Passing with flying colors
Walking into room C120, you are greeted with displays of plants, stained glass vases, and colorfully painted furniture. Art teacher Kristin Breaux’s classroom could be described as a real life piece of art.
Breaux has been teaching art for three years, after spending 15 years as an AP English teacher. She studied architecture in college, and spent time abroad in Italy.
“It was kind of my first love going back to art and architecture, so when COVID hit I wanted to switch things up, and I really enjoyed it,” Breaux said.
According to a campus-wide WINGSPAN poll, green made up about 14% of student’s favorite colors. Breaux also seems to feel that way about the color green.
“I think one reason I like [the color green] is it reminds me of growing things like plants, living things, just like the vibrancy of it, and it’s visually exciting,” Breaux said.
Breaux’s students helped paint the set for theater production of Pippin, performed Dec 7-9.
“We’ve been doing the final finishes, like making a wall look like concrete or aging bricks, or making metal look rusted, so that’s a little side project we’ve been doing,” Breaux said
Another recent project was creating art for the Tim Burton orchestra concert that was performed earlier in the fall. Students collaborated to create portraits of Tim Burton characters by each doing a section of one of the portraits using different color schemes.
“Each one of [the students] got a square piece of paper and a small portion of the drawing and then they had to pick a color scheme and then…. Put it all together,” Breaux said
Breaux teaches students about visual art in her classroom, but collaboration in the fine arts departments means interaction with other teachers and students.
“Were all very close and we’ve got great fine arts teachers, but we’ve been working cross curriculum, so our visual art students are creating works of art for the orchestra concert or helping with the play, because it’s all connected,” Breaux said.
When artists collaborate on projects, it can inspire new ideas, build on old ideas, and allow diverse skill sets to combine for something different and new. Murals are a way for artists to work together while creating a sense of community and inspire creativity.
“[If I could paint my classroom] I might try and do a mural and let the kids do different things, like all of us do a mural together that the kids could collaborate on,” Breaux said.
Studies show that art can reduce stress and anxiety, and can be a way for people to express themselves or take their mind off their stress. Scientific evidences shows that creating art has effects on brain waves.
“Art should be fun and not stressful. Life should be as enjoyable as possible and I think art is one of those things,” Breaux said.
There are many types of art, but the general consensus is that the eight main types are painting, sculpture, installation art, architecture, literature, music, cinema, and theater.
“[Art can be] paint or sculpture, or even cooking is an art, there’s so many different ways to express yourself artistically. It’s about finding more depth to your life than discovering a strength about yourself and what brings you joy,” Breaux said.
Breaux adds light and color to her classroom by incorporating brightly colored furniture and plants. The students in a classroom can add light to the classroom in their own ways.
“When I can tell that [my students] are listening to what I’m saying and taking it to heart and doing their best, that brightens my day,” Breaux said.
The positive relationships between students and teachers goes both ways. Student-teacher relationships can affect a student’s academic and social progress.
“[I brighten student’s days by giving] them choices about what they’re creating as much as possible, something that is meaningful to them. I enjoy being with the students, so just acknowledging them whether through words or through actions that I appreciate them being there,” Breaux said.
One way that Breaux gives her students choices is by providing LEGOS to kids who aren’t interested in their other projects.
“I like having LEGO projects for kids who don’t want to do their other projects, just cause I think it’s got color and versatility within a limited parameter,” Breaux said.
Out of the many teachers on campus, Breaux stands out as a colorful art teacher working everyday to brighten the campus.