All the Pretty Pumpkins at CTK

Above: Students at Christ the King School, Lexington, show off their Great Pumpkins

The Eighth Grade art students at Christ the King painted pumpkins for Halloween that were then raffled to earn money for their upcoming class trip to Washington DC.

Just check out these creative entries!

Artful Commemoration

Above: Students at Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary stand in front of their special "Day of the Dead" altar that focused on - Walt Disney!

Cornelia Nash, art teacher at MQHR in Lexington, shared some news and photos about a special project:

Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary combined Spanish, Art and our gifted program to celebrate "Dia de los Muertos," the Day of the Dead, on November 2. In Spanish-speaking cultures, this holiday is a special way to focus on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. As part of the commemoration, families and friends will build a special shrine or altar that showcases photos, mementos, and even favorite foods of their beloved departed.

We celebrated the life of Walt Disney by preparing a Day of the Dead altar about him. (All our students know about "Disney," but they're too young to have seen the old "Wonderful World of Disney" TV shows that actually featured Walt Disney talking about his work) The third graders did the research on Walt Disney's life and found out what inspired him to create so many characters and stories and, of course, Disney World!

Our gifted program made the sugar skulls, our middle school made the paper cuts and the third graders also made the maracas, which are traditional symbols used to decorate altars on the Day of the Dead.

It was a great celebration and the learning was so much fun.

The paper cut away designs were strung along the border of the altar and also across the second floor walkway.

Students drew posters (above) with scenes from Disney movies.

Front view of the altar to remember Walt Disney



Some mementos and favorite foods (including saltine crackers!)

The students created the colorful maracas and the sugar skulls.

Art to Benefit Action

Above: Two of the dramatic masks that will be on sale at the upcoming "From the Streets to a Home" dinner/auction event at Lexington Catholic High School. A LCHS Art Club student made the mask on the left, while a participant in the "From the Streets.." program created the mask on the right.

From the Lexington Catholic Website:

On Wednesday Nov. 18th at 6:00 PM in the LCHS Cafeteria, LCHS Art Club students and participants of “From the Streets to a Home” will present their handmade ceramic masks and sell them via silent auction. Joe Bologna’s and the LCHS Culinary Club will cater the event with a spaghetti dinner and dessert. Dinner will cost five dollars.

All proceeds will go to “From the Streets to a Home," a program sponsored by the Catholic Action Center that provides apartments for homeless people ready to improve their lives.

The event is the culmination of the LCHS Art Club and Culinary Club’s service project started earlier in October. For five weeks, Art Club students brought food prepared by the LCHS Culinary Club to Cardinal Crossing Apartments on Village Drive where people who were previously homeless meet every Monday. Together, Art Club students and “From the Streets to a Home” participants, shared a meal, discussed their problems, and developed an understanding of their shared humanity by making ceramics masks together.

The masks made during this service project express the passion, creativity, and hope held by all the people who made them. These masks will be on displayed on Nov. 18th at Lexington Catholic High School, and will be available for purchase through silent auction.

For more information, please contact LCHS Art Teacher, Stephen Dorsett.

World Equestrian Games Looking for Talent

Would your school band and/or chorus like to perform at the World Equestrian Games next year?

Here is the press release from the Commonwealth News Service with information about performance venues at the Kentucky Experience pavilion:

Kentucky Experience Seeks Performing Artists for World Equestrian Games
URL : http://kentucky.gov/Newsroom/kyarts/KyExperience_CalltoArtists.htm

Summary : The deadline is approaching for Kentucky performing artists to submit an application to perform at The Kentucky Experience pavilion, which will be part of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Professional artists and community and school groups in all performing arts genres may submit applications until December 15, 2009.

OLM Offers Some Artful Cooking

Above: Our Lady of the Mountains School in Paintsville is housed in the beautiful Mayo Mansion.

Here is an item from the 11/4/09 Lexington Herald Leader about OLM's new cookbook:

A cookbook produced by Our Lady of the Mountains School in Paintsville is much more than recipes.

“It tells the story of the beautiful building our school is housed in, one of the most historic buildings in Eastern Kentucky — The Mayo ­Mansion,” Sue Miller said. Proceeds from the sales will be used to help students with tuition. “Because more than 50 percent of our students receive significant amounts of tuition assistance, the school must generate over $80,000 each year through fund-raising efforts,” Miller said.

The school is housed in the three-story neoclassical home built by coal baron John C.C. Mayo in the early 1900s. In 1945, the building was sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington, and it has been a school since then. It is now part of the Lexington diocese.

The cookbook has photos of past and current students, and student artwork, among the recipes from parents, teachers and friends of the school.

The cookbook is $20; ­shipping is $5 regardless of the ­number purchased. Call (606) 789-3661 or e-mail jeddison123@yahoo.com.

St. Leo Art Club Illustrates the Year of the Priest

Above: Members of St. Leo's Art Club present their "The Year of the Priest" banner in its full glory.

Art teacher Rosie Fedorchuk sends in this update from St. Leo School, Versailles:

St. Leo Art CLub made this banner celebrating "The Year of the Priest". All the children in the parish signed it. It will hang all year to remind us all how important priests are in the lives of all of God's people.

The Art Club students worked on the banner as one happy group.

The main panel sets the theme.

Panels include priests in action, such as administering the Sacrament of the Anointing the Sick...

and celebrating the Sacrament of Matrimony.

Thanks to the students for sharing their work!