TALENTED PARK HILL SOUTH HIGH SCHOOL ART
STUDENTS PAINT HOLIDAY WINDOWS AT SPIN! PIZZA
On a cold, sunny afternoon, students from Park Hill South High School (PHSHS) spent several hours painting holiday artwork on the windows of SPIN! Pizza in the Village at Burlington Creek for the community to enjoy. Seniors in Meg Carson’s Studio Art class, who are planning careers in art, were given an opportunity to try a new technique while sharing their colorful holiday designs with the community.
“We are so happy to provide a platform for these talented students to display their art while helping SPIN! Pizza and our guests celebrate the holidays,” says SPIN! Founding Partner Ed Brownell. “We appreciate their time and energy and are excited to share their beautiful artwork with our guests and the community.”
After SPIN! Pizza reached out with an invitation for her students to paint the windows followed by a pizza party to thank them for their artwork, teacher Meg Carson challenged her students to create sketches that incorporate both a holiday theme and pizza. Several students’ designs were incorporated in the paintings that now decorate SPIN! Pizza’s windows.
With the students planning careers in art, many of them and their teacher said this was a great opportunity for them to work with a “client”.
“It gives them a chance to problem solve and come up with some combination of the holiday and pizza and then an opportunity to serve the community and share their skills with the Northland,” says PHSHS Art Teacher Meg Carson.
“I think it’s a really cool opportunity,” says student Marcus Klein. “I haven’t actually been able to work for any businesses so it’s kind of unique to actually get out in the community and not just in a studio or, in one case, an abandoned parking garage. It’s kind of nice so you are excited to show your art to the community at large or certain people that you want to bring to see it.”
Another student, Trinity McConnell, plans to bring her family and friends to see the windows as well as post the artwork on social media. “I think it’s really inspirational and a way to connect with the community and have your art seen on an individual basis and in a group setting,” she says.
“It was a cool way to let us take the wheel and come up with ideas. We could help each other with ideas and help each other improve and maybe make a little twist on something.”
Rylie Sims agrees that “part of what was fun about this was getting to work as a group”. While the work she does in class is usually an individual endeavor, she really liked the opportunity to take part in a collaborative effort.
Sims, who had previously painted on glass, said she liked the new challenge of painting on a window. “I had never painted on a window before so it was a unique experience. I have painted on glass but I have never painted vertically so it was fun. I’m stepping back and it looked really good.”
Allegra Eccles had never painted on glass. “It’s really fun to do and very different. The paint doesn’t stick as well because the surface is rough but it looks very smooth. The sunlight coming through the window just makes everything light up and look so pretty.”
Student Stephen Quattlebaum said that he likes the idea that people driving past SPIN! Pizza during the holidays will see the PHSHS students’ artwork on the windows. “You don’t have to be a person entirely invested in art to know that you like a design that’s being shown on somebody’s window,” he says.
To see the students’ artwork, visit SPIN! Pizza in the Village at Burlington Creek, 6100 NW 63rd Terrace in Kansas City, MO. For more information, visit www.spinpizza.com.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Lauren Fasbinder
913-685-0700 (o)
913-269-7777 (c)
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