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By Tamara Neely
Staff Reporter
Jana Clark, centre, rehearses with her Holy Trinity Academy (HTA) classmates, left to right, Caitlin McFarland, Justin Schafer, Cole Olson and Kristi Robertson, for the musical Good News. Clark’s
family is pleased with her artistic opportunities at HTA. photo by Lindsay Hanhart |
Artists can attest to the skill and dedication it takes to create a finished piece. However, to an outsider, creating art often looks like doodling and daydreaming – perhaps that is the reason high school arts programs are consistently underfunded.
Art teachers in the Foothills argue that exposure to the arts is important to develop critical thinking and self-expression, which in turn fortifies students’ self-confidence. The skills students develop in art class, they said, strengthen students’ abilities to succeed in any career.
Art classes for students considering a career in the arts are obviously fundamental, but even for students without that goal art classes are valuable.
“Kids really need something else besides school and sports; this sort of thing makes a person whole,” said Sharon Nelson, a retired art teacher. “Everybody has got it in them. There are people who make fantastic chocolates, or they carve or whistle, and it’s not fully out there if you just curl or skate.”
Nelson gave an example of a student whose life turned around when he dabbled in a culinary arts class. A rough cowboy type with dirty blue jeans and boots, not only did he not know what he was good at, he felt he wasn’t good at anything and would fail everything. Without drive, his teachers didn’t expect him to succeed in anything. However, he was encouraged to try food services and there he learned how to decorate cakes and to make fancy candy.
“The change was amazing,” said Nelson. “He found out that’s what he was good at. It was amazing that he was dumbfounded when people told him it was wonderful. He discovered he could do something really well, better than others could.”
From the art teachers’ perspective, the power of the arts to cultivate students’ abilities to think for themselves and express themselves tops the list of benefits.
Art teacher Amanda Yaceyko is an advocate for the importance of the arts.
“It gives them a critical eye to look at the world, it gives them a different way of thinking and problem solving,” said Yaceyko, who teaches visual art at Holy Trinity Academy. “Research shows that kids who have an art background address problems differently, they think outside of the box.”
In Yaceyko’s class creative thinking is practiced through critiquing work and delving into meaning found below the surface in a piece of art.
“The first question I ask is, ‘What is art?’, and slowly they learn anything can be art, there isn’t a right or wrong template.”
Developing the confidence needed for self-expression is another benefit that Yaceyko and the art teachers at Oilfields High School in Black Diamond and the Alberta High School of Fine Arts all pointed to.
Ryan Smitham, a visual art teacher at the Alberta High School of Fine Arts (AHSFA), agreed.
“In any art room students get a chance to express themselves. That’s what makes an art room a great place, they have freedom and are encouraged to make their own choices,” said Smitham.
Dan Guenette, who teaches art at Oilfields High School in Black Diamond, is a proponent of the value of art for all students – not just those with a propensity for it.
“I’m a big advocate for creativity and having kids explore the world in new and interesting ways,” said Guenette. “It helps kids find their own voice, express themselves better. Those skills transfer into other areas of learning in life.”
Oilfields student Lana Elkow is currently in Grade 12 and for her, visual art and drama classes are a lot of fun and her chosen career path.
“The art program is a lot of fun,” said Elkow, who plans to study art and drama at Mount Royal College. “The people here make you feel really happy and when you’re down they say, ‘Draw it out.’ And doing that makes me feel better. And stuff I don’t think I can do, my teacher makes me feel really good about it. He says anyone can paint and anyone can be an artist, it’s your own style.”
A source of pride for Guenette is that Oilfields prioritizes opportunities for students to showcase their art, for example, at parent-teacher interviews and pep rallies.
Yaceyko identified a symbiotic relationship between the sports and arts programs at HTA: the new media department creates posters to promote the sports events.
In addition, the involvement of parents through attending art shows and drama productions drew Yaceyko’s praise.
The participation of parents also caught Glenna Stiles’ attention. Stiles’ daughter Jana is in Grade 10 at HTA, and is enrolled in the musical theatre production class for credit. She was surprised at the commitment shown by parents volunteering. A teacher herself (dance and science), Stiles is impressed with the dedication of drama teacher Wendy Doerksen, who has included as many students as possible. Doerksen has watched as the student population at HTA has grown rapidly, and there has been an influx of students with a strong interest in the arts.
“A lot of kids do acting in the community, with the Dewdney Players, so there’s more interest with the students in the arts,” Doerksen observed.
“The drama teacher (Doerksen) is so vibrant, she has such passion, you can feel it,” said Stiles. Opportunities for her two daughters to explore the arts are very important to Stiles.
