I loved this image from Ann Beck and asked her to share it here. Ann says:

I’ve long been a supporter of our local Montessori private school, where all three of my girls attended (or still attend!) preschool, both because I really believe in the school and because I have a lot of clients there! The biggest fundraiser is the annual art auction, where each class creates a different work of art to sell to the all too willing parents. After ten years at the school, I was almost out of ideas for our class project, but a painting at an airport inspired this piece, which might just be my favorite ever! I had the kids come in groups of five and put one hand each in a circle, with fingers in a “peace” sign to form a star all together. Our school is very diverse, so I tried to emphasize that by getting as much of a mix in skin tones in each picture, so together they would contrast each other and stand out. We had an uneven number of kids, so the remaining kids were used to literally spell out our message, holding letters from a classroom work to create the “peace” label and a dove for a final symbolic effect. Once everything was shot individually on a white background, I digitally edited the parts together, overlapping arms and such to create a single, intertwined piece, which I had printed as a 10×30 canvas.

I really love that it really represents the school’s core values; diversity, community, and respect for each other and the world. Each child is there as an individual, but together they are a powerful, strong statement of love and peace. Now I just hope it raises a lot of money to help the school carry on those messages!

Great job Ann…keep us posted!