In 1998, Elizabeth Juarez was a Soldier on tour with the 187th Signal Brigade in Egypt. During her time there, she visited the Sahara Desert.
Today, Juarez, a master sergeant and part of the Fort Meade Warrior Transition Unit, relies on her memory to draw scenes of the world's largest hot desert.
"The first time I went, I was so inspired by the beauty -- it was beautiful and dangerous," said Juarez as she mixed lines of yellow, orange and brown pastels on a piece of paper. "When you look from a distance, it looks like the desert moves. I'm trying to make the lines of the desert. It's never ending."
Juarez was one of five WTU Soldiers enrolled in the last class of The Art of the Soldier on Jan. 29. Sponsored by the Soldier and Family Assistance Center at Army Community Service, the monthlong evening class introduced Soldiers to art history and gave them hands-on experience in creating works of art.
The program, which began Jan. 8, was the brainchild of Jennifer Casteline, an intern in the Fort Meade Public Affairs Office. An artist, Casteline was inspired to create the class as media coverage of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment for Soldiers became more prevalent.
"It got me thinking about how I could contribute," said Casteline, noting that she thought an art class would enable Soldiers to "express the tribulations that they're going through."
Casteline approached Michelle Clark, human resource specialist at SFAC, with her idea last summer. "I thought it was wonderful," said Clark. "I also know the benefit and value of therapeutic activities for Soldiers."
Casteline then discussed her idea with Garrott Smith, an artist and friend in Baltimore. Together, they decided to create a curriculum that centered around teaching four art movements -- the Italian Renaissance, impressionism, expressionism and abstraction -- and how the evolving artistic perspective of the period influenced artists of the time.
Casteline and Smith volunteered to teach the class, which included in-class assignments to draw flowers using the impressionist style and to create a painting based on one's feelings in the tradition of the expressionist and abstract movements.
"This is relaxing to me," said Sgt. Jerry Tomlin as he used brown and green pastels to recreate a scene from the country. "It gives me something to focus on other than work."
Tomlin, a Baltimore corrections officer who has been a part of the WTU since last May, said he decided to take the class to renew his childhood interest in art.
Smith, an advertising student at Towson University, said he hoped the class would help Soldiers "learn a little about themselves" and appreciate the value of art in their lives.
"After 10 years in the military, you're always told what to do. You don't get to explore your creative side," said Sgt. Amanda Loveless, who has been a part of the WTU since last July. Art is her passion, she said, noting she intends to study the discipline when she is released from the unit later this year.
"I don't have a care in the world," Loveless said as she created a wave of blue water rushing alongside the sand in her painting of a beach.
The class was so successful, Clark said, that Casteline and Smith are planning a trip to a local museum for the Soldiers. They have also offered to teach the class again in the spring.
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