By Lucy Ward

“One of the most important things as an artist is to showcase your work,” —Middle School art teacher Teresa Coleman.

Brendan’s drawing.

Art Walk is a Collegiate tradition that showcases countless examples of amazing creativity school-wide, from the beginning of talent in the Lower School to the time-consuming and thoughtful Honors Art installations of the Senior artists. Middle School, however, is when talent starts becoming skill. Middle School artists are taught many different techniques throughout the year. With the skills that they have learned, they create intricate pieces of art that are displayed both in the Hershey Center for the Arts and in Flippin Hall during Art Walk during the month of May. 

In their art classes, 8th Graders learn how to refine their drawing and shading skills, how to use clay, and how to use their skills to make a piece that means something to them. Coleman’s class of 8th Graders worked on their drawing skills this past year by choosing objects that represent themselves and drawing them. One 8th Grader, Brendan (‘29), decided to go home and take a picture of a soccer ball, his cleats, and a speaker. He drew this piece with the intention of making it look like the picture he took, and not just the objects. He wanted the shadows the way he saw them in the picture to be represented.

Rhett’s Marvel piece.

In 6th Grade, a different kind of magic happens. Coleman teaches her 6th Grade art classes to have intention behind each piece. She says, “I introduce a bunch of techniques and then I say, ‘Go make some art.’” This way, students are able to create “personally meaningful art.” In 5th Grade, art is mostly about expressing yourself, while in 6th Grade, students “focus more on technique and craftsmanship.” 6th grader Rhett (‘31), worked on a Marvel piece for this year’s Art Walk. “He comes in with ideas of what he wants to do, and then he works really hard,” explained Coleman. Rhett is incredibly dedicated to showing his work.

Showcasing your work “is probably one of the hardest things to do, because it requires some vulnerability to have your work out and up there in the world, versus in your sketchbook.” Middle School art teacher Melanie Gorsline agrees with Coleman: “I am just trying to stretch people’s skills and build self-confidence and have fun at the same time.” The Art Walk does just that by providing students with a place to demonstrate the effort they put into their classes.

Gorsline approaches her teaching slightly differently from Coleman. Gorsline teaches her students the “five elements of design:” line, shape, color, space, and texture. Gorsline’s 7th Graders worked on drawing scissors. The 5th through 7th Grades rotate through different art classes during the year, starting a new class every quarter. Their other arts classes include drama and woodworking. 

Gorsline’s current class of 7th Graders recently rotated to their final rotation of art, right before the start of the Art Walk. Despite their scissors drawings being the first project, Gorsline put all 42 scissor drawings up “so every kid can say ‘I was in the Art Show.’” She added, “When the moms and dads come and take a picture of their kids with their art, it’s a good feeling.” Gorsline likes to remind her students that “every project is not going to be a home run, but let’s find something that you are proud of for these reasons.” The Art Walk boosts these students’ confidence; just knowing that somebody else is appreciating the effortful art is a special feeling.

Clay letter tiles.

Another one of Gorsline’s classes worked on paper collages of the art room. These collages are a replication of any corner of the art room that the students choose. They replicated what they saw, and these pieces are then posted in front of the art room. “Parents can look at the artwork and look through the window and see exactly what they were trying to do,” explained Gorsline. Because of this, parents and anyone walking by can see the artistic vision the child had when creating this replication. 

Another aspect of art classes and the Art Walk is clay. Coleman’s class of 6th Graders started by making tiles of a letter of their name that was significant to them. This project focused on building the foundation of how to use clay. In Coleman’s words, this project was a “skill-builder,” where the students learned “how to roll out a slap, how to make a coil, and how to do a pinching method to form the details.” From this project, the students were able to build on their skills and make larger, more complex pieces of pottery.

Clay artwork.

Coleman shared a story of a 8th Grade boy who wanted to create a shoe for his clay project. He initially created a paper model of the shoe, then transitioned to forming the shoe with clay. “His shoe was going along so well that his friend said, ‘I want to make a shoe too,’” shared Coleman. It was a lovely “organic transfer of knowledge.”

The art that is displayed is not just a decoration; it means something to the person who created it. The student who made the “G” letter clay tile added a small reflection posted beside his piece in the Hershey hallway. This note said, “Life can be bumpy, but it can smooth out over time, so I made the bottom smooth.”

Art Walk provides a space for kids to be vulnerable and “[share] that vulnerability with the community,” said Coleman. She added, “My hope for Art Walk is that is makes students, teachers, visitors, and parents who are passing the art in the hallway pause for just a minute and look at, read, or respond to the art that is being hung, and it kind of touches them, even for just a second.” The Art Walk “creates a dialogue within our community.” With a community that is so welcoming, “you know you are really loved here,” says Gorsline. The Art Walk provides an opportunity for Middle Schoolers to be vulnerable and have a positive response to that vulnerability. It is a growth opportunity for students, which is especially important while these students navigate their way through Middle School and the transition to adolescence.

All photos by Lucy Ward.