Throughout March the school’s hallways have been transformed into a gallery of creative expression thanks to a collaboration between the advanced ceramics sculpture class and the Student Government Association (SGA).
Led by ceramics teacher Melinda Pierce, students designed and installed artwork in small, often-overlooked niches in the school’s walls, bringing new life to these forgotten spaces. “I always thought those little niches were interesting; I thought that they might have been from the fire extinguishers in the older building or even been for pay phones, but it seems like these spaces seem to be unused,” Pierce said.
Rather than let these spaces go to waste, Pierce saw an opportunity for an art installation project. “This is a style of art called an installation, where an artist will create a piece that fills an entire space, and the viewer comes into that space and is surrounded by that artwork. The artist is trying to create an environment rather than just a single piece on a wall,” Pierce said.
The theme for the project was connection, tying into the SGA’s Patriots Stay Connected spring project initiative, which encourages student engagement in their future, culture, environment, athletics and the arts. Each week of March focused on one of these themes, and this collaboration allowed ceramic students to showcase their creativity in a meaningful way.
Senior Max Hammerman, SGA member and head of the arts and athletics week committee, was integral in making this project come to life. “During our arts and athletics week, we wanted to integrate the arts into our project by showing the creative drive of the students and the ways we can use it to improve our community. By working with ceramics classes, we were able to fill in holes in the walls with dioramas or sculptures, filling our school with the creativity of the students and making something more meaningful,” Hammerman said.
Each student in the class took their own unique approach to the theme of connection. Advanced ceramic student and sophomore Lydia Girma found inspiration in the spring project’s message and incorporated a trapeze into her piece. “For the curtains, I made them and created them from a piece of fabric, and sewed them together. The cardboard was what I drew on and cut out. Then I created a stand by making a cardboard book and lined it with book pages that were borrowed from the English department,” Girma said.
Other students explored different interpretations of connection, whether through personal experiences, family, religion or societal themes.“They could look at it from a society view — overall, the importance of making connections — or it could be a very personal response to that, like there’s one about religion. It could be about family, it could be about activities that you do that keep you engaged and part of the community,” Pierce said.
Beyond just appreciating the art, students and staff will have an interactive way to engage with the project. “We’re doing a scavenger hunt. The students all had to put a question onto a Google form to make a scavenger hunt kind of quiz. We’re going to put that out before the end of the week with a QR code, and people can access it, turn in their answers, and then there’ll be a raffle for a Chick-fil-A card. The QR can be found in the hallways,” Pierce said.
Pierce hopes the installations will make students pause and reflect as they walk by. “When something catches their eye, they should think, ‘OK, what is it about that piece that caught my attention?’ And maybe try to discover what they think the meaning is,” she said.
With a combination of artistic talent, student leadership and community engagement, the installation project has transformed the hallways into a space for creativity and connection.
