Visual Arts

Spotlight on Art

In April 2009, McGehee students had the unique opportunity to have their works of art chosen for exhibit at The Ogden Museum of Southern Art . The Ogden exhibition tells the story of the breadth and depth of McGehee Art Department.

Drawing an enthusiastic crowd of about 450, the exhibit began with some exquisite drawings of Japanese plums rendered in oil pastels by Pre-Kindergarten students.  The exhibit continued with pieces from each grade, PK-12. Colorful sketches of New Orleans cottages on one wall juxtaposed the vision of Kindergarteners against the skill of 5th graders whose architectural renderings were displayed at the other end of the exhibit. And in between were the deeply textured, intensely colored oil paintings of classic New Orleans architecture by a 2009 graduate who entered Tulane University's School of Architecture this fall as a Mayoral Scholar.

To the left of these works were the realistic portraits of another '09 graduate who attends the Memphis School of Art, and the abstract prints made by a third 2009 graduate who is now enrolled at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. And yet another graduate of the class of 2009 spent her senior year creating a portfolio of inventive interpretations of the human form in watercolor, charcoal and pencil drawings. While her work was not displayed at the Ogden it gained her admission to Parson's School of Design.

Jeanie Osborne, Department Chair; Rachel Jones; Sidonie Villere; Jennifer Shaw; and Alison Wells. Each artist teaches in her area of expertise, such as ceramics and photography; each is a professional artist whose works are shown around the country and some even the world; several have websites; and all display a high degree of talent and professionalism.

At McGehee, art is a passionate pursuit for all ages. Pre-Kindergarten girls jump right into the art of the self-portraiture after viewing the work of Frieda Kahlo and Kindergarten students can tell you about Picasso's Blue Period. By the time students enter the 5th grade, they have explored Asian, African and American art, as well as Native American, Early American, Acadian, and Mexican arts and crafts.

In Middle School students begin keeping their own personal sketchbooks to develop their skills in drawing and conceptual thinking. It is in Middle School that the girls are also introduced to the workshop setting and learn to explore their own artistic ideas through a wide variety of mediums, including sculpture, collage, printmaking, and mosaic, to name but a few. The artistic process of identifying areas of personal interest, proposing a project and executing it comes full circle with thoughtful self-evaluation.

In Upper School students explore 2-dimensional art in 9th grade, honing their skills in black and white studies on paper. By the second semester freshmen art students focus on color, learning to mix colors to achieve their desired effect, evolving to full color paintings and collages. Sophomore art students explore the use of various materials used for making 3-dimensional art. Emphasis is placed on learning the basic skills needed to work with clay, wire, paper, fabrics, and found materials. They further explore the principles of design and how they pertain to 3-D works of art. In Grade 11 students experience the freedom to do in-depth explorations in a wide variety of media, working with pastels, focusing on color and composition, and using personal objects for their subject matter. From there they move on to painting, printmaking, making, and sculpture.

As seniors, each student's work springs from individual proposals with the objective of producing a body of work for the senior exhibition, and in some cases, a portfolio to present for admission to art school. Seniors also have the option of taking photography or ceramics.