Best of the Week 2019-2020: Excellence in College Prep

EDSMEN PROVE HOW CREATIVE EXPRESSION IS PIVOTAL IN KEEPING US CONNECTED

Since moving to remote learning, students in Mr. Shaun Kinley and Mrs. Molly King's Fine Arts classes have continued to produce amazing artwork from home with the minimal tools and mediums accessible to them. From sketches and digital drawings to sculptures and home furnishings, students have continued to express themselves through creative outlets and produce amazing art pieces. "The arts can be an especially valuable resource in our current global situation," says Mr. Kinley. "In my opinion, one of the primary ingredients for authentic art to be created is for the artist to have some solitude of thought and place, which is what most are experiencing during this time of quarantine."

Working to help provide inspiration for students to continue creating art, Mr. Kinley and Mrs. King have created demonstration videos for students to learn new techniques and skills to advance their talents. Additionally, an Instagram page was created for students to display their artwork online to provide a virtual gallery for students to see other works their fellow classmates have created. One special piece that was shared was a time-lapse video of a sketch drawing of the Incredible Hulk by Myles O'Malley '22.

"Drawing is one of the things I enjoy doing most and with all the free time I have being at home, it inspired me to draw this piece and create this time-lapse," says Myles. "The video shows the whole process of sketching, the techniques I've learned from Mr. Kinley's Sports Art class and Mrs. King's drawing class, and how I added color to create different shades. Having extra time to work on this piece makes the end result look even better."

"I love how Myles' video shows all the steps he took in creating this piece, even down to his erasing edits," says Mr. Kinley. "The video showed the extent that Myles went through to get his piece just right."

While students continue to grow as artists and creators outside of St. Ed's art room, a widespread emphasis continues to set in the importance and value of art to keep us connected in times like these. It's important for people to recognize how the arts impact our daily lives because it really is all around us. "This global pandemic is helping people realize the importance of the time, money and effort that goes into creating art and that we should not take that for granted," says Mr. Kinley. "We need to see art, in every medium, as an opportunity to expand our mental and emotional experiences and we need to recognize the value it that."

"Art takes so many forms that we forget to realize, from cartoons and brand logos to films and TV shows, which at one point had all started off as a sketch on a piece of paper," says Myles. "Art really does play a huge part in keeping us entertained and connected, especially during times like this, and helping us express ourselves creatively."