Ellen Nelson introduced her advanced art students to the idea of using art for more than just personal expression. Through the Cradle Project, she was able to show her students how art can be used to positively impact lives outside of their own communities.
A drawer found at a recycling center was used as the base of the cradle. This was a reflection of the resourcefulness of families Ellen had learned about, where open bottom drawers would often be made into impromptu cribs when there were no empty beds.
The cradle was designed to reflect the culture and land of Africa. Earth tones were used to represent the soil and sand and surfaces were left unfinished to mirror the possibility for growth a child held in the cradle has. Images of fauna were used to show African pride and colorful mobiles were added to make the cradle visually stimulating to a baby.
It is the hope of Ellen and her students that this cradle will inspire the child whose crib it becomes and increase awareness to the struggle 48 million sub-Saharan orphans face everyday.
Along with Ellen the students involved were:
Jim Taylor
Sierra Bintliff
Samantha Cloute
Eve Cremmers
Kate Esbenshade
Hope Kauffman
Adelaide Knott
Elizabeth Kunkle
Mary Longenecker
Samantha Lurio
Caitlin Manak
Hope Robb
Brittany Schrack
Abby Skolitz
To view more images of the cradle, click here.