Godwin Heights — A buzz of anticipation filled Megan Serin’s morning drawing class at Godwin Heights High School as they prepared to open envelopes containing artwork from high-schoolers in Louisiana.
The lesson was part of an art swap Serin arranged to give students an opportunity to explore and connect with peers through their art.
“The goal of this project was to build connections and learn about creating artwork, and learning to let it go, similar to artists selling their and/or creating commissioned pieces for people,” Serin said.
Looking for a school outside West Michigan, Serin said she reached out to members of an art educators group to see if anyone wanted to partner on the project. She received a response from an art teacher at Captain Shreve High School, a public high school in Shreveport, a city in the northwest corner of Louisiana.
The assignment asked students to visualize music through art. Students could choose any song and create a 5-by-7-inch piece of art inspired by that song, Serin said. On the back of the card, each student wrote which song they chose and why.
Once completed, each piece was sealed in an envelope, which students could also decorate. The teachers then exchanged the artwork through the mail.
“We have similar goals and thoughts about this project, which helped because this was both our first time doing something like this,” Serin said about her teacher-partner in Shreveport. “After receiving the artworks that we sent them, she shared with me that her students were so excited and loved all of the pieces.”
The Big Reveal
On the day of the reveal at GHHS, students came to the front of the classroom to select an envelope containing artwork from a Captain Shreve student, choosing the one that caught their interest.
“I liked the way she wrote her name,” said senior Janiya Bryant as she selected an envelope with “Macy H.” written in red ink.
Inside, Macy’s artwork depicted a heart in water; Janiya learned it was inspired by the song, “The Red Means I Love You” by Madds Buckley, an artist with whom Janiya was not familiar.
Sophomore Anthony Gregorio-Santizo found that his paired artist, who is deaf, had a unique interpretation of the assignment. That Louisiana student drew how she feels music through vibrations and how she imagines sound looks.
“I thought it was pretty cool,” Anthony said as he looked over the piece. “I have not really thought about what a person who can’t hear does to listen to music. It’s through the energy and force that creates the vibrations.”
Senior Angela Palumbo’s attention was drawn to an envelope decorated with a speaker. Inside, she found a drawing of a girl dancing in front of a giant speaker and a reference to a Justin Bieber song used in the video game, “Just Dance.”
On the back of the card, the Louisiana artist had written, “I chose this song because it reminded me of childhood and playing ‘Just Dance.’”
Angela said this was something she could relate to, because she also played the game growing up. She immediately showed it to Serin, excitedly talking about playing “Just Dance.”
The teacher said it was exactly the type of connection she was hoping for with this assignment.
Reflections and Observations
After opening their envelopes, students placed the artwork on their desks and walked around the room to view their classmates’ pieces while completing a questionnaire and reflecting on what they observed.
“It’s really interesting to see the different types of art and all the experiences and personality in the artwork,” said senior Steven Gonzalez-Capellan. “I really like connecting with people. Through this, we got to see how others express their emotions and how different people create.”
Junior Christian Quintino-Gutierrez said one element he felt was missing was a playlist, which could have helped the class better appreciate the work of the Louisiana students.
“It really helped me, when creating my piece, to be listening to the music,” said Christian, whose art was inspired by the Mexican group Traviezoz de la Zierra’s song, “Mi Pasado Y Mi Presente.”
“I think it would have been cool to have been listening to the music they created their artwork to and compare it to what we see they had done.”
Serin said she was pleased with how the project went and her students’ response. She plans to build on the project and include more of her classes next year.
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