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March 17, 2010

Art has no boundaries

Chisholm Trail heritage center sponsors youth art show

Toni Hopper

Give a child crayons, pencil, paper, and the result is art that becomes representative of that young person.

That’s what Carla Kaspereit, a Duncan Middle School art teacher, has discovered over the years, as do other local art teachers, like Soni Parsons and Coleen Jones, from Duncan High School.

Products of their instruction - the students in their classes, now have a few pieces of work on display this month at the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center. It’s the second year for the museum and interactive educational center to sponsor the youth’s artwork, said Leah Mulkey.

Hanging on the walls of the Blue Room are pencil sketches of everything from western cowboy boots such as those drawn by DHS sophomore Allon Gillispie, to an intricate paper cut out crafted by Anabel Olguin, a DHS senior. There’s a comic, colorful acrylic piece by Caleb Croy, another senior, and sculptures and masks.

Yet, it’s not just the artwork that has people inspired when they view it, but the stories of the students, as Kaspereit explained.

Some of the students are those with special needs. Kaspereit said that allowing them to create art has helped them grow in ways she would never have dreamed.

And there are other students who find that art class gives them a chance to identify with issues in their lives and connects them to students who they might not otherwise identify with.

Kaspereit presented her students with two assignments, a “Me Stamp” for the eighth-graders, and a “Shield of Armor” for the seventh-graders.

Lesson instruction was easy. For the older students, they had to make their own postage stamp.

“I told them to put on their stamps what they would want, but it had to represent who they are,” she said. The first day the students practiced using manila paper and the remaining four days of the week long process was transferring that rough draft onto their stamp and adding color.

With the seventh-grader’s assignment, they did the same type of lesson, but used a ‘crest’ or ‘shield’ as their background, with it divided into four sections. Each space they had to fill with something that would tell the viewer something about them. Near the end of their week, the students cut and glued their items together and then added their last name to the piece.

Kayla Huck’s shield had many personal items on it - giving those with cancer or other issues something they could connect with. “She’s a hard worker and mature, with an outgoing personality. She’s helpful with other students and very responsible,” Kaspereit said.

The museum, which hosts a featured artist every month this year, designated April as the Youth Arts show. There’s also many area schools which have scheduled field trips to the facility over the next month.

— Toni Hopper is a reporter for The Duncan Banner. She can be reached at 580-255-5354, Ext. 132 or by e-mail at: toni.hopper@duncanbanner.com.

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