In the winter, KO will offer an after school visual arts program, taught by creative arts teacher Katherine Burnett. Ms. Burnett said that when she started here last here, she saw that there was theater and musicianship, but the component she saw missing was an after school visual arts program.
Students who want to participate fill out a proposal form and the art teachers —such as Ms. Burnett, creative arts teachers Todd Millen and Scott McDonald — review it. The students state what they want to work on during the program, and it has to be something they are motivated to do. “The freedom that they will have to not have to be working towards a due date, or a specific assignment, will help them be creative,” Ms. Burnett said. The students currently are planning on doing a wide range of projects this winter. “It depends on what each student decides to do, I have one student who is interested in graphic design, I have a student who is making a film, a student [who is] making a painting,” she said.
The students will also have a chance to go around the community, such as galleries and shows, to see local artwork. Ms. Burnett said she hopes these excursions will inspire them. “A lot of these kids are self-motivated artists, who just need the time to create,” she said. “I think it is a really exciting thing for students to just be in the studio to be making work that is purely for them.”
Right now the program is limited to only ten students and will take place during the winter season only. Ms. Burnett said that the commitment required is as much as a JV sport and she is 100 percent positive that the program will go well. “The students that are in it are really hard workers and I am not concerned about their dedication,” she said.
Senior Tally Holcombe is one of the ten students who were selected to be part of the program this winter. Tally will be using different medium to illustrate the human anatomy and to have her artwork based on how the body moves, the bones, skeleton, and joints. She is going to study how different mediums affect the mood of the artwork and give it a different vibe. “I am going to replicate the same base picture, like four or five [times], and fill them in with different mediums, like water or pastel, and compare them, so they will be a series,” she said.
Tally said that this is a great opportunity for her, since she’s not doing an art class in the first semester and senior year is stressing for her. So for her, the idea of finishing school and then working on her art for a few hours was really appealing. She said that since she is not confined within a set curriculum, she has the freedom to do what she feels like doing. “I think it will be a really good stress reliever, because with sports, you have to worry about games, but when you are doing art, you can focus on your individual goals,” she said.
Correction: An earlier version of the article erroneously stated that the after school art program could expand to include more students and be available more seasons. Changes have been made to reflect the single-season status of the program.
