VOLUNTEER CARICATURE ARTIST
SHOWING CHILDREN AS THEY REALLY ARE, NOT THE CONDITIONS FROM WHICH THEY SUFFER
Little Deborah Moreno was in a car accident. The month she spent in
Children's Mercy Hospital could feel like a lifetime for any 12-year-old.
But when her portrait was drawn by two artists that had come over from
Hallmark, Moreno's life in fact, was forever changed.
"At the time I had scars on my face from the wreck," explains Moreno,
"but they drew me as if those never existed."
Those artists provided Moreno with a picture of how she was seen by others,
not how she viewed herself or the injuries.
"Like so many children, I already liked to draw. But after receiving that portrait,
I knew that's what I wanted to do for others," says Moreno. "The incredible feeling
it gave me, I wanted it to be shared with everyone."
So during the last 20 years, Moreno continued to draw, practice and hone
her skills.
Now returning to Children's Mercy as a volunteer, Moreno continues
the tradition of drawing children as they really are, not based on the conditions from
which they suffer.
Moreno never asks the children to pose, but simply uses the opportunity to talk with them.
"Sometimes in the begining they're quiet or bashful," says Moreno. But inevitably
while being drawn, the children open-up and start sharing stories with me."
Moreno begins by drawing their faces, and while talking to them, is able to sketch
an individual body that fits their personalities.
If they have no hair, Moreno asks if they wear hats, or would they like a flower in their portrait.
If there is a big scar on a child's face, she may draw the other side. As Moreno stresses,
ther's always a way to bring out the beauty and joy of every child.
"I often focus on their eyes," says Moreno. "No matter their condition, I can always
see their true personality -their inner-child - through the eyes."
When Moreno started volunteering, she thought it would be fun for the patients.
"The children do get so excited when I give them their very own portrait," says Moreno.
"But I'm the one that's truly rewarded in the experience.
They offer me so much more than what I give them in a drawing."
Upon completing the portrait, many times the patients will ask for colors and sketch pads
to create drawings of their own.
"It's exciting to me when the children share how they too like to draw," says Moreno.
"I offer suggestions and encouragement, for I expect that one day,
one of these children will return to Children's Mercy and continue the tradition
of drawing patients as they really are, not the conditions from which they suffer."
-By Roger Barnhart
