Calder-style mobiles are now hanging from the ceiling in the Multi-Purpose Room for students to enjoy as they eat lunch every day. Nearby, in a well-traveled school hallway, drawings and paintings that deliver a message without using words are on display on a large bulletin board. Both projects were created in November by students in two different high school art classes.

Art Teacher Sherry Mirakian challenged students in her Art Appreciation Class to design and build a mobile. The students learned about American sculptor Alexander Calder, one of the first artists to bring the mobile into a form of sculpture. Mirakian said the project also combined art and science. The students studied the role of balance and movement in a sculptural art form and had to create a mobile that was balanced.

The students who created the imaginative mobiles were: Lukas Benson, Riley Cook, Zachary Fosbenner, Noah Gibbs, John Hannum, Manny Johnson, Becca Kelley, Eva Kim, Ryleigh Martin, Alicia O’Donnell, Haven Sanchez, Isabelle Schoonejongen, Summer Scott, Nathan Stein, Noelle Thompson, and Gary Wyckoff.

Delivering a message through art was the focus of an assignment for the students in the advanced Art Workshop class. The students spent several weeks developing a personal point of view and then attempting to illustrate a message without using words in a drawing or painting.   The students who created this impactful artwork were: Jacob DeNick, Kami DeNick, Kayla DeNick, Maddie DeNick, Shelby Einwechter, Benjamin Kimmerley, Haoshen “Katherine” Kong, and Amber Ramos.