By LAURA BROOKHART / Community Columnist

“The first few weeks of school have flown by,” said HES art teacher Adam Short when I visited his classroom recently.

“Now that I am in my second year at HES, I feel like I have a better handle of things and not so overwhelmed. Also, I spent the summer cleaning and organizing my room to my liking, which has contributed to starting smoothly.”

Looking around the Art Room, one can see a poster proclaiming, “I Could Do This Forever” and “A #2 Pencil and A Dream Can Take You Anywhere.”

There is also a space marked “Home of Future Smart Board.”

“Kindergarteners from last year were excited to come back to see me, and in the new kindergarteners this fall, I am already seeing plenty of potential for art shows for the future,” he said.

“Last year I went with what I knew from working with Mrs. Alice Lobell and that helped get me started with a new age group,” said Short. “Now, I have thought about new things to bring to the table that work alongside the curriculum and also make the children think. I want to try photography, my own passion, with sun prints and clear scratchboards.”

Short also mentions Gyotaku fish prints, the traditional Japanese method dating back to the mid-1800s. Used by fishermen to record their catches, it has also become an art form of its own.

Students were working with oil pastels to color a fish, which will then be sprinkled with salt. This overlay changes the original colors chosen.

“It’s is a real eye opener for kindergarten because of how extensive it is. Most have never used so many materials all at once, and it blows their mind to add the watercolor resist and salt absorption,” Short explained.

Short taught high school and middle school art classes previously and at Tuscaloosa Magnet School Middle 6-8, he was the International Baccalaureate Art Teacher.

His own education came via Art Institutes of Atlanta BFA in Media Arts and Animation with a concentration in digital character design and photography.

He received his Master of Education in Visual Arts Education from The University of Montevallo.