Hello, my name is Jade Perry, and for my capstone, I taught an art mini-course with my friend and classmate Nicholas. Our capstone was created to diversitize and help participants develop their interest in art. In our mini-course, we worked with Traditional & Digital Art by giving tips on our art pieces. My lessons were focused on traditional art. I took a group of nine middle school students and let them draw to their whatever they wanted. The mini-course wasn’t made to feel like an actual class, only gave them a category and let them go from there. I can’t say that the kids will end up becoming a modernized version of Picasso, or if they’ll even remember this course, but I can say that they changed a bit, and I got to know them a lot more than I expected to. When I think about how I helped my community, I think that I simply helped some of the kids develop an interest in it or just gave them a place to sit and do what they enjoy. My goal was never to make them perfect, or turn them into full-time artists, I just wanted to share my interests and give them an outlet, which is something that a lot of schools in our city lack. I want to start these kids off in hopes that they’ll progress and maybe even teach a course themselves later on down the line.

Hello reader!

For my Capstone, I created a number system for organization that will be implemented when using new tripods for projects, whether they are a class or personal use within school. With this system, said lost tripods will be found with much more ease. Each tripod and its corresponding microphone have been labeled with a number 1-8. There is also a notebook where students must sign out each tripod they are using with their name and email address. I was also able and privileged enough to collect multiple pieces of student art that have been displayed in the halls of SLA Beeber. Art is important in schools because creativity helps us learn, and school buildings can be bleak, however, SLA Beeber is not. There is art in almost every hallway, but I felt as though it needed more that was created by students who want their art to be displayed. Art is a way of expression and a way to be heard. Being able to express yourself through more than words creates a healthy environment for learning. During these stressful times of sickness, corruption, and a betrayal of human rights, art is a way to bring us together and make us stronger as a community. Thank you to everyone who contributed to my project, and a special thanks to Zoe Strauss for allowing me to be a part of her space for two years, Mr. Rosen-Long for helping my project move forward, and of course, Mr. Lawrence for seeing me for who I am, and always encouraging me to continue down the path I am on!