Students from Illinois village create variety of art

KANSAS, Ill. (AP) - Art students in Kansas have been learning about a variety of mediums this semester while creating artwork.

These lessons are part of classes led by Phil Glosser of Charleston, who retired in 2002 after 25 years as an art teacher in Neoga. He began teaching part-time this fall for the Kansas school district following the retirement of the previous art teacher.

Glosser said his goal is to give his junior high and high school students a taste of many types of artwork so they can determine their favorites and identify their skills. The art teacher said he then lets the students select the majority of their projects, which helps them be more engaged in the class.

“If someone does not like what they are doing, they are probably not going to pay attention,” Glosser said.

This semester, Glosser is leading two high school art classes with a total enrollment of nine students and one junior high class with 21 boys. The junior high girls will be in a class next semester.

The art classes include hands-on lessons in ceramics, crafting, drawing, jewelry making, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpting, and weaving. As examples, Wyatt Davis, 13, said the students have worked on driftwood candle holders, wooden wreaths, and woven stick baskets.

“We are learning more artwork and we are learning to do more on our own. You get to try a little bit of everything and find out what is your favorite,” said student Amanda Pforr, 16, adding she is particularly happy that photography is now part of the high school art curriculum.

Noah Schrock, 16, said he is “big into woodworking and carving,” so he likes being able to work on an art project in this medium. Schrock is creating a Native American-style totem pole using a large poplar log from Glosser’s yard.

Morgan Maxwell, 17, said he has discovered that he enjoys fashioning copper wiring and pipes into jewelry, such as a polished stone necklace. He has gotten to use a variety of tools and materials for this project, including a hammer, pipe cutter, vice and epoxy.

Zoe Carrell, 15, created a large framed photo of her cat, Cub, for one of her art projects. Carrell said she has enjoyed photography, especially portraits, for a while now, but has found in Glosser’s art class that she also likes painting.

“I just think it’s calming to sit there and paint,” Carrell said.

Glosser said he has brought in a variety of guest presenters for lessons on different art mediums and other skills. He noted that student Brandon Gano, 15, demonstrated his chainsaw carving skills at his home near the school.

The art students also have worked together on several class projects, such as painting seasonal decorations that each have a snowman on one side and a scarecrow on the other. The school’s agriculture department made these decorations out of repurposed wooden pallets and is selling them as a fundraiser. They can be purchased by calling the school at 217-948-5174.

For another class project, Glosser said he took a landscape photo and divided it into nine sections. Each of his nine high school students painted a wooden slat with their interpretation of their particular section.

The nine seniors who took part in this project are Samantha Carrell, Zoe Carrell, Bailey Drummond, Brandon Gano, Daniel Henson, Morgan Maxwell, Michael Pfiester, Amanda Pforr, and Noah Schrock.

“That is a collective painting by many different students. It’s many different paintings, but it is also one painting,” Glosser said, adding that he plans to frame this artwork and display it at the school.

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Source: (Charleston) Times-Courier and Mattoon Journal Gazette, https://bit.ly/2ggBNGD

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Information from: Mattoon Journal-Gazette, https://www.jg-tc.com