Almost 80 student artists exhibit at 2019 JM Spring Art Show

SILER CITY, N.C. — Work from almost 80 Jordan-Matthews High School artists went on display last week to celebrate the inaugural Siler City Spring Chicken Festival and close the spring art season.

The JM Spring Art Show held its formal opening and reception on Monday, May 6, but began welcoming guests a few days earlier — on Saturday morning at Peppercorn in downtown Siler City. The show continues through Thursday, May 9.

Rahma Mateen-Mason, the art teacher at Jordan-Matthews, said this year’s show was inspired by the chicken festival. Students produced chickens in all forms — from the egg to the adult to cartoon characters — though artists also were invited to enter any work they wanted to show.

The annual art show helps students use entrepreneurial skills developed in class — one of them was designing and making T-shirts — so those who want to pursue art as a career can make a living after graduation. But its core is helping students take lessons they learn from the classroom into the world at large.

“I want my students to not only be able to think critically, but creatively,” said Mateen-Mason just before the show opened. “Employers look for people who can come up with new ideas and also implement those ideas.”

This is the first year the annual art show has been held at Peppercorn, a coffee shop and event space across from the NC Arts Incubator in Siler City. When she was gathering work for the exhibition, Mateen-Mason wasn’t quite sure if she’d have enough to fill the large room behind the coffee shop.

As is turns out, that was not a problem — and neither was the diversity of media. “When I finished hanging the last piece, I looked around and thought how proud I was of the students to see all of the different techniques,” she explained. “We had art made out of old magazines from the ‘40s to ‘70s, oil paintings, acrylic painting, ceramics, collage and even decorated furniture. I was impressed.”

With so many people downtown for the chicken festival and others coming through Peppercorn the following week, a lot of people will see the work by students ranging from novice artists in Art 1 to accomplished veterans preparing to graduate. Mateen-Mason hopes some of the visitors will leave the show inspired by their experience.

“I want them to go home and just pick up a piece of paper and doodle,” she said. “There are even some people out there who are talented artists and had to choose a different path in life. I want them to never lose that creative side they once loved.”

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Untitled work by Tiana Brooks

“Rich Homie Quan” by David Herrera

Untitled work by Blanca Herrera

Student work exhibited as part of the 2019 JM Spring Art Show at Peppercorn in downtown Siler City.

Eight local student artists named 2019 JMArts Scholars

SILER CITY, N.C. — Eight students have been named JMArts Scholars by the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, all receiving scholarships to pursue intensive fine arts study this summer.

They are Laci Burt, Paige Colborne, David Gonzalez Hernandez, Myriah Pettitt, Conrad Suits, Jennifer Trejo Benitez, Jackie Vasquez and Jose Zendejas.

Scholarships are funded through individual contributions to the foundation and income generated from ticket sales for the annual fall musical, fundraising projects and admission from a few major concerts during the academic year.

“I'm excited to see our students' enthusiasm about deepening their learning in the arts,” said JMArts president Rose Pate. “They return ready to raise the bar for everyone in the fall.”

Five will study vocal music. Burt, Suits and Trejo Benitez will attend the UNC Music Workshop in Chapel Hill. Vasquez, a JMArts Scholar for the third consecutive year, will attend the ECU Summer Choir Camp, and Colborne will travel to Texas for the Septien Teen Music Crash Course 2.

The other three artists will study instrumental music. Zendejas will return to the ECU Music Camp to study jazz for the second straight year. Gonzalez Hernandez will attend the NC State University Drum Major Leadership Camp in Raleigh, while Pettitt attends a similar program, the Drum Major Academy at UNC Charlotte.

"A week of immersion in the life of a college campus is critical to students who are considering majoring in the fine arts," said Pate. "There's no better experience we can give students as they are facing that big decision, and I'm proud to share the best of Jordan-Matthews with the rest of the state."

Since creating the awards seven years ago, JMArts has presented 62 scholarships to 40 students, with some receiving awards to study for more than one summer. The initiative was designed to help young artists develop their talent, explore artistic options before making their college decisions and bring what they learn back to share with other Jordan-Matthews students.

Businesses and individuals interested in contributing to the JMArts Scholars program or other projects for high school artists may contact Pate at 919-742-2916 or rpate@chatham.k12.nc.us. Checks can be mailed to JMArts, PO Box 395, Siler City, NC, 27344.

More information about JMArts, including details about JMArts Scholars and upcoming events, is available at jmarts.org.

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JMArts Scholars preparing for intensive study this summer are (standing from left) Jose Zendejas, Paige Colborne, Myriah Pettitt, Jennifer Trejo Benitez, Laci Burt, Jackie Vasquez, David Gonzalez Hernandez and (in front) Conrad Suits. (Photo by Chip Pate)

Free Scene X Scene acting showcase highlights JM actors and their training

SILER CITY, N.C. — What happens in an acting class?

If you’d like to see for yourself — and be entertained by high school actors — be sure to attend the free performance showcase for Jordan-Matthews High School's Scene X Scene Acting Intensive. The 45-minute showcase will be held on Thursday, May 2, at 7 p.m., in the JM Auditorium.

Students will perform scenes, monologues and acting exercises to provide a window into how actors begin training for the stage. A reception for the audience and cast follows in the JM Media Center, where guests can speak with the actors and talk with creatives involved in creating the annual fall musical — including director Jessica Nunn, musical director Matt Fry and producer Rose Pate.

Fry said he encourages anyone interested in drama to attend, especially elementary through high school students who might want to venture onto the stage.

Weekly evening sessions in Scene X Scene acting intensive began in February and were conducted by Nunn, who is founder of The Phoenix Theatre Company, a theatrical company based in Chatham County that performs mystery dinner-shows throughout central North Carolina.

Nunn is pleased with the enthusiasm and growth of the almost 20 participants in the program. “The students have been all in — even the more reserved ones have jumped in and given everything a good go,” she said. “They are beginning to realize that the more initial work they put into a character, the more they get back in ease of performance.”

Studying acting can develop more than stage skills. “I've tried to link what they're learning to 'real life’ in terms of how our own memories can make it possible to relate to a character and, ultimately, other people,” said Nunn. “Any sort of character study, even in the small ways we've been able to do with this workshop, can be translated into the way we think about our own lives and the characters we encounter.”

Rose Pate, who also is president of JMArts, the Jordan-Matthews Arts Foundation, is delighted with the students’ response to the workshop. “We have a thriving musical program, but we get to spend very little rehearsal time building basic acting skills,” she said. “I’m looking forward to the showcase and seeing what our students have learned about performing on stage.”

Scene X Scene is produced by JMArts and made possible by a Grassroots Grant from the Chatham Arts Council. The project was supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

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Laci Burt, from left, Natalie Santiago and Hannah Redding “freeze” during their devised fight scene. Students will create similar improvised scenes as part of the free Scene X Scene performance showcase on May 2 at Jordan-Matthews High School.

Zy’kiuh Marsh, left, and Gisselle Aleman Moreno threaten Corrine Collison as part of a small-group exercise during the Scene X Scene acting intensive at Jordan-Matthews.

David Gonzalez Hernandez warms up at the beginning of a weekly Scene X Scene session.