Lower School Art Students Explore Identities Through Hexagon Project

Lower Schoolers continued an exploration of their identities this week, creating art inspired by The Hexagon Project. The Hexagon Project’s goal is to spread the meaning of interdependence through school and community-created hexagons.

“I've talked with the children about their digital identities and how technology has played so much of a role in their lives in the last year,” Lower School Visual Arts Teacher Margaret Synan-Russell said. “So I saw that as a jumping-off point for the Hexagon Project; getting them to just start thinking about their own identities and how to express themselves through their artwork.”

Synan-Russell worked with Lower School Technology Teacher Debra Hernanz, Lower School Librarian Lora Worden, and Lower School classroom teachers to guide all Intermediate Years students toward shaping their identities through art. Classroom teachers explored social justice, identity, peace, the environment, and other relevant ideas in humanities lessons leading up to the creation of the artwork.

“This year seems particularly relevant because of the pandemic, having to learn from home, how everything has changed so much, and also because of the intense discussions around this year of social unrest,” Synan-Russell said. “Giving students an outlet where there's no judgment and it's a safe space, to me, is the best way for students to express themselves.”

This week, students created artwork including video games, the Oregon outdoors, flags, maps, sports figures, animals, and much more, helping them shape their young identities.

“There have been lots of moments of joy and moments of struggle, too, which is not necessarily a bad thing,” Synan-Russell said. “One student couldn't think of anything to express his identity, so he filled in his entire hexagon with all this really beautiful abstract color. And after drawing this whole piece of color, he started saying, ‘Well, I love nature, I love music, I love learning, I love my friends . . .’ and he started coming up with these ideas after letting all of his feelings come out through color.”