Artist Don Sondag shares his talent with Moreland-Garnett’s students.
In February, students in all levels of art classes worked with Winter Park artist Don Sondag for several days. He offered expertise in portrait painting and the world of professional art. This valuable experience and many others are made possible by the contributions of Patrons of the Arts.
“A lot of students don’t know what organizations like Patrons of the Arts do for us,” said Director of Parent Relations and Communications Lane Epps. “Their support gives students unique opportunities that not every school has.”
Patrons of the Arts is a parent organization that funds various activities in the Fine Arts Department, using money from membership in the organization and box office earnings from productions.
“If teachers have an idea for something they want to do in their classes but there isn’t enough money in the Fine Arts budget, they submit a request to Patrons,” said Epps. “Patrons brings it up at a meeting, and they decide if they want to fund it. They usually say yes.”
In the case of Sondag’s visit, fine arts teacher Kymberly Moreland-Garnett suggested that the locally well-known artist be invited to work with art classes. Moreland-Garnett, along with fine arts teachers Irina Ashcraft and Dawn Ferguson, met with Sondag to discuss what the classes would be like, what materials would be needed, and how to introduce the idea to students.
“Bringing in someone other than us gave students a fresh perspective on some of the same subjects that we teach,” said Ashcraft. “He can say the same thing, but students pay attention when it’s someone different.”
“A lot of students don’t know what organizations like Patrons of the Arts do for us,” said Director of Parent Relations and Communications Lane Epps. “Their support gives students unique opportunities that not every school has.”
Patrons of the Arts is a parent organization that funds various activities in the Fine Arts Department, using money from membership in the organization and box office earnings from productions.
“If teachers have an idea for something they want to do in their classes but there isn’t enough money in the Fine Arts budget, they submit a request to Patrons,” said Epps. “Patrons brings it up at a meeting, and they decide if they want to fund it. They usually say yes.”
In the case of Sondag’s visit, fine arts teacher Kymberly Moreland-Garnett suggested that the locally well-known artist be invited to work with art classes. Moreland-Garnett, along with fine arts teachers Irina Ashcraft and Dawn Ferguson, met with Sondag to discuss what the classes would be like, what materials would be needed, and how to introduce the idea to students.
“Bringing in someone other than us gave students a fresh perspective on some of the same subjects that we teach,” said Ashcraft. “He can say the same thing, but students pay attention when it’s someone different.”
Sondag started by providing a live portrait demonstration and holding a meeting to discuss his work and his career. Over the next five days, he explained the whole process of creating a portrait, helping students with any problems they had along the way.
“He was able to answer questions using experience from his career,” said Ashcraft. “A lot of students personally connected with [Sondag] in the process.”
The final piece includes portraits completed by a wide range of art students, as well as portraits of past headmasters Canon A. Rees Hay and Father H. Benton Ellis completed by Sondag himself. These portraits were combined with students’ work to form one larger piece that is displayed in the front office.
