Fine Arts Archives • St. Luke's School

St. Luke’s Wins 1st Place at Airport Christmas Tree Competition

Joseph Tiemann-Mena — Sun, 19 Jan 2025 04:35:27 +0000

St. Luke's Wins at MOB.

S
t. Luke’s Episcopal School has achieved a remarkable victory this past holiday season, winning first place at the annual Mobile Regional Airport's Christmas tree competition. This achievement is a testament to the artistic talent of SLES students and the dedication of Mrs. Cummings’ art classes, whose creativity and hard work made this win possible.

The competition at the airport invites schools and organizations to design and decorate a Christmas tree based on a unique theme. The trees are then judged according to a rubric that rewards creativity, participation, and craftsmanship. Additionally, there is an online voting component where the public can support their favorite designs. With around ten organizations/schools competing, securing first place is no easy feat, making SLES’s victory all the more impressive.

This year, SLES’s art students designed a tree celebrating cultures from around the world. Each Art I, 7th, and 8th-grade student selected a country and crafted four ornaments representing it. Pottery students contributed by sculpting famous landmarks from their chosen nations, including the Great Wall of China, the Eiffel Tower, Easter Island statues, and Brazil’s Escadaria Selarón. Additionally, Art I students created miniature passports, while the 7th and 8th graders crafted paper figures representing people from different cultures.

Advanced Art students played a crucial role in bringing the theme to life. They designed a garland featuring letters to Santa from around the world, enlarged international stamps, and a tree skirt styled like a compass rose. The tree topper was a striking feature: a globe-shaped collage with a moving airplane towing a banner that read, “What a Wonderful World.”

Mrs. Cummings, the dedicated art teacher behind this winning project, expressed her pride in the students' work. “I think the students are great this year; they’re extremely creative,” she said, emphasizing the thought and planning involved in each aspect of the tree’s design. She also highlighted the significance of art education, explaining, “It’s a bridge that brings all the separate components together. It unifies every subject in one place, like math, literature, history, and science.”

Several students shared their thoughts on the art program and their experiences in class. Brayden Darby, a pottery student, described glazing as his favorite part of the process, saying, “It allows me to have a peaceful painting time which decompresses my stress.” Chris Washington appreciated the welcoming environment of the art room, where, as he put it, “I can be myself and socialize.” Jeremy Menhennett emphasized the personal value of art, stating, “Art is a way to express your true self.” The success of SLES in the Christmas tree competition highlights the school’s commitment to the arts and the incredible talent of its students.

The effort required to craft each ornament, landmark, and decoration demonstrates a level of skill and dedication that goes beyond a simple holiday project. The students involved in this endeavor learned valuable lessons in creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving—skills that will benefit them far beyond the classroom.

Art programs are vital to a well-rounded education, offering students an outlet for self-expression and critical thinking. At SLES, the art department provides students with opportunities to take on ambitious projects like the Christmas tree competition, encouraging them to push their creative boundaries.

This year’s victory at Mobile Regional Airport is not just a win for the school but a celebration of the power of art to bring people together and inspire joy. SLES’s first-place finish serves as a reminder of the importance of fostering creativity in education. With talented students and dedicated teachers, the school’s art program will undoubtedly continue to thrive, producing incredible works of art for years to come.

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Spotlight on the Arts

Kelly Choi — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 20:52:27 +0000

Mrs. Cummings Transforms the Arts .

Mrs. Cummings, University Campus art teacher, incorporates her passions for art in her teaching. Her mother influenced her to become an art teacher from a young age. Mrs. Cummings states “I have always enjoyed being visually creative. My mom had to talk my art instructors into letting me take their art classes when I was a kid.”

She has done even more than just art during her teaching career. She has influenced student’s lives through the teachings of young adult literature, theater, civics, and American history. Throughout her life, Mrs. Cummings has established that art is one of the sanctuaries for the youth in school. She believes it is a place to express their feelings in a safe environment. She says “I decided I wanted to be one of those sanctuaries for students by providing a place to be visually creative.” Mrs. Cummings tries to work with as many mediums as she can. Some classes will focus on a particular medium, such as pottery. However, her Art 1, Art 2, and Art 3 classes focus on various mediums and how they can work together to create specific effects.

Mrs. Cummings inspires creativity through student choice and exposure to various artists and their work. She provides an area of choice for students to customize their work to show their voice and understanding of the topic. Also, she includes past and current artists to use as examples when introducing a style of art. Each unit of the curriculum brings different standards and goals to reach the desired art effect.

Student artwork is displayed in the lobby of the theater. Mrs. Cummings says “I look forward to building up our advanced art program for students interested in pursuing art beyond high school. I would like for our art program to collaborate and interact more with the art community within Mobile and the surrounding areas.”

We are blessed to have Mrs. Cummings with her intense drive of bettering students both in and out of the classroom! Thank you, Mrs. Cummings, for all you do!

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Art Inspiration

Connie Jackson — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 20:19:32 +0000

Glow in the Dark Art Inspiration.

