Collaboration Will Create Mural At MTMS

Manheim Township Middle School (MTMS) seventh-grade music teacher Rachel Swank and eighth-grade art teacher Lauren Michaud have been teaching together since 2009. A few years ago, they began to work together with the idea of giving students an experience that looks at how art can be inspired by music and music by art.

Last year, the pair invited Philadelphia-based artist Melinda Steffy, known for her process that turns musical notes into artwork, to visit for a day and speak to students. The event was so successful, the teachers were inspired to write a grant proposal asking Manheim Township Educational Foundation (MTEF) to bring Steffy in regularly to work with all the MTMS students with the goal of creating a lasting mural in the school. The grant was approved, and Steffy began visiting this fall.

Michaud explained that Steffy's process assigns color to the pitch of a note and size to the length of a note. "So, a quarter note is one square, and a half note is two squares," said Michaud. The process will be used to create a mural based on the MTMS song, "Who We Are." During the first quarter, students learned about her process and began applying it to the school song. "They practiced the process and explored 'Where should the mural go?'" said Michaud, who added that each student looked at size and shape as well and wrote a proposal. Several proposals were sent to Steffy to combine into a master plan for the artwork. During the third quarter, the painting process will begin. "In the fourth quarter, (the students) will be the ones presenting the creation to our school community through (an event) where work will be on display and appreciated," said Michaud.

Swank explained that the process is almost like decoding. "It's more mathematical, so for the kids who struggle to come up with an abstract piece of art that means something, this is very concrete," she said. Swank added that the project is collaborative rather than individual. "(They will have to figure out) how to work together and share paints," she noted, adding that students who are accustomed to working with computers will have some real-world experience. "It's not just a digital sketchbook where you can erase (an error)," she stated. "It's a challenge that it will be on concrete, which is something they're not used to doing. It's tactile. They are touching it and making it."

Steffy's presence at the school also offers lessons in the variety of careers available in the art world. "She is sharing her new work with the kids, and she runs an art consulting business, so she has been able to talk to the kids about the different ways to be involved in the arts," said Michaud.

Swank added, "We both feel it's really important for kids to see art and the arts playing out outside of the classroom," she said. "What does it look like in real life to work in an art or music career but not be a teacher?"

Readers who would like to learn more about MTEF may visit http://www.mtef.net.