Byron’s Kogelheide Part of Matthews Hall
Artistic Endeavours
May
04, 2007
Your
Village News
John
M. Milner
Byron artist Jim Kogelheide was leading
thirty international students at Matthews Hall last week in putting the
finishing touches on the third and largest piece in a series of works that he
has helped the students at Matthews Hall to work on over the past few weeks.
Each of the initial two pieces was worked on by
students from Grades 1 through 8. The
younger students were set to work on simple portions of the painting to
complete but with the older students, Kogelheide gave them a slightly more
challenging task. None of those students
who worked on the piece were given anything more than Kogelheide felt that they
could handle.
Kogelheide said his goal was to have each of
those participants taking part in the artwork “to leave here with a smile on
their face and knowing that they contributed to something wonderful” and “to
leave here feeling successful as an artist.”
While taking part in the completion of the
painting, the students are taught about the elements of art, with Kogelheide
focusing on simple brush and stroke techniques and creating texture. For many, this project represents their first
time painting, and so they are taught about how to hold a brush and how to
apply paint.
The project also teaches them how to break down
a complicated issue. Many of the
students initially saw the painting as being very complicated, but Kogelheide
showed them how to focus and concentrate on one smaller piece at a time.
Kogelheide says that this experience helps to
encourage the children and make them feel confident about their artistic
abilities. “They all did a great job,”
he says.
The third piece, entitled ‘The Tree Of Learning
And Growth’ was completed by thirty international students who have come to
Matthews Hall on an exchange program from Korea and China. Kogelheide says that it was a “challenging
work,” and at a size of 3 feet by 5 feet, is the largest canvas he has ever
worked on. The students put
approximately 14 hours of work into the project.
Each of the young artists that worked on the
piece signed their name, in their native script, around the outside of the
painting. Kogelheide felt that it was
“an interesting concept to bring to this”, which leaves an indelible handprint
to those who will view the painting in years to come.
After their work on the project is complete,
Kogelheide gave gifts to all the young artists, including stickers and one of
his art prints. He says that the gifts
are his way of giving the students something tangible with which to remember
the experience in later years.
View the artwork The Tree Of Learning And Growth
and see many photos of its creation.
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