Campus Beautification

Working with parent groups, and some financial donations for materials, mosaic artist extraordinaire and parent representative Jane Wheeler and I embarked on quite a project.  

Graffitti is no stranger to the walls of a school, but tradition tells us that generally art can be a deterrent. So, along with the students we came up with a plan.  With students we decided on and chose the artists, one for the girl's bathroom and one for the boys bathroom we would use to transform the space.  

The walls had to be prepared, so colors for the walls were chosen.  We had to work with the existing color schemes set by the existing tiles.  Jane's suggestion to have the boys prep and paint the girl's bathroom and the girl's prep and paint the boy's bathroom was brilliant and brought about unity. 

Next the artwork was chosen and approved by the administration and work began.  Big panels would showcase the artist's work and would be installed later.  The girls chose the bright geometric designs of  Frank Stella and the boys chose the black and white geometrics of  M.C.Esher.   There were many hours of preparation. You will see in the short video,  how when working together we are all capable of great things!

In our class, we had students preparing for different portfolios, Drawing, 2D, or 3D.  We also had students enrolled in that same hour in Senior Art Studio (SAS).  The students in SAS class were largely juniors, and a few sophomores, interested in taking AP, but not quite ready.  Essentially they were exposed to the rigor in the portfolio process and completed some of the same work.  For many of the latter, they were in a way preparing for the class they would take the following year.  At some point maybe I will write a blog about their endurance in this  intricate process, but suffice it to say the classes were amazing.  

Before I retired, the LJHS sports facility was under a major renovation.  The field, the boys gym, bleachers, you name it, all got a makeover.  This included new structures, all very cool.  The girls gym did not.    Paula Conway, athletic director had heard about how the art department had beautified the campus with artwork.   The next step for Paula was to come up with a plan and approach me with her idea.   If my memory serves me right we were approaching the end of the year. Having completed portfolios for college submission, we had a little time for a project.  Fortunately the AP Art students were very excited about the prospect of being apart of the project.  The administration agreed.   We spent several days preparing and painting the walls, to prepare the surface for the artwork. Thanks to all the students and a special thanks to Zehra and Morgan for taking on the most challenging part of the project, where the detail speaks for itself. It was amazing!! 

Sometimes art has a difficult time getting noticed, and getting a creative word in edgewise.  With a deep passion for the arts at an early age,  I had experienced much of the same biases circling my students when they decided to pursue a career in the arts.   I continue to celebrate them and whatever choices they made, and remain in contact with many students and feel blessed for that.  

CELEBRATE the ARTS