Students create art inspired by art

Musicians will perform jazz during a fundraiser next week surrounded by artwork their tunes inspired.

The oil pastels – some with brightly colored swirls, some featuring precise shapes and others with dark lines and deep hues – were created by Chase Middle School art students as they listened to a CD created by the school’s jazz band.

“Jazz music is a great link,” said Darcy Saxton, art teacher. “It’s a great collaboration. We listened to quite a few songs and the students interpret them differently.”

The collaboration between the music and art classes began two years ago with the goal to come together in a fundraiser. The proceeds help send the band to a competition in Coeur d’Alene. The fundraising goal is $1,200.

Saxton and music teacher Gail Phillips started working at Chase the same year. Saxton likes to use music to teach students how to turn what they hear into lines, shapes and textures.

“We talked about how it’s like dancing: you don’t think, you just do,” Saxton said. The lesson “opens them up” artistically, she said of the students.

Phillips is happy to help with a few tunes from her students, 32 to be exact. In exchange, both forms of art are a part of the Java and Jazz fundraiser.

The jazz band, made up of 21 members, will play songs ranging from the swing era to the present, including “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “Cut to the Chase,” “Birdland” and “Play that Funky Music.”

While the fundraiser is a good opportunity to practice for a competition, Phillips said she also wants students to have a casual playing experience.

“We are just trying to make this like a real gig. People are milling around, looking at art, eating dessert,” she said. “My point behind it is to give them a real-life experience.”