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Published January 07, 2011, 11:24 AM

Hudson woman travels to Juarez, Mexico, to foster art in the barrio

Art can be an escape for some people, for others it is a way for them to express themselves. But for Laura Pidgeon, art is a passion that she wants to pass on to a younger generation.

By: By Jordan Willi, Hudson Star-Observer

Art can be an escape for some people, for others it is a way for them to express themselves.

But for Laura Pidgeon, art is a passion that she wants to pass on to a younger generation.

“I have been doing art since kindergarten,” Pidgeon said. “It has been a passion of mine for a long time and I decided that I wanted to go into art education.”

Pidgeon currently attends the Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design (RMCAD) in Denver, Col. The school was suggested by her high school art teacher and once she saw the campus, she was hooked.

Recently, Pidgeon and a group of students from RMCAD took a trip to Juarez, Mexico, where they worked with local children to clean up their neighborhoods.

“We called the project ‘Beautifying the Barrio.’ We did a series of projects with the local school kids to help them clean up their surroundings,” Pidgeon said. “We brought some color to their bus stops, painted murals and brought back some of the art the kids created and sold it. We gave the money, over $1,000, back to the kids.”

The whole experience of working with the school children and being able to see the changes and impact the group had in Juarez left Pidgeon with a sense of self-satisfaction.

“I was really happy with the changes we were able to make because it is such a dangerous place and we just went in there and helped out,” Pidgeon said. “It was an amazing experience. It was amazing to see something beautiful come from that trash and those bad areas.”

Pidgeon has been inspired by many people and she hopes to foster creativity in the younger generations once she graduates from school. She plans to go on to be an art teacher and pass on the inspiration she received to the kids she teaches.

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