Perry Meridian High School - Passages Yearbook (Indianapolis, IN)

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Perry Develops Artistic Talents Art was a way to express creatively oneself by experiencing the many areas that the art department offered. The art ciarriculum was designed to meet the needs of anyone who plaimed to pursue this as a career or who was interested in art. It pro ' ided beneficial experiences to those students who wished to use art as a supplement in other areas, as well as students who looked upon art as a source of embellishment in their education. Time and effort were demanded of the student in order that the constructions be accurate and effective. Some students entered their art projects at various exhibits for judg- ing. Scholastic Art Exhibit, PTA Reflections competition, the Perry Township Annual Art Show, and the 500 Festival for the Arts were some of these exhibits. Mr. Barry Hearin, drawing, basic art, and visual design teacher, taught five 500 winners: Suzanne Boyle ' 83, Kelly Norrod ' 84, JoUe Joseph ' 84, and Esther Thoele ' 85, who received first places, and Laurel Ropke ' 85, who received a third place award. Suzanne did a painted mural on journalism. It had images of Perry ' s newspaper, FOCUS, and yearbook, PASSAGES, a camera, plan sheet, and other associations. Kelly ' s contribution to the exhibit was a painted mural about the Fourth of July, titled In- dependence Day. She said that it was supposed to have something to 134 ART

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Academies 1 As the world looked into higher technical ideas, Perry Meridian also looked. Gradua- tion requirements were in- creased in order to help the students learn more about con- cepts that need to be tmderstood in this fast chang- ing world. The wizardry of computer operations was unveiled to students in the classroom as computer programing became more poptdar. Seemingly im- possible tasks of writing pro- grams were made simpler by progressive steps, classroom instruction, and individual ex- perie nce.. Another new idea on the scholastic side of things was advanced placement tests. It was allowed to take these tests for a certain fee for various courses to be placed further in college and saving time and money. With the added room for athletics, there was a larger area for weight-lifting and thus room for a weight-lifting train- ing class. In this coxirse of Ad- vanced Physical Education, students learned about their bodies, gave oral reports to the class, and had the opportunity for actual weight-lifting. ACADEMICS 13;

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do with stunmer, spring, school, or a hohday. Jolie submitted her creation of a colored-chalk figtire drawing. She made her rough draft and then did her final in chalk. She tried to pick colors that resembled the picture. Esther ' s entry was a chalked abstract drawing of a seashell. Laurel created a crayon abstract drawing of two copper, silver, and gold colored flowers with a black backgroimd. Some drawing class projects were optical illusions, murals, papier- maches, and game boards. In jewelry, Mr. Frank Walraven, jewelry, sculpture, and ceramics teacher, commented, We made pretty, custom-designed, individual, creative, one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry. Commercial art students learned how to letter and about packaging to catch the customers ' eyes. The art department always helped out in musiceds and plays by designing, building, painting, and decorating the sets. The art gallery, where the students ' artworks were displayed, was like a school year-long art exhibit for the entire school population. They ex- hibited murals, sculptures, paintings, rugs, and other works of art. Walking through the gallery made people feel as if they were in a magical world. There were seasonal items, special event recognitions, ceramics, and enamels in the entrance to the art department. Julie Taylor ' 85, a future art major, stated, It was easier to express my thoughts on paper than to say them in words. She was able to work with all colors of the prism, express her own ideas, and design her own projects in- stead of having to be forced to do a certain assignment. Some interesting courses were ; basic art, ceramics, crafts, design- textiles, and drawing. This showed that there were a wide variety of popular courses included in the art curriculum. Basic art was a popular coiu-se because it was a beginning art course. Many students took it to ex- pose themselves to art. It was a general introduction for students who wanted to find out what art was about. It contained a little of every other art course. Ceramics, which was probably the most-liked course in the art department, worked with clay structures. Mr. Walraven said. In cutting out a shape for a jewelry project, David Hastings ' 85 shows interest in his work. It was fun and messy. Textiles was designed for the student to learn about rug-making, the technical skills of macrame, fabric dying, weaving and hooked rugs. Drawing was in- teresting to some art students because it worked with proportions, balance, mediimis, figiure drawings, portraits, stiU-lifes, animals, homes and landscapes. The art depa rtment wanted to see a gifted program in art. Mr. Malasics, print making, advanced art (water- color), basic art, and commercial art teacher, said, This would have been for students who will have taken art as a profession. Also wanted were cabinets, shelves, window shades to block out the sxm and have less shadows, and individual art desks. Mr. Hearin said, This would have cut down on wasted time because everything the student would have needed would have been right inside his desk. The enrollment of art courses were averaged about the same; few went up, many went down, and some stayed the same. Mrs. Coimie Win- niger, basic art and crafts designs- textiles teacher, explained, The students had become more academi- cally-orientated during the past few years. ART 135