“Coming out of college, my work
was primarily figurative and large
scale. I loved finding old papers,
books, or anything with a history
to incorporate into my paintings.
Last summer I was selected to participate in the Teacher Institute of
Contemporary Art at the Art Insti-
tute of Chicago. I went in feeling
open minded about the experience,
but my first few days I felt uncom-
fortable with not knowing why I
worked the way I did. I realized that I was more focused
on pleasing others and somehow proving myself as an
artist. Within a day, I let go and began working in an
intuitive and childlike, abstract
way. I began working with sym-
bolic contour lines of simple
objects. Learning to let go and
take my own journey was one
of the most important lessons I
learned for me as well as for my
students.”
—Nicole Brisco is an art teacher at
Pleasant Grove High School in Texarkana, Texas, and a contributing editor
for SchoolArts. nbrisco@pgisd.net
Maria Khalil, Student
Maria’s work is a
mixture of drawing,
painting, and collage.
For her senior concen-
tration, she chose to
explore the concept
of being held captive
by our ideas, society,
and mentality. She
utilized insects for this concept, finding interest
in the idea that insects are limited by their bodies
and, as they go through their metamorphoses, they
break free. We also experience this and are only
limited by our mental barriers. Throughout the
year, her work evolved and her lines became looser,
her shapes more abstract, and her materials more
expansive. She truly
evolved beyond the
mental barriers that
we as artists experi-
ence in our own art-
making.
—Maria Khalil is a
senior at Pleasant
Grove High School in
Texarkana, Texas.
Call for Entries:
This year, SchoolArts is recognizing the work of students and teachers from around the country, and we are looking for more art to be featured. Please send images of your work and the work of one of your students, along with
100-word artist’s statements, on a CD to Nancy Walkup, Editor, SchoolArts, 2223 Parkside Drive, Denton, TX 76201.
