By Ashley Nnabue ’16

There is more to people than what one may see externally. Their experiences, struggles, triumphs and many other factors mold them into the person they are today. Sandy Spring Museum attempted to capture this internal aspect from English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students at Sherwood. The students were encouraged to open up and share their individual stories with the community through books that they wrote, which are currently displayed at the museum until May 31.

Heidi McKinnon, the museum’s former director of exhibits and community programming, felt that the museum could take advantage of a new proposition featuring local students that recently came to America. McKinnon approached Beatriz del Omo Fiddleman, an artist in residence at the museum, to help make this concept become a reality through bookbinding.

Fiddleman, who is bilingual, took to visiting the students at Sherwood every Thursday for about two hours to begin working on the project. She tried to express her points in English to help the students grasp the language better, but switched to Spanish whenever necessary. However, it was not an easy task because many of the students did not want to speak to her about their experiences.

“Some were not happy with me because they thought that I was there to judge them and some were happy and motivated to do something different. I explained to them that I was here to only teach art—self expression art with words and illustrations,” said Fiddleman.

To help break the ice, the students were taken to the museum to participate in an activity. There were flowers and rocks; the flowers represented positive things in life, while the rocks represented negative things. Each student was required to place the flowers and rocks out in front of them according to displaying their obstacles and accomplishments as a visual. After everyone completed the task, they all realized that everyone has their own story and has faced difficult times. They began, “seeing each other with new eyes. Everyone opened up and shared great friendships,” said Fiddleman.

Although it was still difficult, the students were more willing to create these books and made the effort to enjoy the process of bookbinding. All the stress, loneliness and fear bottled up inside came spilling out into their personal books for the public to see.

“It is important for the public to see—legally here or not—that these kids have feelings … and often feel that no one cares for them. They have no support,” said Fiddleman. “People have no idea what they go through.”

Fiddleman said it is difficult for many to imagine going to a new country without family there or prior knowledge of the culture or language. Many also work full-time jobs to continue to support their families outside of the country. Then, they come to school and may face criticism from students who simply view them as outsiders.

The museum worked to present these ESOL students’ point of view in an artistic light. Students can view the display at the Sandy Spring Museum until May 31.