The high school hosted a Big Art Day event on March 1 in the cafeteria from 4:30 to 6:30. Big Art Day is a national event in which communities participate in order to raise awareness for art education.

“We were pleasantly surprised by the turnout of students and families from the community and greatly appreciate the support of LISD administration as the art teachers worked together to make the event successful,” art teacher Rebecca Harrison said. “ We are planning on hosting another event for Big Art Day next year; we are looking at a different project that while equally interactive will encourage the community to look at a different aspect of art.”

The art teachers chose to theme the event around freeform glass sculptures inspired by artist Dale Chihuly. Families in the school district visited different table stations where they were able to create a piece of art.

 “The community is invited to join for the presentation of student awards and the unveiling of the sculpture.”

Students volunteered to run the event for community service hours. Several were trained to operate the heating guns in order to melt the plastic. Others ran the concession stand, helped glue together the sculpture and handled other stations.

“The real heroes of the evening were the student volunteers from the high school,” Harrison said.  “Those students worked tirelessly with smiles on their faces introducing kids and their parents to a brand new project and style of art that was unfamiliar and interesting to most of the kids who came.  They took their assignments seriously and really did a phenomenal job.”

Participants could choose a plastic utensil, plastic plate or plastic cup to color and melt. Each individual piece of unique plastic was glued to a larger sculpture to build a design influenced by Chihuly.

“My absolute favorite part of the evening was watching student volunteers interact with their artists in ways that encourage teamwork in the true spirit of the Chihuly team,” Harrison said.  “Our heat gun operators did a great job in getting the students and parents interested in making their art creative and original. Overall, every student volunteer played a part that made the entire evening an awesome experience for everyone involved.”