Teaching life by ‘the art of creating things’
Live Art lets student body see creativity at work at Resurrection
KITCHENER — It’s mayhem in the high school lobby. Speakers blare music. Kids jostle and yell, straining to be heard above a thumping beat.
The din energizes Gryphon Powell, 15. Then he settles his steady hand for some delicate artwork.
Gryphon is hand-painting a figurine from a fantasy board game. He applies shading and colour to help bring the tiny creature to life.
It’s his favourite day at school, painting in front of his schoolmates. The event is called Live Art.
“Making something is one small step to trying to bring back the art of creating things,” Gryphon says. “That’s why I also love Live Art. Because it’s creating.”
For an hour over lunch, students course through Resurrection Catholic Secondary School, watching 90 schoolmates sketch, paint, film, craft, apply, light and curl.
“This is an opportunity for them to shine and show their work in progress, the creative process,” art teacher Leah Ann Erickson explains.
It takes courage for students to display themselves with their art. But there are rewards, and life lessons.
Ryne Ertel, 17, uses a pen and ink to sketch a portrait of a friend standing beside a cool car against the Toronto skyline. He draws in part because it calms him.
Ryne was too shy to let kids watch him, until he decided: “Let’s just step out of the comfort zone a little bit and see what happens.”
What happened is that students liked his drawings. He’s more confident about it now.
Kelly Lett, 18, aspires to teach hair styling. She works on a mannequin named Ingrid, crafting an elaborate braid, swirls and a fan. Bright hair colours pop.
Kelly intends to enter a styling competition in April. To sharpen her skills, she cuts her family’s hair.
“When I finish somebody’s hair and they’re really happy with it, it’s really rewarding to me,” she says.
Maryam Alyonani, 16, applies makeup to decorate her cousin, Marian Yousif, 17.
“It makes you feel like a new person when you do it,” Maryam says. “It’s like beauty.”
Marian is being made up like Rudolph the Christmas reindeer, with a red nose, red lips and reindeer dots.
“It’s my first time ever putting on makeup at school, so I feel weird. But I also feel really happy,” Marian says.
Gryphon has learned a lot by painting miniature figurines. It’s painstaking work.
“I’m usually a very impatient person. But once I started doing this hobby, I was able to wait for things a lot better,” he says.
He wonders if his new skills could lead to a career making movie props. He knows they have helped build his confidence.
“I like showing other people unique things that I can do,” he says
His art has also taught him there are no shortcuts.
He puts it this way: “The longer you work on something, and the more love and heart you put into it, the better it’s going to look, in final production.”
Learning this might be the greatest lesson there is.