Columbia City High School’s Advanced 2D Art students painted newly structured cement spheres in Morsches Park by the Splash Pad.
“I am really proud of our students. Painting spheres is difficult: this was their first time using cement paint, art typically is an individual game, and they did all of this during single class periods for seven days,” said Adrienne Hoffman, CCHS Art Teacher.
There are five cement spheres and the students designed an eyeball, a Squishmallow cat, a cheeseburger, a fish bowl and a realm sphere.
“When I heard that our canvases were circular, I immediately thought of a fish bowl for some reason. I thought it would be fun to make up things to put in the fish bowl and then have fun with it,” said Natalie Brower, CCHS junior student of Eagle Tech Academy.
Prior to painting, students divided the spheres into sections so they could all paint while they were in the park instead of waiting for another student to finish their section. Collaborating and creating the art in sections to create a cohesive look is a skill the artists need.
Students worked in groups of two to four students to design their project before painting and then traveled to the park for seven days. The transportation time, preparation time, and clean-up time all fit into a single period of 47 minutes during several days while completing the project.
“This project required time management and with a group of perfectionists, we had to acknowledge that there was a certain amount of time and it had to be completed,” Hoffman said.
Student intern Austin D. Shively was the muscle behind the paint for the project. Austin loaded and unloaded the five gallons of paint onto the bus daily. He was also entrusted with opening, dispensing, and sealing the cans each time. Austin’s interest in maintaining materials for the entire class was a great help to the other students.
Natalie took the class as an elective, and while she isn’t pursuing 2D art in the future, she is hoping to pursue technical theater and plans to keep art in her life forever.
“This was an incredibly fun experience, even if a little stressful. I hope other kids will get the same opportunity in the future,” Brower said.
The project was brought to the CCHS Art Department students by Ms. Karen Koday, CCHS E.A.G.L.E. Teacher, who also serves on the Columbia City Parks Department Board. Ms. Koday would like to expand the project in the spring so that each CCHS club and sport will have an opportunity to design and paint a sphere that best represents them.
The spheres painted by the CCHS Art Class are on display at Morsches Park by the Splash Pad. The artwork will rotate and others will have an opportunity, although the time frame for each set of spheres has not been determined.
“Shout out to the WCCS transportation department. We had the same driver, Steve Corbin, every day. He was so reliable, helpful, and considerate,” Hoffman said.
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Media Contact: Dr. Laura McDermott, mcdermottla@wccsonline.com
Advanced 2D art students paint new spheres in Morches Park.
Left to right, front row seated: Austin D. Shively, Natalie Brower, Ava Bazid, Vivian Gerard
Left to right, back row standing: Sophie Winters, Kylie Wallen, Kaitlyn Crosson, Katherine Farber, Mrs. Hoffman, Josie Biberstein, Tess Krider, Jackson Gilbert, Isaac Banks, Logan Kilander
Not pictured: Mal Nix, Riley M. Jones, Tyler Sparks