JANESVILLE, Wis. (AP) - Stained-glass artist Richard Snyder did not know how successful he would be teaching Honduran children.
They spoke little English, and he spoke no Spanish.
But the children demonstrated what Snyder has always known: Art transcends language.
Earlier this year, the Janesville man spent a month in Roatan, a small island about 40 miles off the northern coast of Honduras. While there, he introduced Honduran children to his art form by giving them hands-on demonstrations. Many were in sixth and seventh grades.
“They picked it up right away,” Snyder told the Janesville Gazette . “They all finished a beautiful project.”
Snyder is best known in Janesville for his restoration of stained-glass windows at Oak Hill Chapel.
He went to Roatan hoping to escape some of Wisconsin’s harsh winter and to forge a new life. Eventually, he wants to open a studio where he can teach and create custom pieces.
Snyder volunteered in the Charmont Bilingual Academy and the School of Life Foundation and took tools and equipment to classrooms in a large suitcase.
Teachers warned him not to be surprised if some high-risk students dropped out.
None did.
“They went hours and never took a break,” Snyder said. “By working with each and every child, I showed them they can create things. It was a great thing.”
The private Charmont academy provides an education to children of families living with the human immunodeficiency virus and to children born with HIV.
“It was a combination orphanage and school,” Snyder explained. “Again, they all finished their projects.”
Valerie Nelson, principal of the academy, said students were “mesmerized and worked tirelessly under Richard’s excellent instruction to create beautiful works of art.”
She called Snyder “patient and knowledgeable.”
Snyder also taught for a reduced fee at The Island Academy, a private school that educates mostly students of European, Canadian and U.S. families.
He hopes to bring his art to Honduran public schools when he returns to the country later this month.
“That’s where the greater need is,” Snyder said.
He described all his students as happy.
“They were thrilled to experience something new and to hold up a little hummingbird or a fish that they built,” he said. “They thought the colors were incredible. It would have been nice if I could speak the language. But I could see the happiness in their eyes.”
In addition to teaching children, Snyder paved the way for a public art project on Roatan, which has no recycling program. He and Roatan artist Michele Braun plan to use recycled glass bottles for art sculptures. Snyder will build an oven to melt the bottles so he can roll them into flat sheets for cutting into shapes.
He wants the project to include schoolchildren and hopes it will improve their lives.
“All the art would be for sale,” Snyder said, “which could help the people of Honduras, schools and charities.”
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Information from: The Janesville Gazette, http://www.gazetteextra.com
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