CMHS: Expressions
Expressions features works in a variety of mediums - pastels, acrylic, oil, marker, colored pencil, watercolor, graphite, charcoal, gouache, and ceramics - by students in the Fine Art Department of Caddo Magnet High School (CMHS). We spoke to Tess Pepitone, a Talented Arts Program teacher at Magnet, about the exhibition.
Tell us about the Fine Arts Department at Magnet High School.
The Fine Arts Department at CMHS is a combination of visual arts, theater, and music. CMHS offers foundations through advanced placement and concentrated courses such as mixed media, advanced drawing, painting, pottery, and Talented Arts.
How does the school nurture and encourage artistic exploration and expression among its students?
We are fortunate to have a campus full of blank canvases and an administration that supports our artists by letting them paint the school in large-scale murals. Every year, we explore college art and design programs as well as museums so they may see major contemporary and historic art works. Most of all, we encourage students to create art that is not only dynamic and challenging, but also explores their personal concepts and ideas.
What were some of the challenges faced in selecting works for this exhibit?
Narrowing the works down! We selected art works from only juniors and seniors and focused on a variety of subject matter and mediums. We have several opportunities for our students to display their art this spring semester. The students also keep creating new and fresh work every week, so it's easy to fill a gallery!
What role do you as an art teacher play in guiding and supporting the students’ creative processes?
We teach students technical skills and introduce them to new mediums to motivate their creative process. We also have to listen carefully to our students' intentions with the artwork so that we can guide them while their concepts evolve.
What do you hope students will gain from this experience of having their work exhibited for the public?
It's a very proud moment as a teacher when we can see the joy in our students' faces seeing their artwork outside of the classroom! They get to have that experience of people viewing their artwork just as they have viewed art in a major museum setting. It's almost like watching the capstone of a magic trick when everything leading up to this moment finally peaks and the students are left in awe and wonder!
Expressions is on display at the Meadows Museum from February 14 - March 9, 2024.