Local photographer Jason Thrasher talks to students in the Clarke Central High School Media Center on Feb. 21. After giving his 90-minute session, Thrasher had a positive impression of CCHS. “I was really impressed by a lot of the questions I got asked today,” Thrasher said. “I’m very impressed by the arts in the school, and how much attention that the school pays to art. As a parent of an artist, I’m blown away by what my child has learned at the school and I’m always excited to see what they bring home that they made here.” Photo by Isabelle Duncan
The Clarke Central High School Media Center hosted Athens photographer Jason Thrasher for an artist visit on Feb. 21.
Local photographer Jason Thrasher spoke to students during the Feb. 21 Artist Visit Series sponsored by the Media Center and Fine Arts department. The event served as a chance for CCHS youth to hear from and engage with a creative professional who has been a part of the Athens community for almost 30 years.
Thrasher was able to use the event to gain a feel for the broader arts education available to students at CCHS.
“I’m very impressed by the arts in the school, (especially) by the fact that (CCHS is) a public high school that has a photography class. (It’s) impressive how much attention the school pays to art,” said Thrasher. “As a parent of an artist (senior Frances Thrasher), I’m blown away by what my child has learned at the school and excited to see what they bring home that they made here. It’s a pretty great school.”
“(It’s) impressive how much attention the school pays to art. “As a parent of an artist (senior Frances Thrasher), I’m blown away by what my child has learned at the school and excited to see what they bring home that they made here. It’s a pretty great school.””
— Jason Thrasher,
photographer
Senior Jackson Ogilvie took a lot from the experience and learned valuable lessons that he believes will help him in the future.
“I thought it was really cool seeing into the career of a pretty big photographer and how he got started,” Ogilvie said. “(Thrasher taught me that if) you do what you love and work hard at it, good things will happen. Recently, I’ve been trying to do that (with) what I want to do in the future, I really want to focus on (it) and I feel like he is a good example.”
Students listen to local photographer Jason Thrasher speak during his talk in the Clarke Central High School Media Center on Feb. 21. Senior Jackson Ogilvie believed the event was a unique opportunity to learn more about professional photography and Thrasher’s personal journey. “I thought it was really cool seeing into the career of a pretty big photographer and how he got started,” Ogilvie said. “(Thrasher taught me that if) you do what you love and work hard at it, good things will happen.” Photo by Isabelle Duncan
Media Specialist Angie Pendley believed the event and the Artist Visit Series were a good way to solidify the Media Center as a centralized place for the arts to thrive at CCHS.
“One of the (ideas) that folks come back to (is) the idea of (a) media center or a library (being) the hub of the school. It’s this shared space where I want (students) to come and find things that inspire them, that push them, that make them think more critically about themselves, about the world, about our community, (and) about their (lives),” Pendley said. “When we have guest speakers like Jason, that goes right (with) that philosophy of what this space should be. I think that experiences like (this) help (students) start deciding who (they) are and who (they) want to be.”
