“I love art because you can use your imagination. Think up anything and you can paint it.” Words of wisdom shared by Brooklynn Davis, senior art student at Goddard High School (GHS). While Davis is currently taking Ms. Jennifer Chism’s Advanced Art class, artistic expression has been her passion for years. She explains how illustration through sketching and painting has provided her an outlet for creativity, and how Chism’s lessons in color theory help provide structure for her pieces. Brooklynn’s imagination is what makes them innovative.
Davis recently finished a self-portrait piece that meshes reality and her own artistic vision, it shows her driving her own car - but as a fighter pilot. She expressed that this helps her show the freedom she feels while driving. Additionally, she’s currently working on a piece that shows her with her surfboard, but in the midst of a Kansas field. Davis expressed that this shows the contrast between two things she loves most - surfing, and the view of sprawling Kansas wheat fields in the sunlight.
The arts serve as an expressive outlet for many students through their high school years. Davis specifically notes that art helps her slow down and focus on the finer details, and how that has enhanced her processes over the years. “It helps me calm down,” shared Davis. “I love being able to wake up and come right into art class. The teachers here (at GHS) really care, and it’s going to be really hard to leave after this year.”
By exploring new methods and mediums, students can grow and develop both their skill set and their experience levels. It is through these resources that Goddard Public Schools helps educate the whole child within a caring and connected environment. While Davis plans to attend Kansas State University in the future, hoping to study International Relations and Intelligence, she says that she’ll never forget her time focusing on her artistic expression at Goddard High. “It’s about what you want to do, having fun while doing it and making your imagination come to life.”