Lindsay Wang, sophomore, painted “The School of Athens” on social studies teacher Katie Baumann’s ceiling tile over spring break.
“I’ve been doing art for a long time. All throughout elementary school it was something I really enjoyed,” Wang said. “Especially when I started painting, I found I could really express anything I wanted onto a canvas.”
(Media by Fable Mauss)
Wang said it was fun for her to create something beautiful to contribute to Bauman’s class and she hopes her classmates will appreciate how the tile connects to the rest of their course.
“This means a lot to me to have my art be seen by others, and impact others,” she said. “Obviously it’s cool when people compliment you, but I also just think it’s nice to have people appreciate what I do and the work I put into it.”
Ashley Hobbs, social studies teacher, asked one of her students to paint a ceiling tile for her class as well.
Hobbs was exploring the AP Art Show one year and saw a painting she really liked. She knew one of her students had made paintings similar in the past so she decided to have that student paint something similar for her class.
“Students have just been kind of inspired by their favorite parts of the class, so they take their favorite parts, and make it into a ceiling tile,” Hobbs said.
Hobbs said the painted tiles create a positive environment.
“One of the most important things about my classroom is that I try to foster community, comfort and safety in my classes,” Hobbs said. “So in any way that I can engage students and make the environment that way, I love to do it.”
Lauren Scott, senior, also painted a tile that said “HUZZAH” for Bauman.
Scott was looking to accumulate hours for the National Art Honor Society and offered to paint a tile for Bauman.
“Mrs. Bauman and I built a great student-teacher relationship,” Scott said. “Bauman inspired me to do it because I like her a lot, and I respect her a lot as a teacher. She was very interested in connecting class to real world topics, and I always thought that was extremely helpful.”
Scott said she hopes her tile will brighten student’s days when they see it.
“I hope when they see it, it gives them a little laugh, and that might be the turning point to a positive day,” she said.
