This is the 1st project that I created and taught in 2013. When my students asked to paint a rooster, I thought the idea was quite strange. Even though the rooster is a well-known symbol of France, it is also associated with nationalism. After World War II, nationalism is not well viewed among the French people, including me. But since my students were enthusiastic about the idea, I decided to go with it.

So first, I thought… how would I make an interesting, textured background? Searching for inspiration, I came across the idea of painting the rooster on French newspapers. Since my family would soon be arriving from France, they could bring plenty of newspapers for my project! The students loved it, and it was a great experience of creating, challenging, and teaching.

Obviously, I thought it a bit unfair that when I proposed to paint an eagle, the symbol of the U.S., my students were not enthusiastic at all! But the truth is that I found a new calling with this rooster. Having a rooster as the center subject of my art piece, with a “collage” background, makes for a very compelling image, and I continue to develop this subject.