Emily looked me in the eye, smiled and said, “Mom, all of your art rooms have looked and smelled the same!” She was right. My classrooms have always had collections of student work to inspire and surround us with possibilities. And my classes have always had the lingering odors from various paints, inks, and cleansers. My classroom is my second home; it was Emily’s and her sisters’ when they were younger. On any given day I have clusters of students either working or enjoying each other’s companionship during lunch. There are always students after school. I suspect that if my students don’t consider room 202 a second home, they at least feel at home here. And that’s the point.
God blessed me with the perfect avocation—helping students find themselves through personal expression. Not all my students are expert painters, draftsmen, or printmakers. But together we create a culture of inquiry and learning through play—a.k.a. experimentation. Together we think, create, and think about both the process of creating and what has been created. God has led me to organize my lesson plans so that the hearts, minds, bodies, and the spirits of my students are engaged. We contemplate big ideas and wonder how to communicate these in visually effective ways. Students know they are to support each other in loving, compassionate, and honest ways. There simply is nothing more thrilling for a teacher than to witness students engaged in genuine conversation about the content and the context of the lesson.
Making sure that students practice being ‘real’ artists requires setting authentic experience to lead artmaking. Just like ‘real’ artists answer calls for art to build a body of work and resumes, so too Xavier students answer calls for art via Scholastics Art and Writing Awards Competitions, the National Jesuit Secondary 4x5, the Palm Springs Art Museum Scholarship and Awards, and the Vans Custom Culture Shoe Competition. Each of these calls for art have the same parameters with which ‘real’ artist must contend. And each honors the efforts of the artists by professional jurying of the work. It is high stakes authentic assessment! God has blessed Xavier with students who enjoy the challenge and are willing to do the work that builds up to generating appropriate levels of quality in their work.
What is currently going on in the studio? Sculpture students have just finished brass, copper, and nickel silver cuff bracelets that have a ‘store bought’ finish. Drawing, Painting, and Digital Art students are preparing their responses for the National Jesuit 4x5 using this year’s Summit theme—Gender (In) Equality. AP and Studio students are nearing the finish line with their Concentrations. Basically everyone is pursuing individual artworks that provide evidence of their investment in the creative process. More often than not it is like a three ring circus in the studio. It keeps me on my toes, and my students engaged. Again, there is nothing more fulfilling for a teacher when ownership of learning is transferred from the teacher to the students. My home away from home is filled with the actual and the echo of past students’ presence in their rich processes of self-discovery. A song of praise for our Ultimate Creator springs from my lips—Amen!
Lucy McHugh teaches Sculpture, Drawing and Painting, Digital Art and AP Studio to 10th, 11th and 12th graders at Xavier College Preparatory High School.