Sisters students celebrate the arts

(Left-right): Cruz Keeton, Josh Jewell, Corey Muir and Tyler Hagedorn working on Colonel Pineapple. Photo by Rongi Yost

Students at Sisters High School set aside the week of November 19-23 to celebrate the arts with three in-school assemblies that showcased the talented artists of SHS.

Personal Enhancement Time (PET) on Wednesday morning was entirely devoted to the arts.

Kit Stafford, Artist in Residence and consultant in the arts, was asked to organize and arrange for artists to come and participate during PET time in conjunction with arts week.

Stafford made sure there were many opportunities for students to explore a wide range of art.

"Because I teach at Caldera in a year-round program I'm in contact with artists doing residencies," Stafford said.

Stafford brought two of the artists in residence to the high school.

Lauren Mantecon, of Portland, demonstrated painting with encaustic wax.

"Wax is actually brushed onto the painting," said Mantecon, "and then burned in with a heating tool. It forms a waxy, hazy, layer and then you carve into the wax. Then, you paint on top of it again. It's a layering process."

Chris Sanderson, also an artist in residence demonstrated charcoal drawing.

"I wanted to show my art in process, the preparatory work, the sketching, and how I use drawing as a way of exploring ideas I have for future projects," Sanderson said.

Local artists, Debbie McPherson and Mary Crow helped students work with clay. They brought a bust, already formed, and students created features on the bust throughout PET.

By the end of the session the bust had been dubbed Colonel Pineapple.

Brad Tisdel, of the Americana Project, brought guest artist Dale Largent to the celebration.

Largent is a hand percussion specialist and he taught students some basics on how to play the djembe drums (African drums).

The Lecture/Drama Room was filled with students who caught on quickly and ended up giving a short presentation to the student body.

Local artist Clay Maier (Kit Stafford's husband) brought his photographs of the wild horses that are found around the edges of Steens Mountain in Southeast Oregon.

His display also included photos of cattle ranches from that area that still operate in the same fashion that they did in the 1870s.

Senior student artist Ben Scharf had an area set up for jewelry making, and he was working on a bracelet he'd designed.

Ben has been working with his silversmith father, Cliff Scharf, since he was a small boy, and has been designing and creating his own jewelry -- from bracelets to belt buckles -- the last four years.

Later in the day students attended the largest of the assemblies planned for the week.

The concert choir opened the assembly with a soulful piece from the Renaissance period entitled, "God Have Mercy On Me."

Student musician Iris Powell played a piece on her violin, accompanied at the piano by Ben Scharf.

The students were silent and attentive as they listened to Iris play for the first time, and they showered her with applause.

Two other mini assemblies were held during the week. Josh Sarles, Laren Shultz, Josh Rodriguez, Jayson Berray all performed original songs.