Sunday, May 5, 2024
GISD Superintendent, Dr. Barrett Pollard, recently commented on the upcoming “Block out the Sun” party and the upcoming art exhibit that will be held on the courthouse square. “Cheri Shepherd has done a wonderful job of coordinating the eclipse event for Gatesville. Our community is so lucky to have Cheri brainstorming ideas like the ‘Art in the Shadow’ exhibit,” Pollard said.
He continued, “When she asked if our students would be interested in creating eclipse artwork, we jumped at the chance to get them involved. Each campus art teacher helped to get students participating in this project.”
At Gatesville Elementary, art teacher Christeena Herring began thinking about the eclipse artwork project. “I started thinking about what rhymes with eclipse. FLIPS! I came up with the phrase ‘Gatesville Elementary is doing flips for the eclipse.’” Herring had all of her students draw themselves doing a flip. “Then we cut out anything that had to do with Gatesville and Coryell County from The Gatesville Messenger. Several teachers gave me their old newspapers to use,” she said.
“The students enjoyed looking through the newspapers. One of the 2nd grade students, while carefully reading through the paper, asked me if he should ‘cut out this guy,’ and I looked at it and discovered it was our superintendent, Dr. Barrett Pollard. I said, ‘yes, cut him out too,’ so he is included in the collage,” Herring said.
The collage became an instant success and was displayed for a time in the foyer of the school. A sign below the artwork read: “Our students worked so hard on this eclipse art project. We have even included our superintendent, Dr. Pollard, in our artwork. Can you find him? # where is Dr. Pollard?”
Dr. Pollard responded by saying, “Teena Herring’s art students at the elementary did a fantastic job of creating some really innovative artwork.”
GISD’s Community Outreach Leader, Michelle Martin, was so impressed with the elementary’s artwork, that she decided to have it reproduced poster size and plans to sell them at Gatesville’s “Block out the Sun” party, which will be held on the courthouse square on Saturday, April 6. The posters will be sold for $25, and the proceeds will go toward school supplies and in part to the art department at Gatesville Elementary. Posters can be pre-ordered by contacting Michelle Martin at 254-865-8281, extension 5855.
The art created by GISD’s art departments will be included with the artwork of other Gatesville and Coryell County artists and will be on display in the windows of Leaird’s on the courthouse square beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 6. Leaird’s is located at 108 S. 6th Street in Gatesville.
