AADe Soto High School’s Advanced Placement Art students visited Mize Elementary on Oct. 26 to sit in on art classes and draw portraits of active duty and retired military personnel that were visiting to model for the elementary students.

Junior Advanced Placement art student Pierce Nunley enjoyed the unique experience.

“We set up before the classes came in and drew portraits of the veterans with charcoal. All of the kids got to ask them questions,” Nunley said.

Mize Elementary art teacher Shelly Souders was inspired to reach out to the community to get active duty or retired troops to model for her students from George W. Bush’s paintings of veterans who have come back from war.

DHS art teacher Tim Mispagel saw it as a great opportunity for his students to practice working from live models.

“They haven’t had a lot of experience working from live models. The first gentleman was a Marine, and he was in full uniform so they worked on drawing him,” Mispagel said.

At Mize Elementary, they had a Veteran’s Day assembly on Nov. 10 where they displayed DHS’ the students’ artwork along with Souders’ students’ work.

“It was a very educational experience.e worked and observed in silence behind the class as they learned about veterans and their lives,” Nunley said.