Art students observe and take landscape photographs at the Hall Art Foundation

Students with Back of a Snowman, 2001 by Gary Hume

On December 1, art students took a field trip to the Hall Art Foundation in Reading, Vermont to see exhibits of Joel Sternfeld's photography and Gladys Nilsson's paintings. This trip was inspired by a lesson on the Hudson River School that Ms. Piccoli taught to Ms. Jimerson's painting classes, which led us to the exhibit of American photographer Joel Sternfeld's photos from his American Prospects and Highline series.

Sternfeld was influenced by Hudson River School painters like Thomas Cole. As Molly Fielder ‘29 pointed out, his photograph The Abandoned Uranium Refinery, 1982 on Navajo lands is very similar to Cole's painting The Oxbow, 1836 in how he captures dark storm clouds moving in on one side and the sun breaking through on the other, creating a contrast between dark and light in the sky. Adelle Danilchick ‘27 described the paintings of the Hudson River School and this photograph by Sternfeld as "sublime."

Addison Blanchard ‘28 is doing an independent study in art and she works as a gallery attendant at the Hall Art Foundation on the weekends. After Ms. Piccoli engaged the students in a Visual Thinking Strategies exercise with Sternfeld’s photo titled McLean Virginia, 1978, Addison did the debrief with the students explaining the “artist is like an author” and the photographer “frames the image you are seeing.”

While students were going through the exhibits, the AP Photography class was also working on a photography assignment. Max van der Schoot ‘26 stated about her landscape photograph taken on the grounds of the Hall Art Foundation that, “These footsteps show that winter (the season) makes the natural world change. I remember that Sternfeld wanted to show the seasons and that he felt he was sometimes “chasing” them. I wanted to capture the season, winter, in one of mine and show how the footsteps are chasing after it.”

Thank you very much to the Hall Art Foundation for making this trip possible through their free educational programming and their generous bus transportation reimbursement program.

Molly Fielder ‘29 holds Thomas Cole's The Oxbow (1836) in front of Joel Sternfeld's photograph Abandoned Uranium Refinery, 1982

Addison Blanchard ‘28 doing the debrief of McLean, Virginia, December 1978 by Joel Sternfeld.

Following in Someone’s Footsteps, December 2025 by Max van der Schoot ‘26

Art students visit the Clark Art Institute

On Thursday, November 20, the Art Department took a field trip to The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA.

Students in AP Art History, AP Photography, AP Art and Advanced Art took a tour that explored the theme of Disruption and Emergence in works from the permanent collection. While in the galleries students took a close look at four different works of art, wrote poems and letters in response to those pieces and then made collages in the art studio inspired by the paintings and the themes.

About the trip, Ruth Stallard, a tenth grade student in Dr. Gravel’s AP Art History class said, “I loved going to The Clark Art Institute. Their collection was beautiful and fascinating, and the whole class was very focused and asked thoughtful questions about the art. This was one of my favorite field trips I’ve ever been on and I loved going with my class. It was a wonderful experience.”

Addison Blanchard, also in tenth grade studying Art History, commented about a specific painting. She stated, “I really liked the Women of Amphissa by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. I had seen the piece before online and had no idea it was at The Clark. I love how the artist painted the clothing and the hair of the women, and how the light was captured. It’s a big piece and there is a lot to look at and discover.”

Art students with their collages

Addison Blanchard, Nyna Lewallen and Jay Allen in the galleries

Matilda and Priscilla Richardson in the studio with their collages.

After lunch, students had time to explore The Clark’s collection. Nyna Lewallen, a tenth grade Art History student, described the work that caught her eye when she stated, “I was most drawn to Little Dancer of Thirteen Years, by Edgar Degas. As a dancer I’ve heard so much about Degas in general, but specifically about this sculpture. The girl sculpted has a feeling of calmness and relaxation, which is a stark contrast to how intense ballet can be, and it was great to see one of the renditions of this sculpture close up.”

Marlena Farinas, a senior in Ms. Jimerson’s AP Drawing class, summed up her experience by writing, “My reaction to the Clark Art Institute’s collection was wonder. It was so beautiful and had so many different and unique pieces of art. I loved so many of the different kinds of painting and textures that were in many of the artworks.” That sentiment was echoed by Zara Paczkowski, an 11 th grade student in Ms. Piana’s Advanced Studio Art, who wrote, “I felt my experience with walking through the galleries was relaxing and provided me with the opportunity to look at a variety of historical pieces. Throughout this experience, my favorite part was looking at the statues, as I loved seeing the detail and effort they put into making such realistic art works.”

Thank you so much to The Clark Art Institute for their excellent educational programming, the bus reimbursement program and to everyone who helped make this trip possible.

Joshua Byrne with his poem "Summer Squall."

Students in the European Paintings Gallery.

Maya Sluka observing Renoir's The Bay of Naples

MVSU Fine Arts Night

The MVSU first annual Fine Arts Night was a resounding success! The halls were filled with the sights and sounds celebrating the achievements of the actors, artists, and musicians from all of our schools. 

The art galleries were bursting with enthusiasts and the performers had a packed house with standing room only! Thank you all for supporting the MVSU Fine Arts programs!

Bob Ross Holiday Painting Extravaganza: AP Art

Students in AP Art celebrated the holiday season with a Bob Ross Painting challenge. They chose a Bob Ross video and then spent the next 30 minutes completing a painting. It is not easy completing an entire painting in such a short amount of time. And even though Bob Ross was very supportive and calm, for the students this was at times a very intense and challenging process. 

Everyone embraced their happy accidents and had a wonderful time. 

Digital, Visual and Performing Arts News

Ian Coates, Alaythia Lockhart, and Graham Fox hone in their wheel skills during Pottery class. The wheel requires patience and practice, and a balance of experimentation and technique.