Sketching Success
Above: THUMBNAIL SKETCH: Clarke Central High School senior Miranda Troncoso-Hernandez sketches in her Visual Arts Comprehensive I class in Room 314 on Sept. 19. Troncoso-Hernandez has used skills from Visual Arts/Comp I to build a relationship between her art and her family’s history. “I really like art, (and how it) can express how you feel (and) your actions,” Troncoso-Hernandez said. “You can explain your heritage or your family, and connect (with) other people.” Photo by Finley Sleppy
CCHS’ Visual Arts Comprehensive I course is focused on teaching students in all grades foundational skills that can be beneficial to their personal growth and development.
Patience, problem-solving and understanding how to use certain art utensils are some of the skills that CCHS fine arts department co-chair Jesscia Shelden teaches students in her Visual Arts Comprehensive I course at Clarke Central High School.
The class is a prerequisite to all other visual arts comprehensive classes and students are encouraged and instructed to apply learned skills outside the classroom. Shelden believes that important techniques learned through art classes will help increase students’ personal development. One way Shelden aims to do this is through reteaching basic skills such as the proper way to hold a pencil, color theory and perspective.
“I think kids come into my class, (and they’re) scared to try new things (and) think creatively. A lot of kids aren't doing crafty things anymore, (and) just going straight to iPads, cellphones and televisions,” Shelden said. “(Visual Arts/Comp I teaches) a lot of foundational work. If (a student) comes in with zero background and knowledge, they can still be successful.”
Above: FOLKTALES REIMAGINED: Artworks created for the “Fairytale Project” by Clarke Central High School Visual Arts Comprehensive I students are shown in the hallway outside of Room 314 on Oct. 2. CCHS fine arts department co-chair Jessica Shelden shares the process that students took for the project. “The subject of the project was to pick (a) story and then take elements from that story and put it into a space that's on paper,” Shelden said. “So (this project) lets (students) draw things they're more interested in instead of (drawing) one specific thing, (meaning) their artworks don't look cookie cutter either.” Video by Finley Sleppy
CCHS Visual Arts Comprehensive I Miranda Troncoso-Hernandez, a senior, has gained patience by working on two-dimensional assignments in Visual Arts/Comp I, such as a perspective project focused on practicing foreground and background.
“With two-dimensional (work), you have to take time and make sure you're doing everything right, and you have to plan it all out before you actually start,” Troncoso-Hernandez said. “Growing takes time, and (when) you start (anything new) you're not going to be automatically good at it.”
Shelden believes that challenges students face in Visual Arts/Comp I, such as struggling with broad prompts, can be resolved and transformed into skills that improve personal development.
“One of the foundational skills in (Visual Arts/Comp I) is learning to problem solve, which I think is an essential life skill, whether (you’re) going to be a scientist or a nurse or you're going to go work on a construction site,” Shelden said. “(Problem-solving is) a very valuable skill, even if (students) don't ever go past Art I. There's (always) some underlying valuable skills that they can learn from (the class).”
Story by Finley Sleppy
Finley Sleppy is a junior at Clarke Central High School in Athens, Georgia and is the Managing Editor for the iliad Literary-Art Magazine. This year, she hopes to grow as a leader and overall creative person by trying things out of her comfort zone and supporting the CCHS community creatively. In her free time, she enjoys playing music, eating all different types of food and hanging out with her friends and family.