Mrs. Kristie Mowery’s art classes are becoming all the rage at Tahlequah High School. They have many attributes that seem to be appealing to high school students since her classes are filled to the rim. Billy Catron enjoys Mrs. Mowery’s art classes because he has always wanted to use a pottery wheel.

“Mrs. Mowery is a great teacher! Everyone should take an art class,” said sophomore Billy Catron.

The students are given an opportunity to express themselves in many ways. In her pottery classes, they are able to use the pottery wheel and create many different pieces. Also in her art classes, they have drawn on rugs and made baskets.

“[The projects I start off my classes are] painting on furniture, pottery, painting (when they offer the class), glass etching, and drawing pictures inside letters,” said Mowery, art teacher.

Her classes are by no means blow off classes. When students take the class, they have to work for their grades.

“I don’t agree with the fact that students choose this class for a blow off class., when it really takes a lot of dedication,” said Mowery.

Mowery has been interested in art since she was five years old and began drawing, but she really became serious about it in college when she had a job teaching arts and crafts at a resort hotel. Her college job helped her decide what she wanted to do. She uses many techniques to motivate her students like her excitement and love for art.

In Mowery’s art, advanced drawing and pottery classes she starts the trimesters with the appropriate fundamental projects. Pottery classes generally start out with a hand built piece and advanced drawing starts with a free choice project then alternates between free choice and assigned subject matter, beginning with a self-portrait in pencil. Sherry Hart has been in all of Mowery’s art classes offered and she painted the tiger-eyes on the guard shack by the track.

“[The beginning projects we started off with were] the scratch art, [it] was awesome and [I] also liked the art contest,” said senior Sherry Hart.

The pottery class consists of many different elements, some being, using the pottery wheel and hand built pieces. Using the pottery wheel is a privilege in her classes, if the student receives unsatisfactory grades, then the student can’t use the wheel.

Mowery helps her students when they need her, because she knows her students need to be guided in the right direction.

“She teaches us techniques and gets very descriptive on what to do. Step by step instructions,” said Catron.

Some students may think they can’t be in an art class because they possess no artistic ability, but Mowery urges students to join anyway.

“Everyone has artistic ability you just have to tap into it,” said Mowery.