By Buck Ryan and Ellen Martin
Lockport, NY: A New Year’s recipe for hope: Take one big idea, add two alumni, turn things over to an inspired middle school art teacher and then watch the creativity blossom.
That’s the story that has been cooking at DeSales Catholic School over the last few months as Lockport and Niagara County wrestle with the COVID-19 crisis.
Thanks to the ingenious work of 7th and 8th graders, under the direction of their art teacher, the new year will bring not only hope for better times but also iconic images of the pandemic for Lockport’s history books.
“This is such a cool project,” said Kim Knuutila, marketing and admissions director at DeSales, a regional Catholic elementary school in the Town of Lockport within the Diocese of Buffalo. “I have an 8th grader and it has been a great talking point between us.”
The power of art to inspire meaningful conversations about life is felt around the world, so it’s no surprise that the one big idea came from China by way of Chatham County, North Carolina.
“I was chatting with a friend on lockdown in Wuhan, China, when she tipped me to an illustrator who turned the virus into something viral,” said Buck Ryan, a 1974 DeSales graduate who is now a journalism professor at the University of Kentucky.
“It was a drawing of Wuhan as a noodle head in a hospital bed. Hot dried noodles are to Wuhan what Buffalo wings are to Western New York—a signature dish.”
The drawing was an entry into a newspaper contest in China. Ryan, working on a case study of the Chatham News + Record in North Carolina, inspired that weekly newspaper to hold its own COVID-19 contest.
“I just loved the idea of the art contest and wondered what magic students at DeSales could bring to the challenge,” said Ellen Martin, a 1976 graduate of DeSales who is local supporter of art..
Martin broached the idea of an art project with DeSales art teacher Kristen McCabe and her Art students over a Zoom call. McCabe then did a presentation for her students using examples of contest winners, provided students with some art supplies, and off the middle school students went into brainstorming, sketching and painting.
“The 7th and 8th grade student artists explored the ‘Art of Covid’ by reflecting on their own experiences during this unique time in our lives,” McCabe said.
“They created work reflective of blessings that came from more time at home with family to the sadness of losing a loved one or missing experiences with their friends.”
Rather than frame the learning experience as a contest with a deadline, McCabe and Martin agreed that the best approach for these students was to introduce the idea as an independent study project with plenty of time for the muse to provide a guiding light.
“Each student created their own independent study, working with different materials, subject matter and techniques,” McCabe said. “I am so proud of these reflective critical-thinking students, solving problems along the way to create the work they were inspired to do.”
Navigating such a creative twist in the curriculum requires a helping hand from the top. McCabe said her principal, Karen Rahill, offered her full support from the start and appreciated that DeSales graduates wanted to remain active in the students’ education.
“I am grateful to our alumni, Mr. Ryan and Ms. Martin, for their continued support of DeSales through projects like the ‘Art of Covid,’ “ Rahill said. “Our students were excited for the opportunity to express themselves through art.”
DeSales is a regional Catholic school educating students from Early Childhood through eighth grade. Located on Chestnut Ridge Road in Lockport, DeSales welcomes families of all faiths from throughout Eastern Niagara and Orleans counties. For more information visit www.desalescatholicschool.org
About the authors
Buck Ryan, a journalism professor at the University of Kentucky, was inducted into the DeSales Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2017 from the Class of 1974. Ellen Martin, a Lockport businesswoman, was inducted into the hall in 2015 from the Class of 1976.