Page 35 - the NOISE February 2015

ONE SCHOOL, A THOUSAND POINTS OF LIGHT
CHS PANTHERS ARE PAINTERS TOO & GRACE A GRADUATE’S WALLS
STORY BY CALEB MCCLURE
After almost two decades of supporting Flagstaff’s young artists Brandy’s Restaurant & Bakery will be hosting their 18th annual Coconino High School art show. Kelsey
Drayton, who along with his wife Jamie, has owned the res- taurant since April 2014, attended the same school with the original owner’s children, making this tradition deeply rooted in the foundation of Brandy’s.
“It’s very community focused. People get excited about it because it’s a part of their community, they live in the neigh- borhood, and they see artwork from students in the area,” says Ms. Drayton.
There will be a wide range of artwork displayed at Brandy’s Restaurant for the show. Cheryl Vignoli, an art teacher at Co- conino High School tells me what her students are working on. “Ceramics & Sculpture [class] kids are working on double pinch pots, advance kids are working on teapots. Drawing & Painting [class] is working on grid drawing,” she says.
Ben Proctor is another art teacher at Coconino High School. This is his first year teaching art, but he spent seven years at CHS as a special education teacher with an emphasis in English. Now, he finally has the chance to utilize his Bach- elors of Science in Art degree teaching an introduction to art class. Being creative, and the diverse group of students are what motivate him to teach. His students are shy but come out of their shells in art class — and while some say they aren’t the best at academics, they excel in his class where they have the opportunity and encouragement to explore their creativ- ity and try new mediums and techniques. He believes art is important to help kids grow.
“There’s a lot of self-exploration that happens when kids create art, and I don’t think they necessarily get that from other academic areas. If you really force them to be creative, to be aware of their self-expression, and to think about what represents them, they can come away from it with a better sense of self they might not get from, you know, history class,” said Mr. Proctor.
Ms. Vignoli, a veteran art teacher of 12 years, knew she wanted to be an art teacher early on in her life. In grade school she loved her art teacher, and even invited her to her high school graduation. Now, she is living her dream at CHS, but her own education isn’t over yet. She has a fierce passion for helping her students in any way she can which has lead her to pursue a Masters degree in school counseling, and she is toying with the idea of eventually getting into art therapy. When it comes to her own teaching methods, she has an in- teresting philosophy when it comes to fostering creativity.
“I try to relate the projects to what they want to do — give them the freedom, give them the objectives of what I’m look-
ing for and let them take it on their own way, their own path,” just telling them. I guess it’s something to look at — some-
says Ms. Vignoli.
This is apparent while walking around her Ceramics &
Sculpture class. There is a fun energy in the classroom. Some of the students are making teapots, one is making a Tardis (from the hit Sci-fi show Doctor Who) out of clay and there is even a young woman drawing a detailed picture of Link (from the Legend of Zelda). Throughout the class period, students come up to ask Ms. Vignoli questions. She kindly makes sug- gestions, or helps smooth out an unseen wrinkle in the clay.
Some of the students show me the art they are working on and agree to answer a few questions.
Vivian Tosi plans on entering a drawing of a stoic tribal girl for the show. “I’ve always been inspired by Native American art. It just seemed interesting to draw, and it was a challenge.” Ms. Tosi is a softball player, but art gives her something she can’t get on the field. “It’s just like sports, you can improve yourself physically, but through art you can express more and say more just through drawing or what colors you use — the tones you pick. It says more about the person you are.” Her favorite medium is pencil because, she says, “It’s always avail- able. I’ve gotten to the point where I can shade it pretty good and find different tones. At first it was a challenge — you have colors to make distinctions between what’s what in a picture, but with pencil you have one color and you have to use tones and I just find that fun.”
When I speak to Shaydreanna Jackson her hands are covered in clay from the pot she’s making on a throwing wheel. For Ms. Jackson, art takes her out of the droll of the high school routine. “I became a little more educated in the subject during my junior year when I had to take it because of a credit. After that, once I expanded my knowledge of it more, you could say I fell in love with it. It’s free expression of yourself so you could basically do anything with it and it’s not like any other class where it’s one specific thing. Sometimes it’s just to let my creativity flow and it’s not always writing or reading — it’s something more fun and exciting.”
For the show, Ms. Jackson wants to enter a piece of pottery using the throwing wheel — a new technique for her even though she is versed in slab work and drawing. Slab work begins with a piece of clay that is flattened and then shaped to whatever image the artist has imagined.
Jacob Krall is taking his first art class this semester, al- though it’s something he’s been interested in for a long time. “You can express your ideas,” he says. “If you have an idea for
something you can show it to other people. It’s better than
thing pretty.” Mr. Krall enjoys drawing, but is hoping to dive further into sculpting, specifically faces and masks. Dreams for his future are where he gets a lot of his artistic inspiration.
“I actually want to be a director when I’m older. In college I want to go towards film, and I like to draw ideas I have for films.”
For Brianna Owens her pleasure in creating art comes from the viewer’s reaction to it. With aspirations to become a tattoo artist after she graduates, Ms. Owens creates work from every tattooing tradition. She has work in the tradition- al American style as well as Japanese style tattoo art, but to- day she draws a picture of Link from her favorite videogame Legend of Zelda.
Her artistic style is probably a good one for someone who aspires to permanently marking bodies professionally. “I definitely have to think in depth about how I want it to look. What I say, it’s kind of like my motto — you have to picture it as clearly in your head as you can and then draw it on a piece of paper like you’re actually looking at it.”
David Lewis found his knack for art through more practi- cal endeavors. “I would say my interest in art has changed dramatically. I used to be into drawing, but I never really got a handle for it, so when I got into my engineering class I got more into 3-D art, so clay kind of naturally came to me. For the last two years I’ve been really into clay art. I like how mal- leable it is. How easy it is to form and for me, it’s just a little more rewarding than drawing a two dimensional picture.”
As he shows me the beginning of a pot with a tree knot embellishment, Mr. Lewis tells me, “It doesn’t have a theme right now, it’s just a mixture of whatever comes into my head.”
These young artists go to show there is never one correct way to create art. Everyone has a different perspective, dif- ferent style and different life experiences that shape the way they create. One thing they truly have in common is they were given the freedom to express themselves and a motiva- tion to do it.
The Coconino High School Exhibition will be on display at Brandy’s Restaurant & Bakery, 1500 E. Cedar Ave, with an opening reception on February 11. A selection of works of art by Ms. Vignoli will be on display in the back room of the restaurant in conjunction with the students’ art exhibition. BrandysRestaurant.com
|Caleb McClure knows his internal filings.
arts@thenoise.us
thenoise.us • the NOISE arts & news • FEBRUARY 2015 • 35