MISSOULA – We head over to Big Sky High School for this Arts and Education report where an A+ is not the only thing that students are working hard to achieve.
Students have been working very hard to get ready for their first-ever public art show that’s taking place at the Southgate Mall in Missoula.
The students were charged with the task of forming into groups, coming up with an idea and then turning that idea into an artistic reality. From the class we visited, you can find sculptures off all different kinds ranging from a giant octopus to Dr. Seuss.
"Dr. Suess had a lot of books and there were a lot of kids interested in it and he had so many books written like Horton Hears a Who," said freshman Naomi Mack.
"It’s so full of color and his Lorax book is a very iconic thing. So it just makes sense to do a tree from the Lorax.” Added fellow freshman JJ Albertson.
Projects like these are fun, the kids get to be creative, they get to work together, and they get to show off their hard work — all while learning some valuable life lessons as well.
"We are touching base on tactile learning, we are touching base on visual learning, we are touching base on collaborate learning and working together as a group,” art teacher Dustin Hood explained.
“It’s a lot of hands on work you have to put in. You have to put a lot of effort in and you have to have a lot of the same ideas and take everyone idea and put it all into one to make sure everyone has their own style in what we are creating,” Mack said.
Now as you might expect, Hood is very passionate about his students and art as a whole.
Whether it’s the fine arts, visual arts, music or drama he believes that these specific classes are extremely important in the development of young people.
"When we focus on core content areas like reading, writing, arithmetic, that’s important, but how do we deliver that information, and more importantly, how can a student, a young developing individual show what they have learned? Through the visual arts of course,” Hood said.
“This is a catalyst, a place to create and build from the imagination. A studio space like this is critical to learning and every public school educational student should have access to the visual arts,” he added.
Big Sky High School – along with other art classes from around the Missoula area – will have their work on the display at the 2018 High School Art Show. The event will run from April 23 until May 19 at the Southgate Mall.
