Local residents' art raising money for war-torn Ukraine

ARLEY - As images and reports from what is arguably the most-documented war in history have flooded all forms of media, many local residents have wished that the U.S. or other countries could do more to help Ukraine. One group of Winston County residents that is taking action is the Art with Friends painting class in Arley.
The Art with Friends class is raising funds or Ukraine by using their paintings to encourage donations. The class will send all donations to the 501(c)3 charity Americares, which is providing medicine, medical supplies, emergency funding and medical professionals to help families in need in Ukraine, according to a press release from the class.
Every donor will receive a small sunflower artwork as a thank-you gift, with the first 50 donors receiving an original piece, either a watercolor on high quality paper or a mixed media artwork. Subsequent donors will receive sunflower prints or packs of sunflower notecards. As of press time, the group had already raised $1,200.
“The artwork gift represents a token of appreciation and will encourage local people to give,” pointed out class member Beth Sargent. “We all had the same thought: how to help. This is our effort, our contribution.”
Sargent said, “We initially held a class with sunflowers to, I guess, emotionally recognize the struggle of the Ukrainian people. We talk about current events generally before and after class. We all wanted to do something.” Out of that desire to help arose the sunflower project.

Significance of sunflowers

Grown everywhere in flower-loving Ukraine, the sunflower not only provides a major export for the country, sunflower oil, but is also a symbol of peace, according to Smithsonian Magazine and the Ukrainian office of the tour company Mir Corporation. Native to North America, the sunflower gained prominence in Ukraine in the mid-1700s after the Orthodox Church prohibited the use of butter, lard, olive oil and other fats and oils—but not sunflower oil—during Lent.
The sunflower has represented peace in Ukraine for almost as long as Ukraine has been a sovereign nation. Ukraine became independent when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 and agreed to send the Soviet nuclear weapons left within its territory, which gave it the world’s third largest nuclear arsenal, to Russia to be dismantled in exchange for promises of security and recognition of its independence and sovereignty by Russia, the U.S. and the United Kingdom. (This agreement is known as the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances.)
In 1996, Ukrainian, Russian and U.S. defense ministers celebrated Ukraine’s disarmament by planting sunflowers together in a new field above a destroyed underground missile silo at Ukraine’s Pervomaysk missile base, according to a report from the June 6, 1996 edition of The Washington Post.
The sunflower was a particularly appropriate choice to commemorate nuclear disarmament because it is what’s known as a hyperaccumulator, a plant that has the ability to draw radioactive contaminants and other toxins out of the soil; sunflower fields have been planted on land affected by the Hiroshima, Fukushima and Chernobyl nuclear disasters, as reported in Garden Collage Magazine and other sources.

Origins of the sunflower project

Susan Ripp, Art with Friends teacher, first had the idea of printing sunflower note cards or auto decals to sell to raise funds to donate to Ukraine, which the class intends to do in the future. “I was so pleased when Susan suggested we do something special to raise money and awareness,” Sargent said.  However, she wanted to do something right away.
“I thought maybe if we did a more immediate ‘step,’ we could get a more immediate response,” she said. “And who doesn’t like an original piece of art? I think each piece would be a nice conversation piece in someone’s home.”
Ripp then asked Sargent to research charities to find the best one to whom to send donations. “We selected Americares because of their low administrative expenses and their commitment to help citizens in Ukraine, half a world away,” Sargent said. “They have a 4-star (4/4) rating with Charity Navigator.”
She added, “We determined we’d need a large organization, based on the international scope of the need. Americares is well-entrenched around the world, and rather than a grass-roots group, we felt an established non-profit would be best.”
With the class currently consisting of 12-15 students each week, according to Sargent, the members decided that if they and Ripp each painted and donated 3 or more sunflower pieces, they could reach the goal of creating 50 original artworks to give away. With their goal set, they held another sunflower-focused class, this one devoted to creating mixed media art, and within three weeks of the project’s start, they were ready to let the public know about this opportunity to support Ukraine while receiving in return the gift of getting to enjoy the work of local artists.
“Art can inspire us, challenge us, move us and add beauty to our lives. My hope is that our sunflower project will help lift the hearts of the innocent citizens of Ukraine who are now in their darkest days,” said Ripp. “May the fields of sunflowers return again, and may the donations we forward help the innocents.”
Judy Crump of Arley, a longtime member of the class, hopes the sunflower project will reach beyond the local community. “We have the ability to make a difference, and we loved the idea of sharing our sunflowers,” she said. “We all hope for peace and aid to the Ukrainians, especially the children.”
To donate—and receive an original artwork or a print—send a check payable to Americares to Susan Ripp, Art with Friends, 1192 Dave Wilson Circle, Houston, Ala., 35572. “Be sure to include your return address,” Sargent said. “You will receive a ‘Sunflower Surprise’ via mail.” Americares checks may also be dropped off at the painting class at the Smith Lake Community Center, Helicon Road, Arley, on Tuesdays between 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
The Art with Friends class wishes to thank all donors.