W
e talked to St. Luke’s Mrs. Cummings, University Campus Art Teacher, about the inspiration behind the art displayed in the lobby of the theater during the “Puffs” performance.

One of the goals this year is to make the students aware of what current artists are doing and how they are inspired. With this goal in mind, Mrs. Cummings was led to her latest inspiration for the auditorium lobby.

Artist Mikaela Anne, who produces videos of her process on her channel Nerdforge, painted a futuristic city at night called "Cyberpunk City" using acrylic and UV paint. This artwork was the springboard for a glow-in-the-dark, black light art show in conjunction with the fall play "Puffs."

Each art class created pieces of art using fluorescent paints or inks to accent areas in their artwork. The middle school printmaking class used fluorescent inks to create prints for their exploding books. Art 1 students created paintings of cityscapes at night using one-point and two-point perspectives. The Art II/III class created fantastical landscapes using fluorescent and glow-in-the-dark paint. Not to be left out of our magical display, the pottery class created candle-lit lanterns with a nod to the book series that inspired the fall play.

Mrs. Cummings says, “It was a perfect way for students to see how their artwork can change according to the lighting, like Mikaela Anne's paintings. Because this was a six to nine-week process, it also gave students the experience of the planning, time, and effort involved when creating a piece of art.”

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Fine Arts Booster Club Membership Form

aabel — Sun, 14 Aug 2022 23:00:11 +0000

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Arts in Education Week: Mrs. Cummings

Connie Jackson — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 14:54:01 +0000

More Than an Art Teacher.

Meet St. Luke's newest visual arts teacher, Mrs. Debbie Cummings as she talks to us during National Arts in Education Week.

Mrs. Cummings recently moved to Mobile from Asheville, NC. Welcome Mrs. Cummings, we're so excited to have you at St. Luke's!

St. Luke's: Describe yourself.
Debbie Cummings: Busy, Creative, Calm

SL: Discuss your prior history with fine and performing arts?
DC: This is my 19th year teaching art. I have taught all grade levels from preschool-adults. I have also taught theatre.

SL: What led you to want to become a teacher in the fine or performing arts?
DC: I was active throughout MS and HS in theatre and the visual arts. I saw the impact the arts had on students in helping us to find connections with a variety of people, the school and community. It also built confidence and helped me to develop speech and leadership skills. The teachers that committed so much of their time and energy to provide those opportunities for the students were some of the main influences of my middle school and high school career which carried over into my college years. I wanted to be able to provide those same opportunities for others.

SL: Why should the fine and performing arts play a key role in a student’s education?
DC: It can connect students from different backgrounds. It helps to broaden the perspective of the world and your community. It develops collaborative, creative and critical thinking skills that can be applied in a variety of career fields.

SL: Do you collaborate with other departments within the school? If so, how?
DC: Yes, by working with teachers on curriculum development that include arts integration. Helping teachers to develop ideas of how to incorporate the arts into specific lessons.

SL: How do you connect fine and performing arts to other subjects?
DC: I think it is important for students to see how the arts are integrated into all areas around them. No matter where you go or what you do, you can see and hear influences from the arts. Many of the projects will have connections with content from the student’s core curriculum.

Science/Chemistry-how the materials interact with each other, subject matter
Math-perspective, shape and form, composition
English-artist’s statements, reflection
History-cultural influences in art, subject matter, etc.

SL: How do you promote interest in fine and performing art classes with the student body?
DC: Since I am new, this will be an ongoing process. Hopefully through community connections that showcase art, opportunities to participate in a variety of mediums and approaches to art, displays of their peer’s artwork.

SL: What is your teaching method/philosophy?
DC: I am a big proponent of arts integration. I feel that the process of making art is as important as the product at the middle school and high school levels.

SL: How do students know they belong in your program/class?
DC: My class is set up as a safe place to make magnificent mistakes. I would rather a student make a myriad of mistakes by trying rather than not make mistakes from giving zero effort.

SL: Describe the trajectory, vision, future, etc of St. Luke’s fine and performing arts program.
DC: As a team we are looking forward to working together to promote the SLES art program throughout the school and regional community and to help students find a place where they feel comfortable and confident in expressing themselves creatively.

Thanks Mrs. Cummings for helping us celebrate National Arts in Education Week!

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Kate Eden Wins Art Contest

Connie Jackson — Fri, 21 May 2021 13:01:00 +0000

The VERY talented Kate Eden recently submitted this piece of art to the 12th Annual Student Art Contest by Southern Teachers Agency. This year they had 500 entries and Kate’s has been selected as one of twelve winners! The artwork of the twelve winning students will be reproduced in the Southern Teachers Art Calendar for the 2021-22 academic year. These calendars are sent to hundreds of independent schools.Southern Teachers believe that teaching the fine arts is fundamentally important to the overall education of children. Art teachers develop in their students not only an aesthetic sense and technical abilities, but also creativity and imagination, which are essential talents in our ever-changing world.

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