“It takes them out of their comfort zone and makes them look at the world in a different way,” said Stiles. “And it makes them more tolerant because, you know, artsy people are a little different – they live in a different time zone, even.”
Though Stiles is paying for her daughters to have dance and art classes outside of school in order to maximize their artistic opportunities, she feels the opportunities offered by the school are excellent.
“I think (my daughters) have had an amazing experience with art in school and that the school system has some great things (to offer),” said Stiles.
Nevertheless, Stiles also maintains that arts in school are chronically under funded. She pointed out that in Jana’s art class there are 30 students to one art teacher, and there weren’t enough desks for the students on Jana’s first day.
She also questions the calibre of the stage at HTA.
“I think it’s so bad that a new school (HTA) doesn’t have a better stage facility - why wouldn’t they have built that into it? It must have come down to money,” said Stiles. “Neither HTA nor the Comp (Foothills Composite/Alberta High School of Fine Arts) have the kinds of theatre that I see in the schools in Calgary.”
Doerksen recognized that it’s a stage and not an auditorium, but said the school is still small.
“It’s way nicer than what we had at the old school, which was a gym,” said Doerksen.
Cheryl Taylor is an Okotoks-based artist and art teacher offering private art classes as well as having taught in the Foothills School Division and at Strathcona Tweedsmuir School. Underfunding to arts programs is cause of concern to Taylor.
With 30 students to one teacher, a teacher may be steering the education of 90, 120 or 150 students and with those kinds of numbers, she said, it’s near impossible to cater to individual’s needs.
“An ideal situation is no more than 15 students to one teacher,” said Taylor.
Taylor feels that the 44 students taking her private art classes, and the other private art classes offered, is testament to the number of parents who feel their children are not getting sufficient exposure to art in school.
“Think of how many parents are not in the financial position to do that,” said Taylor.
Under funding is linked to arts not being a priority in the schools, Taylor said. Evidence of the art not being a priority in schools can be seen, she said, in that “the first class to go if there is an assembly is the art class.” Furthermore, schools have a history, she said, of employing people who don’t have an education in art to teach art.
To combat under funding, Stiles suggested schools and parents need to work together to engage the community in the process. With a passionate teacher driving ideas, and with the support of parents, in the form of fundraising and volunteering, opportunities in the arts can blossom within the school setting.
“There has to be more funding into the arts, but parents have to get involved,” said Stiles. “The arts are… such a lifeline for so many kids, it makes their school experience so positive.”
Unique high school takes centre stage
Students sit on cozy couches and chairs while sketching during an art class at the Alberta High School of Fine Arts.
photo by Lyle Aspinall |
Tamara Neely
Staff Reporter
With a focus on exploring the depths of artistic expression in music, theatre, dance and visual arts, the Alberta High School of Fine Arts (AHSFA) is a diamond in Okotoks’ backyard. The school provides support for youth to probe their creativity as they consider a career in the arts.
The number of students that flow into the school from across the Foothills illustrates the demand for arts programs and the school’s reputation for providing a variety of artistic opportunities.
The AHSFA is housed under the same roof as the Foothills Composite High School and shares core curriculum teachers. To graduate from the AHSFA, students need to complete the same diploma requirements as any high school in Alberta but seven classes must be in the arts, two of which must be completed through to Grade 12.
Ryan Smitham, the visual art teacher, speaks with enthusiasm about the opportunities students have at the AHSFA. One of the assets of the school, Smitham said, is the art room itself. “We have a magnificent space here where there’s all kinds of media, including the trades like welding and construction,” said Smitham. “There are things you wouldn’t find in the average art room. We have the luxury of a huge space – probably the largest in the province, at least it’s the largest I’ve seen. Our ceilings are 30 feet high with all kinds of giant mural work.” Another feature of the school that stands apart is the approach of running multiple, self-directed classes together where students can learn from, and inspire, each other.
“It’s multi-disciplinary with multi-level learning, so all ages and class levels work at the same time, so there is mentoring that goes on and a lot of crossover of all ages where some of the younger students that have all kinds of talent that rubs off on kids that are in the higher grades as well,” explained Smitham. “It’s unique to this school, because classes go on at the same time.”
Some students are drawn to the AHSFA because they thrive in the arts, but aren’t necessarily planning on pursuing the arts as a career. For those who intend to pursue a career in visual art, the AHSFA offers a unique program called senior studio which opens students eyes to what it takes to be a fulltime, practicing artist, and they build their portfolio,” explained Smitham.
Emma Perpeluk, a Grade 12 student at AHSFA, plans to pursue a career incorporating art therapy into a counselling practice. At AHSFA she is focusing on fine art, and is getting a lot out of the program. “There are endless opportunities in visual arts, everything you’d like to try,” said Perpeluk. “It’s a really, really good art program. I love it.”
