Editor's note: The work of Penn State DuBois art instructor Mary Vollero was the subject of a feature article that was printed in the Friday, Jan. 14, edition of the Centre Daily Times. Vollero said she also is working on other possible displays of the sketches in the near future. Readers who want to see examples of the portraits can view them at http://art.net/~mary/fallen/ on the Web. The following article is being used with permission.
Local artist draws portraits of Pa. residents killed in Iraq
By Lara Brenckle
Centre Daily Times
Bellefonte -- It was his eyes, or maybe just the look in them. When Bellefonte artist Mary Vollero saw the picture of fallen soldier Sgt. Ernest Bucklew posted on an Internet news site last spring, she couldn't get him out of her mind.
He was only a few years older than her son when, serving as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in November 2003, he was killed in a helicopter crash.
And so, to cope with the sorrow and anxiety she felt over the war and its mounting casualties, the Penn State DuBois art instructor turned, as she almost always does, to work.
She printed his picture out on the computer and, using charcoal, sketched over it to created a portrait of the 33-year-old from Enon Valley. It was the first portrait of what would become an art exhibit, "Pennsylvania's Fallen," that now includes 67 other portraits.
The display recently was taken down after hanging for several weeks at Foxdale Village.
Vollero said she was searching news sites and stumbled on a link to Newsweek. There, she viewed the pictures posted by the magazine of every U.S. soldier killed in Iraq.
"This was before they showed them on 'Nightline,' " Vollero said. "I was just very moved by that and I wanted people to see them. There's something about seeing their faces."
Vollero thought pictures alone could not convey the lives of these young men and women. She decided to use charcoal portraits to depict the fallen heroes because she feels that medium is even more intimate than a picture, and not as easily forgotten.
There was no way, she figured, that she could sketch every fallen soldier. But one by one, she set out to capture portraits of men and women from Pennsylvania who have died serving their country in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
To create her art, Vollero prints pictures from the Internet or scans copies of those sent to her by families into a computer. She then prints a "ghost image" so faint only an outline is detectable. She then goes over the lines with soft charcoal.
Each portrait can take anywhere from half an hour to more than three to complete. When she draws, she does so in total silence, concentrating her thoughts on the person emerging from her paper.
When she started late last spring, 38 Pennsylvanians had died in the Iraq war. That number is now up to 68, and Vollero plans to keep drawing until there are no more casualties.
The reception from those who view her work, especially families, has been positive, Vollero said. Many thank her for remembering their sons and daughters this way.
Even more interesting, Vollero said, is that her shows have become a kind of middle ground for a people divided over whether or the U.S. should be fighting in Iraq.
"The one thing we don't talk about is whether people are for or against this war, we all agree we want to honor these soldiers," Vollero said.