Every year, when the clock strikes midnight on Nov. 31, something seems to blow through the air, something almost magical. The coming of December seems to make way for things that spark good moods within many such as the snow, the holidays, and the music. It is a time to make a priority of family, of friends, of decoration, of food, and of holiday cheer, and to move past the negativity of the year it leaves behind. This year in particular seems to be one that needs holiday cheer the most. The Advanced Art class at SHS is making sure that we don’t run low.

For this month’s art lesson, Advanced Art students were given the task of making a painting or drawing, but something was different about the directions–the size. They were instructed to make mini-art, almost the size of index cards. 

The Advanced art teacher, Ruth Phillips, was asked why she gave this particular first instruction and she replied, “These assignments evolved because of the pandemic. [The assignments] were specific to supplies the students didn’t have at home.” 

Due to these limitations, Phillips altered her lesson to accommodate for the students, but it doesn’t stop there. After creating these mini-art cards, the students had the option of adding personalized messages on the back. These now-holiday-cards were to be sent by Phillips to the Skaalen Retirement Home in town.

Gallery • 11 Photos

Caeli Harman (12)

“This assignment was positive towards the community because it motivated the students to create artwork. […] [The point was] to bring joy out to other people,” Phillips says. 

She believed it to be a great way to spread some holiday cheer around town to those who needed it the most. 

“The community likes to see what the students are doing,” Phillips says. 

These cards were sent to the Skaalen Retirement Home on Dec. 8. Unfortunately, we were not able to get a statement from Skaalen regarding the cards sent to them, but Phillips’ message to them was clear, “[I] wanted to bring joy to other people.”

“[It] feels good to give,” Phillips says. 

The images here are pictures of the cards that were made by the students to be sent to Skaalen, given with permission by the students.