A collaboration between Whittier Elementary fifth graders and art students at Lawton High and the Life Ready Center yielded results that could only be described as unique.
Or weird. Or eerie.
Lawton High’s library was the host site in late March for the Monster Museum, featuring creatures envisioned and described by Whittier students, then brought to life in their full glory by high school ceramics students.
A Lawton Public School Foundation grant funded the supplies, said Lawton High library media specialist Amanda Benke, who hosted the museum with her staff. The idea was to let Whittier’s two fifth-grade classes see their monsters in 3D. Tables were arranged in the library commons area to showcase the ceramic figurines, each less than a foot tall and paired with a background story written by the student who first envisioned the monster then drew a picture.
The names were as unique as their creators: Skull Crawler. Lily Bow Monster. Bailey Brown. Mr. Duck. Cookie Monster. Frankenstein. Ocean.
Jazmin Rodgers created three pieces for the museum show: Bailey Brown (who is sunshine yellow), Kaley Brown (purple with yellow legs, arms and horns) and Zoey (purple with googly eyes). Rodgers said she made the first monsters because they were created by sisters, then added a third piece to ensure every monster was rendered in ceramic.
“It’s a whole long process,” she said of her pieces, adding they took about a month to finish.
The work was just as intense on the other side of the creative process.
Fifth grader Jaxon Morgan envisioned an owl with four arms and two wings, with a backstory explaining that a blue monster went to the park and met another monster. The two left the park and went to a restaurant, where they had beef Wellington and also saw a new SpongeBob movie.
“It reminds me of my brother. My brother thinks he’s an owl,” Morgan said, of his 13-year-old brother. “I think it looks really pretty.”
Morgan’s wasn’t the only creative piece. Ocean, envisioned by Zephan Creek, is a beautiful shade of blue. Ocean is 10,000 years old, has 15 eyes but only one arm, and eats kids, according to Creek’s story.
Aurora Hubert said the backstory was the reason she picked Mr. Wellington to turn into ceramic.
“I liked how he was 45 years old and lived with his parents,” she said of Mr. Wellington, who is the son of noted chef Gordon Ramsay.
Cookie Monster, by Vada Golden, and envisioned by Sophia Wilson, is just what it sounds like: a large chocolate chip cookie, with a bite taken out of the top. Golden said she picked the project because it seemed easy. She quickly discovered there were difficulties, because of the detailing needed and pieces that had to be glued on before the entire piece was fired.
Sofia Bert, who created Frankenstein, said while her fifth grader was shy, she made it clear she liked the ceramic results. It didn’t take long to do the sculpture, Bert said.
“It was a very good drawing,” she said, adding it took about a week from start to finish.
In some cases, student artists really liked what the fifth graders had envisioned, and that drew them to a particular monster. Hater, a stickman with a sword envisioned by Hunter Blackowl, got Kennedi Craig’s attention because of color, specifically, color blend.
“It wasn’t too difficult,” Craig said, explaining she loved bringing the various colors together in a blend of yellow, orange, red and black to create the distinctive piece.
In all, the museum featured 38 pieces.
“I let them pick,” said Kenneth Hobbs, Lawton High ceramics teacher, about how he matched artists with elementary creators.
Hobbs also participated in the project, doing one piece so it was done in time for the show.
“It blew out,” he said, explaining the destruction that occurred when the original piece was fired in the kiln because air pockets in the clay exploded.
Fifth graders loved seeing their words and colored pictures translated into sculpture as they walked around the tables, while the high school artists loved seeing the reactions to their work. Adults loved both reactions.
“We enjoy it as much as the kids,” said assistant library media specialist Ericka Tiszkus.
Benke said she loves the fact that the project, an idea initially created by MacArthur High, spotlights artists while promoting the library as a fun place to learn.
“It’s a good mixture,” she said.