GCHS students create installation art around high school

GRUNDY CENTER – Any artist can tell you that you don’t need much to create a masterpiece. Sometimes all you need is paper, scissors, a little bit of string and a lot of imagination. At least that’s the case for the students in Ronda Sternhagen’s Fundamentals of Art class, who ditched the sketchbooks and pencils, and took their art to a grander scale by creating 3-D art installations throughout the high school for every student and teacher to enjoy.
Under the guidance of student teacher Katie Mathis, students were tasked with creating a 3-D work of art out of paper, using geometrical shapes, then installing it somewhere around the school.
It took several weeks, and a lot of trial and error, but as of last week, all six groups of artists had their work up for the world to see.
“Initially they were skeptical about the project, but in the end I think they really enjoyed it,” said Mathis. “In their artist statements, they wrote about really liking the fact that people can see their artwork, and they’re really proud of it.”
The idea for the project came from Mathis, who has a background in 3-D art, ceramics and installation art.
According to Mathis, she and Sternhagen thought that it would be beneficial to expose students to a different type of art that they haven’t experimented with yet.
 
“I think the artists have felt a bit of fame, their work is up and being recognized. Not only are the students who made [the art installations] enjoying them, but so is every student and teacher in the high school who passes by them each day,” she said. “It’s neat because we’re seeing people reading the artist statements, interacting with the art, and doing what we’ve intended it to do.”
For the full story, see this week's Grundy Register!