Alta High School - Accipitor Yearbook (Sandy, UT)

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» Digging his hands into the wet and gooey pottery clay. Doug Anderson molds and shapes a new art form. Pottery students get to slop about in the muck and still create a beautiful yet practical piece of art in one of the funnest art classes around. Soft lines and shapes begin to fill Laurie Cain's can vas as she adds another tree, or shrub in her oil painting of a frozen pond. The hidden beauty which lies in all artists is given a chance to be expressed with colors and styles that please the eye. Discussion of drawings between consenting artists is always a big help as both Hosel Jensen and Dale Profitt know. Personal critiques from peers often mean so much more than from a teacher and help bring about some beautiful paintings. Dramatic Artists As one walks into the drama and art rooms, it becomes obvious that these classes are not your average, everyday per- iods. These electives give students a break from the solid classes as they have no set pattern for learning. There are no comput- ers, no pop quizzes, no impersonal homework—it all comes from the heart and imagination. If it can be said that cul- ture is alive and well here in school, then it lives on in Art and Drama. My mother always said I was very au- tistic, revealed A.P. artist Kirsten Easth- ope. Art classes developed and unleashed the wild, hidden personalities that are natu- rally associated with students in that field. The environment provides an excellent stimuli for their creative minds. Designing record covers, stage sets, and mobiles are only a few of the many tasks given. Drama is a class that gets progressively harder. To receive an A , students not only do the acting, but must watch plays being performed so they may perfect their abilities. Strutting across stage to classic Shakespeare, and laughing to a brilliant Neil Simon play provide the enchantment that draws over a hundred mild mannered students to the wild and crazy drama classes. What defines an artist? Who is really an actor? It seems that anyone who enjoys the excitement of really creating—drawing a simple charcoal sketch or a humourous pantomine. Anyone who wants to express themselves—whether in an elaborate oil painting or in a passionate scene belongs with others that feel the same way. To make the audience understand why some- thing happened or to get the feeling or mood of the painting is what the art and drama student must accomplish. 118 • Art Drama

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Media-Behind The Scenes Over in the corner table, Clever Clyde tries to eat his cheese puffs without the aids or Miss McNamara noticing. Jane writes comments on her table about Ruby who stole her boyfriend. A gang of boys hide behind the bookshelves, hiding candy bar wrappers and Hi-C cans. These soap opera events were just minor duties of the staff personnel and media coordinator. To keep a media center running smoothingly required maintenance, planning, and assi- tance to the increased numbers of students searching through the center for research information and reading materials. The media center, of course, had its large selection of hardback and paperback books, but the facility also contained valu- able supplementary materials which re- quired the time and dedication of the me- dia staff to keep organized and accessible. Posters, pamphlets, filmstrips, slides, re- corders, records, video tapes, and daily newspapers were available to teachers and students everyday. These of course re- quired the daily tasks of filing, shelving, stamping, xeroxing, checking out, and con- stant cleanup. And in the work areas of the media cen- ter, Jay Burkinshaw, audio visual coordina tor supervised behind-the-scenes services to the school. Just as he begins to prepare to run a two-color cover plus a four page insert for the school play program, a teach- er frantically runs in and hystericalizes, the bulb went out in my projector. Print- ing programs for school events, forms for the office, large runs for departments and mailings to go to homes in the community, kept Jay, his aid, and student aides busy. But in addition to the printing and audio- visual equipment, there were photographic services and video broadcastings that were continuous. Miss Kay McNamara and Jay Burkin- shaw ordered materials, set up. and have guided that media center since the opening of Alta High School. Each day the center is open and ready for business before any student even comes through the front doors. One of the special duties of the Media Center is taken care of by Kay McNamara at her sink in the center's workroom. Besides printing up programs, taking pho tos. organizing movies and video tapes, the media center handles the hectic happenings in the library Media Center »117

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Going over a scene from the musical Guys and Dolls. John Durrant. Robin Bishop and Susan Gilliat discuss the proper acting techniques from facial expressions, to tonal qualities as they practice the popular musi cal. A sketch or a water color is always easier to do when on professional drawing tables, which are at the disposal of Susan Maraida and any other Art student who has the assignment or urge to let his or her artistic leanings flow. Practicing a scene from Neil Simon's play God's Favorite. Mitch Hall and Steve Ivie work on the memorization of the lines. Drama students do many scenes so they may have a greater repetoire. Art Drama • 119