Earlier this year, Duval County Public Schools’ Board Chairman Tommy Hazouri was contacted by Tony Sleiman, the owner of the Jacksonville Landing, about getting local schools involved in repainting and refurbishing several of the holiday ornaments on display at the Landing. The goal was to transform the old, faded ornaments into colorfully painted objects expressing the holiday theme.
Hazouri recruited Jack Matthews, the district’s specialist for visual arts, dance and theatre, to oversee the task.
Matthews contacted middle and high school art teachers to find out who would be interested in participation. In the end, eight teachers and their students provided the talents necessary to make the transformation of nearly 200 ornaments into works of art. Many teachers spent additional money out of their own pockets to decorate the ornaments.
The schools and art teachers involved were: John E. Ford K-8 (Donna Blakely), Northwestern Middle (Shay Nicola), Southside Middle (Kelly Delaney), Jefferson Davis Middle (Alice Hopson), Nathan B. Forest High (Tina Bakkar and Sarah Martin), First Coast High (Mary Mackoul), and Robert E. Lee High (Anne Jacques).
The ornaments will be on display in the Landing’s shop windows throughout the holiday season.
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