Thanks to the high school’s art department, the scarecrows will be making their annual appearance for the fifth consecutive year. For this fall season, the art classes have been working on scarecrows that will be placed in downtown Clearfield for the annual Fall Festival and through Halloween. This community-based event is sponsored by the Clearfield Revitalization Corporation. People in the area should expect to see these scarecrows around town near the beginning of October.

Mrs. Adams, art teacher, holds this project every year for her Basic Art classes. The crafting begins swiftly.  “We have been doing this community-based project for at least 5 years now. We normally touch base with the CRC over the summer months and students begin planning their creative scarecrows during the second week of school,” says Mrs. Adams.

The scarecrows are put together with thought and consideration to withstand being outside. For instance, Mrs. Adams shares, “We used many materials when creating scarecrows. Burlap is used for most of the heads, they are dressed in donated clothing/accessories, stuffed with scrap paper inside of plastic bags (to be sure they are weatherproof) and accessorized with more burlap, fabric scraps, yarn, paint, raffia, and various crafty supplies. The scarecrows are mostly held together with hot glue and safety pins.” Creativity does not only belong on the outside of the scarecrows, but on the inside as well.

Art is one of the best ways to express creativity, and this project allowed students to do just that. Sasha Ammerman, a junior in Mrs. Adam’s seventh period Basic Art class, is grateful to have her creativity expressed to the public. In whole, she says “It gives me the motivation to reflect myself and my personality through my art, so everyone can admire and enjoy something that means a lot to me.” The scarecrows are not just fabric and glue, but also a reflection of the students who brought them to life.

As people in the community start to decorate their houses for the fall season, the Basic Art students’ scarecrows are helping to make downtown Clearfield more festive. Evan Forcey, a sophomore in the art class, delivers his thoughts on how these scarecrows change the mood of downtown Clearfield to one more fitting for the fall season: “I think the scarecrows contribute much excitement for the fall season by adding a variety of fun and cool looking decorations to the town that help to create a fall atmosphere!”

The Clearfield Area Jr. Sr. High School’s art department is proud to spread their creativity where it can be observed and appreciated. They are not, however, going to stop here, but move onto feeding into the excitement of the winter season. “As a department,” Mrs. Adam’s shares “we are planning to paint windows downtown for the holiday season and hopefully take a field trip to the Brockway Center for Technology and the Arts to learn how to throw clay pots on the wheel. In school Basic Art Classes will be doing many class projects such as clay mugs, Christmas ornaments, color wheels, printmaking, paintings, and drawings. The crafts class will be making hats, string art, clay planters, macramé, paint pouring and other fun activities.” The art department has its hands full with a variety of new projects for the upcoming winter season. Students can expect to see this artwork around school, or they can join in the fun themselves.