Students reach emotions through art
Published Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Students from Fergus Falls High School and Area Learning Center are learning how to make sense of their emotions. Students are working with artist, Monte Yellow Bird this week at the Minnesota State Community and Technical College.
“It’s a new experience for me. It’s deeper than the piece of paper,” said Fergus Falls student, Mya Lillemon.
Yellow Bird, a native of North Dakota, is an established Native American artist. He’s most commonly known in the art world as Black Pinto Horse— a spiritual name which he uses when signing his painting, multimedia and sculpture designs.
He uses his education background to travel the country, teaching students to express their feelings through the paint brush.
“I assist students to communicate visually and make that connection from art to communication,” Yellow Bird said.
The three-day residency is allowing students to do that through the creation of a personal warrior shield. The shield, which is circular in shape, is designed to portray the significant characteristics of the artist.
Christy Emerson, a student at the Area Learning Center, created a shield that reflected bravery and leadership. She said the opportunity to paint freely was a breath of fresh air. “I don’t usually get to just paint. Here, there are no real instructions—you just get to paint.”
Cindy Skalsky is the diversity coordinator for Fergus Falls Public Schools. She organized the event to give students an opportunity to expand their cultural understanding and awareness.
“The whole idea is to learn about culture,” she said. “He really does good work with the kids.”
Yellow Bird’s goal is to create a space for youth where they feel comfortable reflecting themselves through art. He’s found that young peoples’ connection with music is instrumental in setting that mood.
“A lot of youth are using music to express themselves. We use that to invoke feeling or emotion. We allow that to be a force,” he said.
Students’ artwork will be displayed at the MSCTC Waage Gallery on Wednesday from 1:45 to 3:00. The gallery showing will be open to the public.
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