To help educate kids in need, celebrities such as Olivia Wilde, Coldplay, and Jonathan Adler are creating a series of pencil drawings made exclusively for Pencils of Promise. The proceeds from these celebrity doodles will be used to help build schools in the developing world.
The program, called "Made With Pencils," is simple: Celebs create whatever they want only using pencils. The drawings are then auctioned off by Pencils of Promise with all profits helping to build schools and deliver educational tools -- such as pencils -- to developing communities and children in need around the world.
As you can imagine, the quality of the art fluctuates. Shaquille O'Neal submitted a signed outline of his own (massive) hand whereas artist Joe Fenton submitted a lush and highly-symbolic interpretation of the pursuit of knowledge. In all cases, the genuine effort and goodwill behind the works outweighs their artistic merit. Shaq might not be much of a visual artist but it's meaningful that he was at least willing to give it the ol' college try for a good cause.
Most of the artworks center on themes of education and inspiration. So far, Made With Pencils only has the five works shown above, but Pencils of Promise has promised dozens more over the coming weeks from top talents including Hugh Jackman, Katie Couric, Russell Simmons, Steve Nash and others.
Since the campaign's launch on Nov. 29, the artwork has already started to gain a number of bids. Currently, all five were worth at least $250 with nine days still left before the auctions close. It's safe to say bidders are paying more for the thought behind the art than the art itself, but with all proceeds going to help education, everyone wins.