Art Mentors: Creating Community

Art Mentors: Creating Community

Fay Belair

Co-Directors of Butler Community College’s Erman B. White Art Gallery, Kevin Kelley and Heather Ball, opened the show “Art Mentors” on Thursday, Feb. 5. The exhibit features unique work by many art educators and their high school and college students from the Wichita area and across the state.

The mentor-mentee based show is an idea that the Dean of Arts, Digital Media and Communication, Valerie Haring, introduced years ago, bringing Kelley into the Butler CC community while still working as a high school instructor. This teacher-student relationship is influential to all participants, bringing out their authenticity while growing personally and professionally.

“We hire faculty who are not only trained as educators but are professionals working in their creative fields,” Haring said. “Faculty not only model creativity, but also professionalism and authenticity. Artists are constantly exposing their creative processes to the world for criticism. It’s a risky endeavor and we strive to provide safe spaces for our students to explore their creativity.”

All of Butler’s art professors demonstrate the wisdom of an educator and the mastery of a being a working professional artist. The visiting artist-educators showed similar inclinations by the art and stories they shared.

Two and three-dimensional works of realistic and abstract styles by dozens of mentors, and their mentees demonstrated the pay offs from having a safe space to create. Sometimes the influence of the mentor was obvious, but others were selected because the students' unique voice encourages mutual growth for them both.

“Students advance in their work by witnessing an artist in action, and mentors draw inspiration from their students while working in the studio,” Kelley said.

Educator Tina Thomas shared a dynamic ceramics duo with student Mia Hersh who was inspired by ‘Empty Bowls’, the Wichita food scarcity remedy brought to the community by Educator Brenda Lichman of WSU.

“It gives a chance to give something back and teach something I love, including life skills,” Thomas said.

Deep human needs get fulfilled during this process that often goes overlooked. This “creative human dialogue is so important during this time of virtual connection and AI encroachment,” writes Kelley and Ball in their exhibit statement. Many people are led to feelings of disconnection, depression and anxiety without these needs being met.

“I think participation in the arts (dance, visual art, performance, etc.) has saved the lives of many students,” Haring said. “The arts are often on the leading edge of societal change, and the ADMC strives to provide safe spaces for artistic and personal expression.”

The mentor-mentee combo of Instructor Andy Corooran and student Leah Wyatt shared inspiration from their study of artist Betty Woodman.

“Learning about the process, teaching to ideate and move slowly through the process creates a great problem solver to make a better future,” Corooran said.

Butler’s art department is an area leader in cultivating relationships that serve these community needs for people of all ages.

There will be ongoing opportunity this month to see this exhibit and Friday, Feb. 13 the department is hosting an open house. Those interested in attending or learning more can have their portfolios reviewed, meet the amazing faculty artists and tour the department for more information.