The Effect of Art of Coshocton’s High School Students
A number of studies have been conducted recently to
support the assertion that learning in the arts is good for the student
and good for society. Researchers have proven that taking art classes
helps young people increase their academic achievements and contributes
to their positive social development. They perform higher on
standardized tests. They develop skills and habits of mind that make
for better thinkers and workers.
The Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum is currently
exhibiting high school artwork from our local schools, public, private
and home. I wondered how some of these young artists would describe the
value of studying art. Why take art classes in high school when it is
not a required subject? What effect does it have on your study habits
and manner of thinking?
Helen Bice, a senior at Ridgewood High School, won
a First Place in Painting for A Walk, a small watercolor with a
Japanese minimalist feeling about it. Applying only a few brush
strokes, Helen created an airy, intriguing painting. She has been
interested in art since she was a small child. Both of her parents
attended Pittsburgh Art Institute and are painters. Like her parents,
Helen loves to paint and hopes to continue taking art courses at COTC
next year. Art helps her relieve stress and express her emotions. It’s
a way to calm and center herself, a necessary prerequisite for thinking
ideas through.
Jessica Davis from River View High School also won
a First Place. Her mixed media work, a mosaic using small colored
paper, was a self-portrait that included a photograph of herself. The
picture is light-hearted and whimsical. Jessica, a senior, has been
drawing since she was young. She loved taking art classes because they
involve more than the brain. They require thinking and doing and are
just more fun. She appreciates her teacher, Malinda Baker, who
encourages everyone and takes the time to work with students
individually. Mrs. Baker teachers the students art appreciation so they
learn not only art techniques such as drawing and blending colors, but
also social studies. Every year one of Mrs. Baker’s classes studies
ancient Egyptian art and the students use this knowledge to recreate
their own Egyptian art.
As a child, Jared Cotterman always
had a sketchbook in his hand. He was so busy drawing that he didn’t
have time to do the mundane, like clean his room. Jared has several
works on display at the Museum. His Variations on “Dreams” won
an Honorable Mention in Drawing. Rendered in colored pencil, Jared’s
picture has a fantasy theme—a human-sized, green grasshopper is
approaching a human-like creature who is sleeping on a bed.
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