Cultural Creatures Draw Rave Reviews at Alder Creek

 

Search through any vocabulary list, and there are dozens of word pairings to describe something showcasing a significant cultural impact: cultural tradition, cultural significance, cultural experience, or cultural understanding to name a few.

But through an amazing showcase of their own now on display in the school library, Ceramics students at Alder Creek Middle School have created a brand-new word pairing that’s catching the eyes of every student and staff member who walks by. After kneading together long hours of research with a small lump of clay, each student artist proudly constructed spectacularly stunning cultural creatures.

“To create a cultural creature, each student got to choose what culture they wanted to explore,” explained Art teacher Karen Gill, who said she’s never had a group of students dive so deeply into a ceramics project. “They needed to research the stories and myths of that culture, and the goal for them was to show how each culture shows importance through clothing, patterns, textures, and colors used in their sculptures.”

While some students chose to research unfamiliar cultures, others like eighth grader Zoie Deford used the unique assignment to more closely connect with their own heritage. 

“My family’s from Thailand, and when I started making mine, I felt more connected to my own culture because I actually had to research the robe and what they usually wear,” said the 14-year-old, who carefully sculpted an elephant wearing Thai clothing with a raised trunk. “And when the trunk’s up for the elephant in our culture, it’s a resemblance of good luck.”

Classmate Chloe Penix said she needed a little luck to make sure her sculpted gazelle didn’t fall over when it was placed on display. “I wish it wasn’t as wobbly on the bottom, but I really like how it turned out,” said the seventh grader who came across many gazelles during her research of Jewish culture.

“That animal came up a lot, so I went with it,” she added. “Then I saw pictures of dresses and shawls that used reds and blues and blacks and whites, so I used those colors for painting.”

Chloe can’t wait to put her cultural creature on display at home. “I’m going to put it somewhere where people can see it when they come into our house because I’m proud of how it turned out and want to show it off.”

That pride isn’t confined to just the students. “We love showing them off to other students here in the library,” beamed Gill. “They all turned out so beautifully. I’m so proud of all of them.”

Eighth grader Keilly Avalos, who sculpted a colorful Mayan jaguar, summed it up best. “My dad and mom are from Mexico, and now I feel more connected to my culture than ever before.”