Let there be art Venture gets creative with new offering

COEUR d’ALENE — The absence of an art program at Venture High School hasn’t gone unnoticed by students or faculty.

"It’s really weird not taking anything with art," said senior Rachel Hughes.

Hughes transferred to Venture from Coeur d'Alene High School at the start of her junior year. She said she has felt a gap in her academic life without a class dedicated to giving students a creative outlet. Art programs are especially important for creative people, Hughes said, and many of Venture's students, like Hughes, are artists in one way or another.

"They think differently than most people. They bond well together, and forming those relationships is important,” Hughes explained. "Through (previous) art classes I was able to meet a lot of like-minded people that normally I wouldn’t have branched out to because of different social groups."

Hughes and her senior project mentor, acrylic and oil landscape painter Chelsea Cordova of Coeur d'Alene, are going to fill that void at Venture.

They're launching a new arts hour based on the Open Studio Project's intuitive creative process in which Cordova is certified. It will take place during the extended learning period, when students can catch up on work or do fun activities when they're caught up. It won't be a traditional accredited class, but rather an option for students to explore a meaningful way of creating art.

The process incorporates several steps: decide and write down an intention for the art that’s about to be created, create the art freely using a variety of media, participate in witness writing to share the message of the artwork, and come together as a group to show what has been created.

"You freewrite and you just let a bunch of stuff get out and you just keep going, like, what this prompt means to you, what you want to gain from this art experience," said Hughes, who is studying art therapy for her senior project. "You work with your intuition and let that guide you. You’re not using logic … You just keep going based on what is popping up in your head."

The students will have the option to share all or part of what they wrote at the beginning of the hour, or they'll have the choice to just listen. This will be done without judgment or critique, giving everybody a chance to appreciate and empathize with their peers.

"The most insightful period is in the reflection period. You can gain a lot from that. You go over any thoughts or feelings that came up during the art, with the intention in mind and following your intuition," Hughes said. “I’ve actually learned a lot about myself that I didn’t know from beforehand.

"A lot of different stuff will come up," she said.

Cordova traveled to the Open Studio Project, an arts nonprofit in Illinois, several times to train in this process. She said it's a simple method, "but it resonates on so many different levels."

"It seems like play, but it's self-empowering framework for increasing confidence, creative capacity and wellbeing for your sense of self," she said. "My intention was to bring this back to Coeur d'Alene and use it. … We need creative capacities not just for the arts, but for all sectors."

Venture does not have a dedicated art room, so family and consumer science teacher Whitney Hamill will facilitate this once-a-week arts opportunity in her classroom. It will be open to all students of all abilities.

"We thought this would be huge for our students,” she said. "Art is another form of giving them additional skills on top of skills they get in class already."

Cordova will be sharing her knowledge of this intuitive art process with a few other Venture adults and students who can serve as mentors as the program continues.

Principal Teresa Kaiser said the school hasn’t had an art class in at least the three years she has worked there. She said the new program will initially cost about $350 for the training session. Beyond that, the school's building budget may help fund the program, but at least one teacher has already offered to pay for it herself if needed.

"It's exciting because that grew into something bigger than we thought it would," Kaiser said. "Art is another way of communicating, and it's a way that often gets overlooked for students. Sometimes, in our efforts to see students graduate to bring up test scores, we ignore those things that really speak to their hearts."

Once the program gets going, Hughes will serve as the first student mentor to help teach others how to facilitate the program so it can thrive at Venture. She thought she would graduate without leaving a mark on her school, but "this is my legacy," she said.

Cordova said the program is seeking sponsors and funding.

Info: 208-659-5953