By MADALYNN BUNYAK
Student contributor
Everyday we see art around our school – may it be in the display cases, hanging on the wall in the commons, or painted right on the walls – it surrounds us. We rarely think about the source of the creations among us, the guidance given to the artists in order for them to happen, or why the art pieces are there.
Mallory Valleries, Cranberry High School’s senior high art teacher, illustrates a technique for students. (By A.J. Howard/Student Contributor)
“I’ve been drawing and painting since Kindergarten. I guess my Kindergarten teacher saw something in me because she would enter my projects into art competitions,” said Mallory Valleries, Cranberry High School’s senior high art teacher.
When asked what the reasoning for her occupation choice was, she informed us that originally she had planned on becoming a history teacher or even a nurse.
Valleries explained that when her elementary/high school art teacher asked why she didn’t consider going into that profession, her response was that she didn’t think she could ever be as good as he was. It wasn’t until after Valleries’ teacher explained that he had been doing art for longer than she had been alive that she truly decided to go to school for art education.
Mallory Valleries, Cranberry High School’s senior high art teacher, demonstrates techniques for students. (By A.J. Howard/Student Contributor)
“I choose projects based on what I think my students will think is cool,” stated Valleries when asked how she determines what she will have her art students do throughout the year.
Along with that, Valleries mentioned that upcoming art projects would include sculptural clay mugs in Art I, a mixed media piece involving chalk pastel, acrylic paint, layered composition, and balancing out with a theme of “a subject matter that is meaningful to them” in Art II, and in both Art III and Art IV, the students are doing small oil paintings with a theme of “night time.”
During the interview, Mrs. Valleries expressed that she also enjoys doing projects outside of work, especially pieces for friends, family members, etc.
Madalynn Bunyak and A.J. Howard are students at Cranberry High School and members of Cranberry Chronicles, the school’s journalism/publications group.
