Painting the Path Forward: Cubs Discover Their Voices Through Art

For four days at Rifle Middle School, students in Kate Cardenas’ class stepped into their Hero’s Journey, not through textbooks, but through art. Using markers and watercolor, sheets of paper blossomed with splashes of bright blues, yellows, and deep blacks, and the RMS Cubs realized that art could be more than colors on a page.. 

The Voices Hero’s Journey Project and local artist Gabriela Mejia spent time with Cardenas’ class for four days at Rifle Middle School, helping students use art as a way to express themselves and vision their goals for the future 

At first, the project felt strange. Some shrugged it off as “just more work.” Others admitted to feeling uneasy about sharing their thoughts. 

“It was uncomfortable,” remembered Jorge. “But when we started talking about our futures, that’s when it changed.”

Guided by Mejía and Cardenas, the Hero’s Journaling Project invited students to give their feelings color and shape. They began with simple prompts like ‘What does yellow remind you of?’ ‘What feelings live inside black or brown?’ 

The process invited students to reflect on the bright and difficult moments of their lives, transforming feelings into visual expression. From there, they crafted acrostic poems and filled their journals with words like “trustworthy,” “joyful,” and “unique.” Laughter and pride grew as they discovered new, affirming ways to describe themselves.

Paola discovered her favorite part wasn’t painting at all. 

“I liked it when we were talking with Ms. Gabby about our experiences and our culture,” she said, she smiled.

From color, the students moved into words, writing acrostic poems with affirming traits — “trustworthy,” “joyful,” “unique.” Laughter bubbled up as one child described himself as “elegant,” and classmates nodded in agreement. What began with hesitation turned into recognition: they were more than their struggles.

The project ended by turning eyes toward the future. Dreams spilled onto the page — becoming a doctor, an architect, a teacher, or, in Jorge’s case, owning a ranch filled with horses and animals. “When we talked about five or ten years from now, that’s when it got fun,” he said.

For Cardenas, the transformation was unmistakable. 

“By the end, they were supporting one another, talking about their dreams, and realizing they can achieve things they hadn’t even considered before.”

More than an art project, the Hero’s Journaling Project offered students what every hero needs: a safe space to process where they’ve been, to celebrate who they are, and to imagine who they might yet become.