Eighth Grade Girls Honor St. Philippine at Annual Religion/Art Show
On Thursday, May 10, Grade 8 girls unveiled their year-long project at the annual Religion and Art show. This year’s exhibition took place during a special intermission goûter at the Middle School Spring Concert.The large art piece incorporates the many skills the girls have acquired by practice in the visual art component of class: painting, quilted stitching, printed silk portraits, graphic design, and papercutting. The girls created individual pieces then combined their artwork to reflect the strength of community. The work celebrates St. Philippine Duchesne by including Scriptures that sustained Philippine throughout her life. The art honors her legacy and commitment to young women and Sacred Heart education, and celebrates the 200th anniversary of Sacred Heart schools in America.
“The students began the project in November and worked on it every class,” said art teacher Mary Marley. “I chose very time intensive techniques. We discussed the difference between ‘image’ and portrait; with image being something posed and artificial and portraiture being something that captures the inner life of a person. My hope for students doing this kind of work is that they gain confidence in their own creative voice and in the value of dedicating yourself to creating something really worth looking at - learning patience by failing and struggling with materials and creative choices.”