From paper to sculpture, Rio Norte Junior High School students saw their monster creations come to life in the hands of their schoolmates last Thursday.
Aimed at fostering meaningful connections among different groups of students, art teacher Nancy James, who is widely known to the campus community as Art James, wanted a fun, creative way to have her advanced art students connect with the special needs students.
“I think it’s good for the school and for the good of humanity to do things like this,” she said. The advanced art students created over 40 sculptures, gaining inspiration from drawings from special education students.
To embrace the spirit of October and its spooky season, James believed monsters would not just be fitting for the occasion but would also allow the students to have all the creative freedom with no limitations.
The advanced art students began creating the ceramic sculptures in September and on Thursday, as a culmination of the project, the art students and special needs students gathered in the campus multipurpose room for a special reveal. The sculptures came with a workbook that had questions for students to complete, as well.
Some students immediately reacted with excitement, while others took their time to slowly inspect the figurine before they realized it was their drawing brought to life.
For eighth grade art student Zofia Faczan, creating the monster sculpture had its challenges but seeing the student who received it react in a positive manner was worthwhile.
“I really enjoy just giving in general and it’s really worth all the stress and anxiety, you know, and little details,” Faczan said as she recalled the art process. “She looked genuinely happy. I feel like she really enjoyed it,” she added about the student’s reaction.
Faczan had the opportunity to create two sculptures for two separate students, and overall made it a special experience for her.
For school Principal Brenda Bennett, the sculpture reveal is one of her favorite days of the year because it’s a special experience for all the students involved, she said.
“We’re really blessed here that the students are very familiar with our programs of students that have more specialized needs,” she said as she took a pause from looking at all the students interact with one another following the reveal.
Bennett also credited James for her efforts in creating something special that has now become an annual tradition over the past four years.
“I hope students can realize that everybody has certain things that they struggle with but in the end we’re the same in a way because we all want respect, we all want kindness,” Faczan said. “So I really hope that they realize, even if you have a disability, we can still get along and we can still unite and have a good relationship. Everyone deserves a special experience that they can remember.”
