A crest for Canadians in Kandahar.

A crest for Canadians in Kandahar. The Canadian Armed Forces are currently deployed in Kandahar,Afghanistan. The focus of our mission in that country is to make everyeffort to improve the lives of the Afghan people. Though some of ourresources must be devoted to combat duties, our troops are also involvedin rebuilding and renovating structures damaged by the war, as well asproviding support for schools, hospitals and other public institutionsdestroyed by the Taliban. It is a difficult assignment that has cost ourcountry dearly; as of this writing, over 70 Canadian troops have losttheir lives due to insurgent INSURGENT. One who is concerned in an insurrection. He differs from a rebel in this, that rebel is always understood in a bad sense, or one who unjustly opposes the constituted authorities; insurgent may be one who justly opposes the tyranny of constituted authorities. activity and friendly fire. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] One of my former art students, Evan Kuelz, was stationed for asix-month tour of duty in Kandahar. He has parlayed his considerablegraphic-design skills into an interesting career with the military as aforensic photographer. Although Evan's unit, the Deployed ImagerySupport Team, does not see combat, they assist the mission by providingmany types of photographic services including documentary images, aerialtopographical surveys, video and surveillance work, and the analysis ofsatellite data. Upon learning that he was on tour in Afghanistan, I asked Evan viae-mail if there was anything our school could do to boost the morale ofour soldiers. He mentioned that his unit would really like to have anembroidered em��broi��der?v. em��broi��dered, em��broi��der��ing, em��broi��dersv.tr.1. To ornament with needlework: embroider a pillow cover.2. crest to acknowledge their mission in Afghanistan. Theproject became a summative assignment for my grade 11 graphic-designclass. Before starting the assignment, my students viewed a photo essay oflife in Kandahar and the surrounding area. The images of childrenrunning around with kites, an activity banned by the Taliban, wereparticularly powerful. Students also saw some of the landscape and howyoung our soldiers stationed there are. It provided an interestingcontext to the whole Afghanistan mission. Many students were moved bythese pictures, as they were taken from the perspective of someoneactually serving in the theater, rather than the images the media wantsus to see. [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Evan also sent samples of shoulder patches currently worn by Alliedtroops serving in the region. The class examined them, determining theirdesign strengths and weaknesses. Some were clearly amateur efforts,while others were aggressive knockoffs of cartoon characters with hugeguns, and some were simply sexist. The class was instructed to focus on the role of the DeployedImagery Support Team and agreed that the color scheme should clearlyreflect a confluence of Canadian and Afghan cultures. Some design restrictions were also discussed at length. Althoughstudents would be rendering their crest submissions usingDesigner's Gouache gouache(gwäsh): see watercolor painting. gouacheOpaque watercolour. Also known as poster paint, designer's colour, and body colour, it differs from transparent watercolour in that the pigments are bound by liquid glue, which is , the chosen design would have to resolveproperly when reduced to 4-inches wide. Students were advised to usebold sans-serif letters, to avoid small details and painterly paint��er��ly?adj.1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a painter; artistic.2. a. Having qualities unique to the art of painting.b. effects,and to keep their work linear to facilitate a seamless transition toembroidery. Almost everyone turned in a solid effort. The designs were scanned and sent to Kandahar, where soldiersreviewed the entries. Everyone was impressed with the students'work, but ultimately, Sofia Sturova's crest--with a maple leaf maple leafof Canada. [Flower Symbolism: Jobes, 283]See : Flower Or Plant, National , thenational colors of Canada and Afghanistan, and a satellite to depictwhat the Deployed Imagery Support Team does--was selected as the bestrepresentation of what the unit was looking for in a design. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The SAM Group, a local company that does custom embroidery andsilkscreen printing, has close ties with Merivale High School Merivale High School (MHS) is a secondary school owned by Steve Szakowski, located at the intersection of Merivale Road and Viewmount Drive in Nepean, Ontario, Canada. The school is known for its gifted student program, but also runs French Immersion programs and extensive visual . Eachsemester, they provide a co-op placement for a student interested in acareer in graphic design. It was only natural that we would approachthem for help embroidering the final artwork. SAM Group owner Steve Maher absorbed the cost and graphic designerRobert Way supervised the digitizing of the artwork and production ofthe crests, which were then sent overseas for our soldiers currentlyserving in Kandahar. Enough were manufactured to be worn proudly by eachrotation of the Deployed Imagery Support Team during the mission inAfghanistan. Irv Osterer is Department Head of Fine Arts, CommunicationsTechnology Noun 1. communications technology - the activity of designing and constructing and maintaining communication systemsengineering, technology - the practical application of science to commerce or industry and Library at Merivale High School in Ottawa, Ontario,Canada.