Dozens of visitors flood the exhibit room; astonished remarks of admiration and praise bounce around the otherwise dull gray building. The overhead lights beam down on a plethora of colorful artwork. At a first glance, it may seem like any other art display showcase—but with each piece, a new story is patiently awaiting to be told. Within those four walls is a giant blank canvas, holding dozens of displays presenting creativity and individuality, a vivid look inside the minds of CFISD’s brilliant art educators.
The 2024 CFISD Art Teacher Exhibit proved to be a huge success, featuring a collection of works lovingly contributed by over sixty visual art educators within the district.
CFISD’s Visual and Performing Arts Center (VPAC) hosted the event from October 24-29, inviting co-workers, students, friends and family to come and admire the hard work and dedication of the district’s resident artists.
“We’ve got such a great venue with the VPAC, and last year I got to show my student’s work there, which was fantastic.” said Erica Chaikin, Creek’s Digital Media and Art History educator. “But being able to show my own art was really special, and it was amazing getting to see all of the other pieces as well.”
Cy Creek has three art teachers who contributed to the showcase. For Chakin, the event was an opportunity to branch out and try new things, and she created two stunning watercolor floral pieces titled Hidden Life and Hidden Remembrance.
“Hidden Remembrance was based on some photos I’d taken in California this past summer, and I found a piece of large watercolor paper and wanted to experiment on a bigger scale,” Chaikin said. “The inspiration for its companion piece, Hidden Life, came from Creek’s theater performance of The Secret Garden.”
The displays ranged from large-scale dynamic paintings to small abstract sculptures, all bursting with life and expression. Each piece tackled a different subject, such as childhood nostalgia and positivity, while others dealt with heavier topics such as death, loss, and isolation.
“Nobody usually gets to see my work, so it was really fun and a great experience,” Chaikin said. “Art’s always been an escape for me; it’s a way to make sense of things and calm my brain down. I like the mix of working in digital and working in watercolor, and just being able to try new things.”
The presentation illustrated how art teachers can express their own voices, both inside the classroom and within the larger art community. Tian Ding, Creek’s photography teacher, made her talents known through her two show-stopping oil and acrylic paintings: Butterfly and Blossom in Winter.
“Blossom in Winter is a picture of plum blossoms, which are known for symbolizing strength and optimism,” Ding said. “They are able to grow despite being in a harsh winter environment, and in traditional Chinese societies, this can be referred to as good qualities to look for in a person.”
When she’s not busy snapping pictures with students in her photography classes, Ding enjoys working with different painting mediums and often takes inspiration from traditional Chinese legends and folklore.
“I was inspired by a Chinese fairy tale called The Butterfly Lovers. It’s about two young people who fall in love, but their parents forbid them from being together. The girl had been appointed to marry someone else, but the lovers decided to be with each other anyway. The story ends with them both turning into butterflies so that they could be together forever.”
Along with preparing the numerous works of art for guests to look at, the VPAC also made sure to provide essential information about each one, such as the specific school it originated from. In addition, QR codes were posted at each piece, allowing viewers to share their appreciation for an individual artist via email.
“I feel honored to have had people see my art. I received emails from viewers saying that they appreciated my work, which made me feel very happy,” Ding said. “Art is like a getaway from normal life because you put yourself in your own world, a small and peaceful universe where you’re only concentrated on one thing and forget about everything else.”
The final contribution from Creek was none other than its very own sculpture teacher, Charlee Rogers, who presented a ceramic piece titled Night Spook—a gorgeously intricate piece of pottery with hand-carved details.
“The work that I had created was something I was doing with my students to show them a specific technique, but it was really impressive to see how many teachers in the district are out there making their own personal work in their free time. It made me proud to be a part of the organization of art teachers we have in [CFISD.]”
No matter what teachers decided to enter into the VPAC, their work skillfully captured both their personal and professional journeys. Night Spook was a chance for Rogers to express herself through one of her favorite pastimes, in a way that still helped her students learn something new.
“My class was learning about a technique called sgraffito, which is where you apply a black slip to the unfired surface of clay. Then, you come in and scratch the black slip away, leaving white marks wherever you’ve scratched,” Rogers said. “It’s one of the techniques I’ve used since I was in college, and I like how you can basically draw on the surface of the clay while still keeping its high-contrast textural marks.”
Utilizing this unique procedure, Rogers was able to share her own personal perspective and experience in the expo—a side that doesn’t always get to be shown in the classroom.
“The idea behind the design revolves around a cross between Halloween and Yule, which is kind of like an older version of Christmas. In Yule, here’s this creature called Krampus, and he comes out of the forest to take naughty children and put them in a sack – which is pretty creepy, by the way,” Rogers said. “So, it was kind of a hybrid between a forest theme and a Krampus-like creature.”
Rogers has found comfort in art and sculpture ever since she can remember, and the VPAC showcase was the perfect opportunity to share her passion with the rest of the district.
“I’m really passionate about the artwork as a creative outlet and as a therapeutic place where you can be free to make things. I hope that I instill that same sort of desire in my students as well,” Rogers said. “I’ve been an art student since my high school days – I was always the kid in the ceramics room walking around with overalls covered in clay. Art’s been a part of my life for the past 28 years, and I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
The exhibit was a wonderful experience all around, with numerous teachers from the district bringing diverse, expressive and wildly imaginative parts of their lives through visual storytelling.
