We’re sitting across the kitchen island sketching each other’s portraits. It's 1:37 a.m. This is the first time I've had my portrait drawn. I’ve had a lot of firsts this past week.

Our second week in Arizona went by really fast. We spent almost every night sitting around the dining room table working on our Art History book project and painting almost everyday.

Going with European (Southwest) Art program has been the best decision of my entire Proctor career so far. Ten of us, Beth, Caroline, Dave, Jules, Jen, Maeve, Maxx, Stella, Toby, and I, all live in a beautiful house where the magnificent landscape is right on our doorsteps.

The creative studies concentration provides added perspectives for students who are passionate about the arts by requiring them to engage in multiple artistic disciplines throughout their time at Proctor. As a prolific studio artist and 3 year junior, Beth jumped into the Winter drama performance her junior year and stuck with the challenge making a fantastic impact on stage. For her capstone she returns to her visual art to create dozens of surreal portraits inspired by reclaimed glass she collected along the East River while in quarantine. This was a shift from the oils and markers Beth used to create portraits previously. 

For Proctor’s drama department, it has been exactly one year since students last took the stage. With the annual spring musical canceled due to Covid-19 last spring, director Jen Summers is thrilled her company will produce Peter and the Star Catcher this week for the community. An extended production run over four nights this week has provided the cast and crew the invaluable feedback of a live audience, something every performer and lover of the performing arts has missed over the past year. 

This last week of the European/Southwest art classroom has been bitter sweet. We kicked off the week by going to Santa Fe, New Mexico, knowing that once the trip ended we would all be going home, but that did not stop us from having fun.

In a term that bridged remote learning, on-campus quarantine, and in-person instruction, Proctor’s Arts Department has shown the entire community what perseverance looks like. On Friday evening, the Dance Team and Jazz/Rock Ensemble shared their talents with the community in back-to-back performances, and while rehearsal time was roughly half of what it would have been during a “normal” term, the students shone as brightly as the full moon over campus this weekend. 

This week was spent in Sedona, AZ  and although we have had great previous excursions while in Arizona, this one was by far our favorite.