Project Rice & Beans

by Heather Tyree, Posted Mar 9th 2010 @ 5:30PM

Photo: Heather Tyree

Over the past five years, the BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival has managed to raise over $130,000 for local charitable initiatives. This year, after vetting applications from a number of local organizations, the festival selected Louie's Kids and Slow Food Charleston as their signature charities for 2010.

Louie's Kids helps to fight obesity one child at a time by customizing solutions that range from local Y membership and online counseling to creating scholarships to wellness and weight loss camps. Charleston's active chapter of Slow Food USA is motivating the city's residents to support local farmers and the restaurants that support them and serve sustainable, seasonal foods from the region.

To up the ante on charitable donations this year, a series of one-of-a-kind portraits -- crafted entirely of rice and beans -- were created by local high school students at School of the Arts (SOTA), and put up for silent auction. The portraits pay homage to the Lowcountry's food cycle and feature four individuals who embody the importance of local food traditions and community: chef Mike Lata, shrimper Wayne Magwood, farmer Celeste Albers, and Louie's Kid participant Auja Ravenel (who lost 60 pounds as a result of her hard work with the organization). Each likeness was stenciled, using photos of the individuals for reference, onto a 5 by 4 piece of wood before individual grains of rice and legumes were applied by hand using small paintbrushes and lots of acrylic glue.

Students got to rest for once and for all the notion that playing with food leads to no good.

Filed Under: Events
Tags: 3d rice and bean portaits, 3dRiceAndBeanPortaits, charleston food wine festival, CharlestonFoodWineFestival