5-7 p.m., with donated wine and paint at $24 a head. Guests will learn some painting techniques and leave with a canvas or two. To RSVP or to donate, email mrmcbri1@gmail.com.
For students and their families, it’s worth it. Vivian Smiley said her son, junior Tru Smiley, is the youngest of three, and “a gentle giant.” For Smiley, Italy will get Tru out of his comfort zone.
“I want him to have the experience to be on his own, be self-sufficient and get out there,” she said. Tru spends hours drawing anime characters, some inspired by science fiction film “Avatar.”
“I can’t even draw a stick figure,” Smiley said. “I think once they see the true art and where it came from, where it started, I think that’s going to open them up to more, to want to do more in life.”
It’s the kind of self-investment that’s become the norm at high schools since arts funding dropped over the years, even though California is considered a driver of the world’s creative economy, with 2.6 million-plus arts-related jobs in the state. The trend could be changing as districts start to use funds from Proposition 28, a 2022 initiative to expand arts in California schools.
This summer will be the second international journey for ACHS art kids after last year’s inaugural trip to Paris and London, when the group visited the Louvre and Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, where they saw a production of “Romeo and Juliet” set in the American Southwest.
Students were excited to see if Irish and Scottish actors could do a southwest accent like Mrs. T.
“Don’t let things you think you can’t do stop you from trying,” she said after the meeting. “If you really want to do something, make it happen.”
