Media Center hosts visiting artists

Media Specialist Angela Pendley (left) and fine arts department teacher Amanda Price (right) hold photography books by local photographers Jason Thrasher (left) and Christy Bush (right) in the Media Center on Feb. 9. Pendley organized Bush’s visit alongside Price and has seen a positive response from the student body. “Having these visits is really motivating for our students. I think it really lights a fire in them that this is possible, this is something you can go out and do,” Pendley said. Photo by Temprince Battle

In collaboration with the fine arts department, the CCHS media specialists have started an artist visitation series in an effort to expose students to more fine arts careers.

Photographer Christy Bush, a former Athens resident, visited Clarke Central High School on Nov. 4 as the first visiting artist of the CCHS Media Center’s Artist Visit Series.

The series is a collaboration between the media specialists and fine arts department, coordinated by Media Specialist Angela Pendley and fine arts department teacher Amanda Price, to broaden students’ career aspirations.

“(The) humanities, like writing, history, any of those subjects that are not so cut-and-dry like math and science, people think, ‘Oh, I’m not gonna be able to be successful with that because it’s this big field, so much is up to chance,’” Price said. “But just seeing this (artist’s) path, how they got to where they are and what they learned from it and what advice they have to give to our students is really important.”

“But just seeing this (artist’s) path, how they got to where they are and what they learned from it and what advice they have to give to our students is really important.”

— Amanda Price,
fine arts department teacher

The series will host another photographer, Jason Thrasher, on Feb. 21. Looking ahead, Price aims for a more diverse range of local artists in the following school year.

“(We’d like to host) some three-dimensional artists, some painters, maybe illustrators,” Price said. “I have a list of Athens artists, who I think would have some sort of connection to want to support the Clarke Central community to see if they’d be interested in coming in, as well.”

Freshman Mattie Pittard seen in Room 306 on Feb. 9. Due to her interest in photography, Pittard attended the first visit of the series in which former local photographer Christy Bush shared her book “Familiar” with CCHS students and remembered her experience at the event fondly. “I really enjoyed getting to hear about her process for making the book, getting to view her photography, her pictures, it made me think a lot about the meaning behind (the) layout for picture books and just what photography can hold,” Pittard said. Photo by Cadence Schapker

The artist visits give students unable to take fine arts classes, like freshman Mattie Pittard, an opportunity to engage with the department. Pittard appreciates the efforts to maintain the interest in the fine arts at CCHS and finds that the series can reinvigorate the creative spirit of the CCHS student body.

“It’s really important to keep our artists alive in our schools because a lot of (the) time, school can drain (creativity) out of you,” Pittard said. “Making sure that we let our students know that there’s a community here for art, (that) this is an option for you, don’t let getting older and being in school snuff out your (artistic ambitions).”

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