Students at Dunbar have found themselves with spare time amidst the pandemic. With this extra time on their hands, some students got creative making stunning art pieces, whether that was out of passion or even pure boredom.

Virtual art classes started the school year online through Zoom and students of numerous skill backgrounds are working on art pieces in classes like Art 1, Beginning Pottery, and AP Studio Art. 

Art teacher Ms. Deborah Eller said she has been very impressed with the artwork students have been creating at home. Although the current situation of the world right now is tough, she believes art has given students an outlet to express themselves.

“I think most of my students are really enjoying making art right now.  A number have expressed how much they’ve enjoyed the way art can take your mind off other things, and that the process of creating has helped them relax,” said Eller. “As a department, we are really trying to gear our curriculum towards art that is therapeutic and healing.  We want our projects to provide an outlet for our students always, but especially now.”

Creating art has proven to relieve stress.  A study found that 45 minutes of art making resulted in a significant reduction of the stress levels of participants, whether they had experience with the visual arts or not. 

Notably, younger participants consistently had lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, during the study. According to the Huffington Post, “There was, however, a consistent correlation between younger participants and lowered cortisol levels, indicating that young people, in particular, could benefit greatly from the de-stressing powers of art.”

Several students at Dunbar agree with this phenomenon of art being a great de-stressing activity.

“When I’m stressed, which is often now, I don’t really want to talk to other people about it because they’re going through stressful times as well, so I turn to drawing my feelings out I guess,” said junior AP Studio Art student Missy Talbert.

The pandemic may have shut down our daily activities, like enjoying lunch with friends, hugging a family member and most of all going to school. These obstacles have not stopped student artists though, from sharing their talents and using them to create beautiful art.