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Sam Gillespie, a junior at Fernley High School, displays the sculpture she made from recycled newspapers in Deanna Peters' Advanced Placement art class. Photo by Mary Jean Kelso
By MARY JEAN KELSO
Fernley Today Correspondent
A new way to recycle newspapers was discovered at an art workshop in Las Vegas by Fernley High School art and journalism teacher Deanna Peters.
Fernley Today Correspondent
A new way to recycle newspapers was discovered at an art workshop in Las Vegas by Fernley High School art and journalism teacher Deanna Peters.
The journalism class and art class have taken newspaper from one extreme to another.
Peters teaches both classes. She instructs the Journalism class on putting the newspaper together and, then, the art class on recycling the printed newspapers into the striking sculptures.
The art class, an Advanced Placement class where pupils receive college and high school credits, worked on the project to include in their portfolios.
Students rolled newspaper sheets into long, narrow, reed-looking tubes.
Peters teaches both classes. She instructs the Journalism class on putting the newspaper together and, then, the art class on recycling the printed newspapers into the striking sculptures.
The art class, an Advanced Placement class where pupils receive college and high school credits, worked on the project to include in their portfolios.
Students rolled newspaper sheets into long, narrow, reed-looking tubes.
"I was told by the instructor in Las Vegas that I'd be surprised how quiet they would be. We spent three or four days rolling papers," Peters said.
While the students concentrated on that aspect of the assignment, the classroom was nearly silent.
They then taped and glued the tubes into the shapes needed to build their visions. There were no limits on how they could complete the project. Some artists finished the sculptures with a paper maché coating. All designs were painted before adding the finishing touches of glass beads and other assorted recycled materials.
Imaginations ran rampant. The students created everything from a pirate ship by Garrett Armstrong, to a ballerina by Kearsten Williams, to a Ferris wheel by Rochelle Christian, to a dragon by Shane Murray and a large box of "Super-Sized" McDonald's French fries by Sam Gillespie.
While the students concentrated on that aspect of the assignment, the classroom was nearly silent.
They then taped and glued the tubes into the shapes needed to build their visions. There were no limits on how they could complete the project. Some artists finished the sculptures with a paper maché coating. All designs were painted before adding the finishing touches of glass beads and other assorted recycled materials.
Imaginations ran rampant. The students created everything from a pirate ship by Garrett Armstrong, to a ballerina by Kearsten Williams, to a Ferris wheel by Rochelle Christian, to a dragon by Shane Murray and a large box of "Super-Sized" McDonald's French fries by Sam Gillespie.
"It seemed like the students had fun doing the projects," Peters said.
Gillespie gave credit to her mother for the idea of the McDonald's fries.
Fernley High School librarian Mike Briggs has been hosting the sculpture display aloft in the library's open ceiling and doesn't want to see the pieces leave.
According to his comments in the Vaquero Voice, the high school newspaper produced by the journalism classes, he said, "I like them but more importantly, everyone that comes in has a positive comment ... I have decided they can't have them back."
The attention-grabbing sculptures are coming down as students move on to other art assignments.
Gillespie gave credit to her mother for the idea of the McDonald's fries.
Fernley High School librarian Mike Briggs has been hosting the sculpture display aloft in the library's open ceiling and doesn't want to see the pieces leave.
According to his comments in the Vaquero Voice, the high school newspaper produced by the journalism classes, he said, "I like them but more importantly, everyone that comes in has a positive comment ... I have decided they can't have them back."
The attention-grabbing sculptures are coming down as students move on to other art assignments.
