Sparks have been flying at Howe Hall AIMS this week in the most artistic way ever.
Special guest Bob Doster has been hanging out on the premises since Tuesday. Doster is an internationally acclaimed sculptor and owner of Backstreet Studio, located in downtown Lancaster. He has a second studio location in Spruce Pine, North Carolina.
Doster is currently working on a stainless steel sculpture that will be in the shape of Howe Hall’s mascot, a chameleon, but he needed the help of the whole school – students and staff – to complete it.
Throughout the week, classes have swung by Doster’s makeshift workspace near one of the playgrounds to trace their hands on thin sheets of metal. Students then got to help cut out the traced hands using a welding cutter machine. VIEW MORE PHOTOS.
Doster is going to take the cut-out hands to shape them into a chameleon that will be delivered to the school sometime in the fall.
As an arts-infused magnet school, Howe Hall regularly recruits artist in residence to visit the school and work with the students to provide hands-on experiences. Students apply arts skills as they work to master academic standards.
Principal Ashley McAlister said this project with Doster is what Howe Hall AIMS is all about.
“We are continuously looking for art experiences for our students so they know the endless places the arts can take them in the future,” she said. “Hopefully, this memory will be cherished and inspire our students to continue to grow in the arts.”
Doster’s first artist in residency was back in the 1970s at a school in Holly Hill. He has worked with more than 150,000 students across North and South Carolina to inspire them artistically and show what hard work can accomplish.
Doster said he initially started out with clay sculptures but transitioned to steel in the 1990s. He has worked with a few other schools in Berkeley County School District in previous years – the most recent one being Philip Simmons Elementary in 2022 when he did a similar project by creating a horse-shaped sculpture out of students’ traced hands; that sculpture now stands in the school’s main hallway.
The most exciting part for the students at Howe Hall AIMS, hands down, was getting to help cut out the hands with the welding machine; students donned protective gear like gloves, a face mask and a smock and lined up one by one to wait their turn and let Doster guide them in cutting the metal.
Doster said his favorite aspect of the activity is hearing the students giggle as they join him at the machine – and, of course, showing them a different art medium.
"Art is not all drawing or painting," he said. "You can actually play with it."
SHOP LOCAL. YOUR PENNY MAKES A DIFFERENCE!
Did you know that Berkeley County voters passed a resolution in 2022 that benefits our ability to build and maintain schools? Commonly known as a "penny tax," the measure enacts a one-percent sales tax for specific construction projects.