Woodson’s National Art Honor Society (NAHS) works to promote peace both locally and internationally through various art-based projects. Students in the Woodson club are members of the nationwide NAHS.

Alyx Sheridan is passionate about art, so getting involved with NAHS made good sense. “I’ve loved art my whole life, and when I found out from my art teacher about the National Art Honor Society, I decided to join,” she said. Now a junior, Alyx, along with seniors Allie Johnson and Ieva Balunis, all serve as co-presidents of NAHS at Woodson High School.

Allie said one of the things she appreciates about NAHS is that “our club is less about getting college credits or proving yourself in some way; it’s just a place where people who love art can come together, make new friends, and share our art with other people.” One way Allie is sharing her art is through doing art projects with the children at a daycare center where she works.

Ieva appreciates the spirit of service behind the NAHS. “It’s all about ‘What can we do for our community? How can we help our school?’” she said.

One of NAHS’ current local projects involves designing a coloring book that will be delivered to patients at an addiction-treatment facility. Another activity was creating Christmas tree ornaments that were given to a residential facility for senior citizens.

Perhaps the most ambitious activity of Woodson’s NAHS is its participation in the Memory Project. Begun by a student at the University of Wisconsin in 2004, the Memory Project works at “connecting youth around the world through art to help build cultural understanding and international kindness.”

To achieve this goal, high school students create portraits of children in another part of the world, based on pictures they are given of the students. This year, Woodson’s NAHS members made more than 20 portraits of children in the country of Colombia, using whichever medium they preferred. The portraits were then sent to Colombia as gifts to the children.

Alyx reflected on the impact of children receiving a portrait of themselves. “Knowing that someone in another part of the world cared enough to create a picture of them and send it to them brings them joy and a sense of peace,” she explained. She said that the Memory Project has helped to bridge language, ethnic and class differences between the NAHS students and Colombian children.

In the spring, Woodson’s NAHS is planning to use their artistic skills and passion to create a large mural in one of the hallways in the school. The club also plans to sponsor an art show where local artists can display their creations.