Congratulations to Scholastic Art Award Winners!

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The following Visual Art students have received awards in the 2024 Scholastic Regional Art Competition:

Samantha Vega, GOLD KEY/Painting
Sam’s artwork will be on view at KMAC Museum in downtown Louisville through February, and will advance to national judging in New York City.

Jamaal McClain, SILVER KEY/Art Portfolio
Ryan Dallum, SILVER KEY, Mixed Media
Malaigh Gray, SILVER KEY/Ceramics
Serenity Harris, SILVER KEY/Ceramics
Jamaal McClain, SILVER KEY, Ceramics

Layla Hendrickson, 2 Honorable Mentions, Fashion

SILVER KEY & HONORABLE MENTION artworks will be on view at UofL’s Hite Gallery on Belknap Campus through Mar. 8, 2024.

Way to go Panthers!

MLK State Commission Contest Winner

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PRP Senior, Jamaal McClain, was awarded second place in the 2023 MLK State Commission Student Art Contest. He created an artwork based upon the theme: “Stronger together in unity ’til victory is won.” He was invited to the celebration held in Frankfort at the Kentucky History Center, on Jan. 11, where he was greeted by KY Governor Steve Beshear, and other state officials. Congrats Jay!

Spreading Good Cheer One Cup at a Time

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Just in time for the holidays, PRP Art students partnered with a local shop, The Well Coffee Company, to create one of a kind coffee sleeves to spread cheer and positivity in the community. The Well Coffee Co. is located on New Cut Rd., across from Iroquois Park (formerly Sister Bean’s). The project came at the perfect time, by way of PRP substitute teacher, Wendy Gordon. Wendy is friends with Pat Stayton, owner. He asked her if we could help and offered to provide the sleeves and art supplies for the project. In all, over 500 sleeves were created. Students came up with hundreds of designs, from doodles to intricate drawings, inspirational quotes, and messages of kindness. The sleeves were a hit, and before we knew what happened, WLKY news crew asked to come to interview students in our class! Now there are other local schools who want to help. It looks like we may have started something good:-)

To learn more, check out the WLKY news story below:-)

NAHS/Art Club Holiday Sales

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The PRP NAHS Chapter has been hard at work this year! Club members voted to participate in the PRP Red Hots Dance Team’s Holiday Craft Fair, held in early December. Club member hand-painted ceramic ornaments and terra cotta flower pots with unique designs. Flower pots were then glazed and fired, to create a gloss finish.

The Memory Project: Portraits for Columbian Children

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A small group of upper-level students created portraits again this year for The Memory Project.
The Memory Project is a youth arts organization that promotes intercultural understanding and kindness between children around the world.  

“The Memory Project gets its name from its first intention, which was to provide handmade, heartfelt portraits as special memories to children in orphanages.  Now our intention has expanded to touching the lives of youth around the world facing many types of challenges, while opening our hearts and minds so they can touch ours in return. Together we are using art to reach a distant destination: a kinder world in which all youth see themselves in one another regardless of differences in their appearance, culture, religion, or circumstances.” –Ben Shumaker, Founder

This year the Memory Project matched PRP art students with children in displaced by violence in Columbia. Students worked from photographs, along with personal insights provided by the children, such as their favorite color or toy. It was a very quick turnaround to fit them in between our other projects this fall, but they did a beautiful job on their artwork. The best part was to see the heartwarming video of Ben delivering the portraits to the children–students experienced the joy of giving something of themselves to make someone else happy. Students who took part in the project are already asking if we can do more. I’d say, Mission Accomplished!

Weaving with Louisville’s Little Loomhouse

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During October, PRP Visual Art students learned how to spin fibers learned about the history and art of weaving during an in-school workshop taught by Little Loomhouse teaching artists Norma Drisch and Michelle Amos, who is also director of the fiber arts education organization. Students made small weavings on their lap looms and collaborated to create a large weaving with Anti-Bullying messages on a “friendship” loom. Students thoroughly enjoyed the workshops and were fully engaged in the lessons each day.

Little Loomhouse is a local landmark located on Kenwood Hill near Iroquois Park. It’s a local gem and a treasure in Louisville’s south end. Thanks to a grant made possible by Louisville Downtown Partnership, Little Loomhouse and Fund for the Arts, PRP students were the lucky recipients of a two week in-school workshop! The grant provided all the materials, teaching artists, two tabletop looms and lap looms for all the students who participated. Thank you Little Loomhouse!

Mammoth Artworks

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Visual Art students started the 2023-24 school year with a project to create large scale artworks inspired by Mammoth Cave National Park in south central Kentucky. More than a cave, Mammoth Cave National Park is home to thousands of years of human history and a rich diversity of plant and animal life, earning it the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve. Karst topography, rolling hills, deep river valleys, and the world’s longest known cave system, Mammoth Cave captured the attention of students and inspired student artists as they created paintings, fiber art, drawings and mixed media works depicting scenes from their research.

All 2D Visual Art classes participated in the project, and a selection of works are included in an exhibit at the Mammoth Cave National Park Visitor’s Center through January, 2024. Congratulations to all!

Visual Art Ambassadors Share GSA Experiences

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https://youtu.be/mvyAQe8up2k?si=LTZ1aBMITPo1Y_z8

For three weeks every summer, over Kentucky’s most talented and creative high school students are invited to grow and learn together at the Governor’s School for the Arts’ college summer residence program.  Rising juniors and seniors in high school are offered in-depth instruction in one of nine artistic disciplines: architecture + design, creative writing, dance, drama, instrumental music, musical theatre, new media, visual art, and vocal music.  

Three PRP Visual Art students attended this year, and returned to school in August 2023 to share their experiences from their on-campus residencies via GSA. Seniors Ryan Dallum, Jamaal McClain, and Samantha Vega were selected to attend for the intensive Visual Art program at University of Kentucky. This was a really big deal for us–and their selection speaks to the amazing talent our students possess. Three students from one school in Art virtually never happens. Kudos to them!

Ryan, Jay and Sam made lasting friendships with fellow students who shared their passion for art, and enjoyed dedicated studio time with esteemed faculty mentors to help them take their portfolios to the next level.

Highlights of their GSA experience includes:

  • Attending the program for FREE (all students receive full tuition, room and board).
  • Opportunities to learn in a supportive community of distinguished master-teachers.
  • College preparation, career counseling, and the chance to meet college representatives during an exclusive GSA college fair.
  • Arts-related community service opportunities.
  • The excitement of performing/exhibiting at the Student Festival at the conclusion of the program.
  • Serious fun!
  • Students are immersed in a rigorous schedule of daily seminars, master classes, lectures, hands-on workshops and field trips. While each student specializes in one art form, all students participate in structured, interdisciplinary arts experiences designed to familiarize them with the joys and challenges of specialties other than their own.  Upon completion of the summer program, students become part of the ever-growing GSA alumni network, gaining a variety of opportunities such as scholarships and funding through the Toyota Alumni Fund.