Arts and sciences converge at Toronto Jr.-Sr. High School
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TORONTO -- The worlds of science, music and art came together Thursday at Toronto Junior-Senior High School, demonstrating to many vehicles that often they are not as far apart as one might think.
Amanda Speece, who teaches art for grades 7-12, noted in an effort to showcase her students' creativity, she has organized an annual art show there for many years.
Michelle Blazak, who teaches a variety of science courses at the school, also has arranged a yearly display of the many projects undertaken by her students.
Noticing the creativity involved in many of the science projects, the teachers decided to merge the two with an Art and Science Night.
Perhaps the best example of art playing a role in scientific exploration are the life-size body charts produced by Blazak's anatomy students.
She instructed them to trace themselves on sheets of paper about four feet wide and 9 to 10 feet long, then sketch on them one of 12 body systems of their choice, adding details about their functions.
Others created models of human or plant cells using a variety of household projects and craft supplies.
Blazak noted Madison Parello, a senior anatomy student, detailed the treatment of a premature infant by placing a Cabbage Patch Doll in her replica of an incubator, which included an intravenous tube, to provide the baby with nutrients, and a blue bill-light to treat it for jaundice.
Claire Watkins, a sophomore at the school, said she and her classmates each sketched a child whose facial features were determined by a series of coin tosses designed to simulate the role of dominant and recessive genes in the development of various biological traits.
"We had no clue what they were going to look like," Waktins said, noting the exercise governed the color of their child's eye, hair and skin color and even whether their earlobes were attached or detached from their heads.
She and a friend from Jefferson County Vocational School, Joey Porter, said they were Impressed by the variety of portraits, scenes and patterns depicted in sketches and paintings that hung from the ceiling to the floor of a section of the school's main corridor.
Watkins said she might want to take an art course one day.
There also were many ceramic pieces and other sculptures displayed on tables.
The art also was featured in a video produced by students in the school's media department under the direction of instructor Rich Coburn that was played while members of the high school's band performed nearby.
The art and science show coincided with a concert by the band and choir who, led by Mike McCarthy and Sophia Abukamail, performed in the school's new outdoor classroom for those attending the event.
Speece said her students are encouraged to try a variety of media to produce their works, but paints are the most popular.
She said first-year students are encouraged to note the small details that will make a portrait, landscape or still life scene realistic and apply their personal interpretations in later courses.
Among the many artists whose works were presented was Shayne Connor, a senior who said she enjoys creating landscapes and portraits, often recruiting friends to serve as models for the fictional characters depicted in the latter.
"I gravitate to a lot of media," said Connor, adding that includes colored pencils, watercolors and acrylics.
She plans to pursue a career in graphic design.
Honors went to art students for the following categories:
● High school-drawings: Camee Allen, first place; Tanner Ensell, second place; and Gracee Rex, third place.
● High school-paintings: Leah Gibson, first place; Shayne Connor, second place; and Taylor Hill, third place.
● High school-3D art: Shayne Connor, first place; Leah Gibson, second place; Kylie Chevalier, third place; Monique Sloane, fourth place; and Michael Mikula, fifth place.
● High school-honorable mentions: Gracie Ludwig, Lauryn Suttles, Lily Firm, Colby Flowers, Lindsay Crouch, Adrianna Swartz and Megan Fogle.
● Seventh and eighth grade: Kamryn Kuhn, first place; Kamryn Wilson, second place; Danielle Sutherin, third place; Ana Rex, fourth place; and Rocco Ferraro, fifth place.
● Seventh and eighth grade honorable mentions: Maggie Long, Milan Busby, Evelyn Landsford, Madi Littlejohn, Adali Mick and Bella Truax.