When you walk into class and sit down, do you ever take a look up? If you do, you might see any number of painted ceiling tiles. These are projects from the Art Department. Students in Drawing 2, 3, and AP Studio Drawing are given around two weeks to complete their tiles after reaching out to a selected teacher who has signed up.
In total, 26 tiles were created for teachers and staff around the school. This is the tenth year for the art department.
“They have to communicate with their customer and understand what that person wants in their art piece. They have to design and refine their composition according to their customers’ requests,” said Art teacher Chris Jones.
One of these teachers is Jr High Math teacher Kyle Chase. She has some of her favorites, like a design based on Philippians 4:8, but this year she had a special request for student Viola Bender.
“She created a football design in memory of my dad, who just passed away last month. He was a football coach at Springs Valley. I thought it would be neat to have him remembered at PHS,” said Chase.
Senior Madison Collier was one of the student painters who had quite an interesting experience with her tiles this year. Still, she painted the senior tile that the class of 2026 will sign and hang up in the senior hallway.
“I had a helium balloon design, and it was nearly finished when a pipe burst in the art room and ruined it. I then did a new style that only took a couple of days. It was a big 2025 and seniors in cursive underneath,” said Collier.
The painted tile is currently located in the main office for all seniors to sign. The tile will go up in the senior hall at the end of the semester.
Although some were completed on time, others had a major setback due to the pipe burst in the art room. This incident destroyed multiple tiles, while others suffered significant water damage. This, however, was kept under control by the fantastic custodial staff and sophomore Lucas Carmickle, whom Jones repeatedly mentioned for his help cleaning and assisting with the flood damage.
Even through this major setback, students were still able to create their pieces to be hung and admired not only by staff members but also by fellow students.
“I really like this project because it gets our kids out there talking to people and using those employability skills. It also gets their work out in the public for others to see,” said Jones.
