By Adelaide Clarkson

Students in H2L2.

When I stepped through the doors of H2L2, the spacious Upper School art room in the Hershey Center for the Arts, I immediately caught the smell of fresh paint and pencil lead. Upper School art teacher Pam Sutherland and the class greeted me with friendly smiles as soon as I walked in, welcoming me in. The students all looked very invested and focused on what they were working on. I sat down at one of the long wooden tables and began chatting with the class.

Sutherland informed me that I was in a Drawing II class and that they were working on their 22 1/4” by 30” gridded self-portraits. This semester, they have been working on mainly drawing portraits. I asked Carrington Woodard (’26) what she liked most about the project, and she claimed that “it’s easier to discern the correct values and shadows to make the drawing more accurate with the grid.” Woodard also expressed that, to her, drawing is her “hideaway and place of serenity.” Frannie Hatfield (’27) who is enrolled in Painting II, also had only positive words to say about her art experiences. She explained that the grid is improving her proportions on her painting as well. 

Sutherland in her happy space.

Sutherland shared the fascinating story of how she began teaching at Collegiate. She explained how before her job now as an Upper School art teacher, she worked at an Italian restaurant. In 1998, she met Mary Arzt, the Upper School ceramics teacher, waiting on Arzt’s table numerous times. Arzt recognized Sutherland’s artwork in the Reynolds Gallery at the time. Shortly after their introduction, Sutherland had an interview at Collegiate and began her journey as our art teacher. Sutherland stated: “I never planned on being a high school art teacher, but it ended up being the perfect decision.”

Photos by Adelaide Clarkson.