During the last 10 weeks of the 2011-2012 school year, Principal Danny McDuffie, of Foley Middle School, managed to secure funding from his school for art classes. One day each week students enjoyed art taught by art instructors who were recommended by the Foley Art Center. Bonnie Blaylock, manager/director of the Foley Art Center, has first-hand knowledge of professional artist who are qualified to teach students. She was able to recommend instructors for different types of art; this is what Principal McDuffie wanted for his students. Three different art classes were taught. Basic Drawing, which was taught for two weeks by instructor Amber Myrick. She also taught Watercolor for four weeks. Tommy Vogel was the instructor for Pastels for four weeks.

Photos are shown of students during their Pastels classes. Students worked quietly as Mr. Vogel gave them step-by-step instructions. Photos show the interest and attention given to each step, which is necessary to produce their final masterpieces. And, as you can see by their finished piece of art, there are some very talented students at the Foley Middle School. Think about this; the students had approximately 30 minutes to complete their art project. Mr. Vogel spent five hours on his displayed masterpiece. These students have talent, they need classroom instruction to develop this talent!

Principal McDuffie recruited two students to create a Welcome Community banner. With no hesitation, these gentlemen, with only banner paper, pastels and a ruler, created a fabulous poster. José Torres and Edgar Aparicio are shown with their community poster. These are two incredible artists who enjoyed the art classes. Look at the palm tree, these two students were able to draw this after only one class.

Principal McDuffie, Art Teacher Teri Kratzer (who also teaches Leadership for the 7th grade) and Art Instructor Tommy Vogel are shown with students as they worked on their art project. Principal McDuffie said, “My plan for next year is to at least offer these classes once a week through my leadership class. As you can see, 10 weeks cost us $854.00: I would like to run it all year starting in August.” Although this year they were not selected for funding through the Education Foundation grant program at South Baldwin, they will definitely reapply next year.