Lisa Tschritter knows a great art project when she sees one. So, when the Bert Church High School art teacher stumbled across the work of Calgary-based artist Scott Clark at a festival booth last year it was a ‘no-brainer’ that she connect with him to collaborate with students on a major artwork. The bare brick wall in the courtyard next to the art room was literally calling out for something unique.
And unique it definitely is, as 28 art students worked with Clark over a period of five weeks, each making their own contribution to the overall piece. In fact, Clark had each student draw whatever they wanted and incorporated every idea into the final artwork.
“I want to show how life can be fun, vibrant and exciting, and that you have a choice in designing your own path and your own life. When people think of an artist, they don’t normally think of it as a career, they see it as a hobby or maybe a side job,” he says. “I think it’s really great to show students that there is an opportunity to make a career in art; that it’s possible”.
Clark himself is a perfect example. Throughout his career, the Calgary-based artist has created many murals and projects using art, more specifically painting. Clark, who holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in visual communications, is very enthusiastic and committed to what he does. He’s made art his whole life, and finds it helps keep him more down to earth.
In the end, not only did the students assist in the design concept, they also helped do some of the painting and came up with a name for the mural based on a brainstorming session about what the art should represent. One of the students wrote “We pave our own path” on their art – and the name stuck.
