Year ReCap!

This year the art students at G/T have been very busy! Not only have they been creating masterpieces, they have been helping move the classroom out to the ARG Building (Ag+Art=ARG!) We like our new space, but still have some work to do cleaning out the old rooms. (Even though we have no kiln, we still have about 200 clay molds to move, plus various other items.)
About 21 students are in the art program this year. Four Seniors--Sandy Smith, Phillip Schmitt, Jeff Petrich and Morgan Whitney. They have all done a variety of things this year and most have found their art "niche" in the past four years! Sandy is quite a photographer and graphic designer. Her works have won blue ribbons at the Conference Art Show. Phillip has designed several things for the school this year using Photoshop and continues to take photos and aide us in every way he can! Jeff has learned a bit about Photoshop and has tried new mediums this year, even (gasp) watercolors! Jeff is always willing to help Mrs. Farnum with her crazy projects, including the Music Man Jr. set and Prom items. Morgan? Well, suffice it to say she has come a LONG way since she was a freshman! Charcoal and chalk pastel have turned out to be her mediums. Her rendition of a large green eye won 3rd Place best of show at the Conference Art Show.
Each senior was given the opportunity to create their own "mark" in the art room by decorating a ceiling tile. You'll have to stop out and see what they've done!
The photography class has done a fine job this year bringing home more blue ribbons than usual. Paolo Lazo, Kristi Girres, Gabby Kerr, Skye Simonsen (first semester), Steph Colsrud, Kayla Sandbeck, Jeremy Newgard, Nate Sorenson, Dakota Peters and Brandon Peyton have taken photos of 1000s of things, created a photojournal, an iMovie about a famous photographer, learned the 10 Steps to Better Photography and the Rule of Thirds, to name a few things.
Graphic Design 1 has some pretty creative souls in it as well: Tanner Naig, Jeremy Newgard, Nate Sorenson, Katie Noah, Anna Kienol, and Kady Mortenson, have learned more about Photoshop this year than Mrs. Farnum! They often try new things via tutorials on YouTube or the Internet and then teach them to each other. One of our favorites?
The clipping mask! While Brandon Peyton was not a Graphic Design student, he won a Blue at the Art Show for his display of the Knight's logo "exploding" out of a black background using the clipping mask. Very impressive!
Heather Hansen, Kayla Smith and Sandy Smith are all in Advanced Graphic Design. While Kayla tends to do tedious hands on projects, like cut intricate designs into a piece of film, Heather is busy working on the yearbook and Sandy can do the menu for the school's website in about a half hour! Supposedly, Heather is our menu gal in training. It's just one of the tasks done as part of being in Graphic Design.
Art I/II students have done a lot of drawing this year, as painting does not seem to be their forte. Ryan Smith just finished a magnificent chalk pastel of a duck. He's also great with graphite pencil and his work is generally about nature or sport vehicles. Zack Harris seems to do well with colored pencil. His latest work, an army jeep, didn't make it to the Art Show, but shows his great progress this year! Brandon Peyton, who discovered that he is better suited to graphic design has learned new techniques and tools to share with classmates. Last, but not least, Logan Flaharty is developing his own style and fine tuning it with every new piece. His latest work is a series for both Art and History class and is very impressive!
The elementary students have learned a lot about color and the art elements this year. They were also introduced to art of other cultures and did some interdisiplinary lessons as well!
The talent at Graettinger/Terril School is astounding! The truth of the matter is that often, due to time and scheduling constraints, some of that talent "slips through the cracks", which is just a product of our current situation today.
While the art room is often loud and crazy, it is also a place to express yourself and learn while you're doing it! If you have a free moment in your day, you're always welcome to join in the fun!
Mrs. Farnum has a blog: http://graettingerterrilart.blogspot.com and a wikispace: http://gthsart.wikispaces.com/ which you are welcome to visit! She has also created 2 online classrooms this year on NiceNet, which aide students in knowledge of classoom information and assignments.