Art is Eternal

Roger Bisaillon greets each student as they walk in, in a booming voice that captures everyone’s attention. His favorite thing to say to a new class is “Hello, get out your work.” If it is an older class, he greets with a “It’s time to do school. Ready? Here I go!” Each class is expected to get work done, because in Mr. B’s art classes, there is no messing around. He knows each student by name, and as students approaches him, they are asked about something meaningful that happened since he last saw them. The passion in the room and the relationships between students and Mr. B creates a truly beautiful and unique experience. Mr. B teaches because he thinks that “art is eternal, and it will last forever. That makes it a cool thing to teach.”

Students find Mr. B’s art class to be fun and Brianna says she loves it because “it’s different every day.” Others say that as far as a class goes, “it doesn’t feel like a boring class. It’s fun compared to others.” Their work is often displayed around the school, especially in the school library. At the local college, the University of Maine at Farmington, there is an annual Mt. Blue Art Show that displays the work of all art students of the year. Artwork is displayed on walls reaching up to 40 feet and on the big opening day, over 1000 people go to view the beautiful pieces, as if it were a museum. Mary says that seeing her art up on the big wall makes her feel like a “small part in a big art world” and Adam thinks that “it is just one step to having his art up in a well-known museum.”

Art at Mt. Blue changes students in more ways than just learning how to paint and make a clay pot. It helps a room full of teenagers find themselves and discover who they want to be. It makes artists realize that their art can make an impact, and that living in a small town does not mean that you cannot be great as well.