Through an Arts in Education In-School Residency grant, teaching artists worked with high school students at El Dorado High School to use their five senses to explore art.

The Villegas were in a long-term residency at the school through the Arkansas Arts Council’s grant as well as a grant from the El Dorado Education Foundation in teacher Katie Harwell’s classroom.

The program is designed to strengthen the role of the arts in preK-12 educational settings by fostering participation in the arts as an integral part of life and the basic education process. Artists are based in a school or a community organization where they work with a site coordinator and key staff members to develop programs and activities for the students.

The AIE program in El Dorado High School assisted in and developed a project designed around the five senses. The teachers discussed sensory deprivation with the class, and then used Project Based Learning to tackle drawing, painting, weaving, 3D building, printing, and large-scale mural design.

“After surviving COVID and virtual school, it became apparent that while technology can benefit Visual Art, it is important to present a healthy balance,” said Harwell. “With that in mind, we designed this year around building, drawing, and designing with our hands. I think focusing on our five senses this year has helped us repair some of what we lost during COVID.”

In addition to the individual projects, the class and the artists worked as a team to design, plan, and create two original murals entitled “Wild at Heart.” The murals were originally conceived to cover the entrance to a school bathroom that was damaged by a social media prank. The project allowed the group to turn a difficult situation into a beautiful celebration of the diverse beauty of the student body, and a true collaboration honoring the school’s mascot, the Wildcats.

“We believe that the murals’ larger than life paintings create a new visual response in the viewer, and in this case reaffirmed the students’ morale,” said Maria.

Here is what the students had to say:

“This year in art appreciate I learned that there is more to art than just stick figures and that art can be really fun if you put your mind to it and just try.” – Davin James

“I was kind of touched with my feelings and it reminded me how much I love my favorite hobby which is art. I plan to stay in love with art because my dream is to be an artist.” – Ciara Gusby

“The Wild at Heart mural project was my favorite to work with. I liked painting each detail with determination and focus. Even though it took time, it was still very fun and my favorite to work with.” – Alysa Wilson

“The project was my favorite was the half wildcat half human murals with Mr. Jorge and Mrs. Maria. The project started out with small drawings and then escalated into huge, beautiful murals. We drew them, then we painted them. Watching it all come together was amazing.” – Ramiyah Miller

All of the art created during this program was exhibited at South Arkansas Arts Center in early May. The murals will find a new home in the EHS Theater.

Thank you to Laura Allen with South Arkansas Arts Center for providing more information about the “Exploring Art Through the Senses” program.

For more information about this grant and the other opportunities the Arkansas Arts Council has to offer, visit our website at ArkansasArts.org or call Matt Boyce at 501-324-9769.