An art project to honor veterans has special meaning for Caydence Floyd.
“I have a lot of family members who are in the military,” said Floyd, a Lakeside High School senior, who made about 10 of the approximately 250 ceramic poppies that were installed on school grounds Wednesday as part of the Panther Poppy Project.
Floyd comes from a longline of military service members including her father who retired from the military and her great-grandfather who served during World War II and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Not only did Floyd help make multiple poppies, but she wrote many of the veterans’ names on ribbons and tied them to the stems of ceramic flowers. She incorporated her efforts from the poppy project into her senior project.
Carrie Brooks, the ceramics teacher who spearheaded the project, didn’t have the number of how many students who helped. While members of her classes took part, other students volunteered to help in other ways as well.
The display installation was held in conjunction with the National Art Honor Society induction.
Rodney Tyson, Lakeside’s principal and military veteran, watched the students as they installed the pieces near the giant rock on campus which has been painted with poppies.
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“It warms your heart to see these young people with their concern for our veterans,” said Tyson, who gathered all the students together for a group photo.
Brooks started preparing for the project at the end of September. She made a social media post, and people donated about $500 for supplies to get them started. The veterans honored are friends and family of Lakeside High School students and faculty.
Brooks said she allowed the students to take the lead when designing their poppies and glazing them. While many are red, others fall into the red family with purple and orange ones in the mix.
Inside the school is a display of paper poppies.
Poppies have been associated with the military for more than a century.
In 1915, Lt. Col. John McCrae was serving with the Canadian Army and wrote a poem called “In Flanders Fields” about the soldiers who died during World War I. He mentions the poppies growing among the graves of the soldiers buried in the field.
According to the Veterans Affairs Canada website, the poem was first published in England’s “Punch” magazine in December 1915. Within months, it “came to symbolize the sacrifice of all who were fighting in the First World War.”
The flower continued to be used to recognize service members since.
Floyd said she’s taken the opportunity to explain to people what poppies symbolized because many don’t know.
Brooks said she hopes other art programs will do similar projects in the future. Greenbrier High School has its own take on the poppy project this year too.
The poppies will be on display through Nov. 15.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