Joseph Mercier, a graduate of the AHSFA in 2001, is now pursuing a master’s degree in theatre direction in London, England, at the Central School of Speech and Drama. “When I left in Grade 12 I thought it was a really successful and worthwhile program that has a lot of responsibility for my success today,” he said.
Teen songwriter gets her big break
Sarah Clark, a 13-year-old resident of Bragg Creek, will be
opening for folk singer Connie Kaldor at the Bragg Creek Centre on Saturday, March 8. photo by Allison Hilton |
By Tamara Neely
Staff Reporter
There is a beauty in the songs created by singer-songwriters just starting out and finding their voice, and there is a beauty in the confidence and seasoned grace of singer-songwriters decades into their careers.
On Saturday, March 8 the audience of the Bragg Creek Centre will be treated to both. Connie Kaldor, a three-time Juno award winner, will be performing and Sarah Clark, a 13-year-old from Bragg Creek, will be the opening act.
In 2007 Clark released her first major collection of original songs with an album titled Hold On, which features eight contemporary/pop songs with undertones of blues and jazz.
The themes in Clark’s songs flow from her experiences in life.
“I write about things that happen around me and to me,” said Clark. “It makes it easier to cope with life; it’s like a diary; it’s expressing ideas.”
Deborah, Clark’s mother, is amazed by her daughter’s talent. Sarah’s gift, she said, is to take what a lot of people are thinking and feeling and put and it to music.
One of the songs on her album caught the attention of Macleod MP Ted Menzies. Menzies attended a Remembrance Day ceremony in Bragg Creek at which Clark performed her song, World of War, that delves into the sacrifices soldiers in World War I and II made for future generations. Menzies requested a copy of the song and around the time of discussions about pulling out of Afghanistan, mentioned Clark and the song, Deborah said.
“He spoke about her song at Parliament, how it was amazing that this 13-year-old got it, she’s not pro-war, but she understands the sacrifices made,” said Deborah.
Clark wrote the song after visiting the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
“I wrote the song to honour the people who sacrificed their lives,” explained Clark.
Songs flow out of Clark. She begins by tinkering with notes on the piano and they evolve into a song. Clark makes sure to write down her ideas — she’s been doing it long enough to realize she forgets. The lyrics come from the wealth of writing she does, in the form of poetry and stories.
“I just write,” said Clark. “I had a lot of songs to choose from and I felt these were the strongest.”
Clark has been writing music since she was five-years-old, if you count recording melodies and lyrics with a Fisher Price microphone and toy piano.
The opportunity to open for Connie Kaldor came about when Bragg Creek Concert Series organizer Brenda Bone attended Clark’s CD release party. Bone, after running the idea past Kaldor, invited Clark to perform four songs prior to Kaldor taking the stage.
“I’m ecstatic,” said Clark. “It’s going to be so much fun.”
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While music is a passion and a natural expression of who she is, Clark is approaching the opportunity with considered responsibility.
“I like to take my opportunities to get exposure and use them wisely to progress,” said Clark.
Accompanying Clark onstage will be three professional musicians: Tynan Groves on bass, acoustic and electric guitars, Shelly Groves on fiddle and Johnny Gozde on percussion. Gozde produced and played backup instruments on Clark’s album.
Clark will be playing the baby grand piano that organizers are bringing in for Kaldor to play, and Clark and her mother are grateful for the opportunity Kaldor and the Bragg Creek Centre are offering Clark.
It has been eight years since Kaldor came through Bragg Creek, and on March 8 she will be showing her support for emerging musicians not only by welcoming Clark to open for her, but also by holding a songwriting workshop between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. for all ages with proceeds being donated to a children’s musical charity.
With 11 original albums to her credit, Kaldor has earned a reputation for intelligent folk music and charming children’s songs. She has been awarded three Juno awards for her children’s albums and in 2007 was appointed to the Order of Canada.
On the official Order of Canada website it says of Kaldor, “Connie Kaldor is considered one of our finest songwriters and an icon of the Canadian folk scene. Transforming aspects of everyday life into insightful, compelling songs, she explores the range of human experience with wit and humour.”
Tickets for the all-ages concert are $20 for seniors, $22 for adults and $12 for youth. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the performance will begin at 8 p.m.
Admission for the songwriting workshop is $10 for adults and seniors, children 14 and under are free. Organizers request advance registration and invite participants to bring an unfinished song.
To register for the workshop and reserve tickets for the concert, call (403) 949-4114 or (403) 949-4277, or drop by the Bragg Creek Centre.
Tickets are also available at Spirits West Wine Merchants or through the website www.braggcreekperformingarts.com
The Bragg Creek Centre is located at 23 White Avenue.
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