Wednesday, June 10, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
5
Artists produce “six-word story”
By Sianna Flowers
Correspondent
People say a picture is
worth a thousand words,
but what if it can only equal
six? Writers and artists of
Sisters High School both
faced this challenge dur-
ing their second trimester, in
the collaborative six-word
project.
The six-word story
was invented by Ernest
Hemingway with his haunt-
ing tale: “For Sale: baby
shoes. Never worn.” But it
was the imagination of cre-
ative-writing teacher Samra
Spear and art teacher Bethany
Gunnarson that brought this
story to Sisters High School
students. The creative writ-
ing students wrote several
six-word stories such as,
“It’s gravity that’s getting us
down,” (Cierra Mann) which
were then given anonymously
to the advanced art stu-
dents. From there the artists
picked a story that intrigued
them and turned it into a
painting.
Creative writing is offered
once a trimester and gives
students a unique English
credit. As Summer Roberson,
a senior, said, “[the class
involves] more creative
expression and (makes
English) something that stu-
dents enjoy.” It attracts a wide
variety of students. Some
have written only in previous
English classes while oth-
ers plan on writing as their
career.
Advanced art is offered
WEEDS
every trimester and has an
ever-changing curriculum. It
attracts most of the school’s
top artists. This is the first
time they have done the six-
word project, but probably
not the last. Students loved
the project. “I really enjoyed
getting to create an illustra-
tion for the six-word story
I got!” said junior Sierra
Hummel.
On both sides of it, the
project was a stretch for the
imagination. Logan Gill,
junior, said they were dif-
ficult at first because “you
get an idea of (the story) you
want and then you try to find
the words” — which can be
challenging with only six!
However, writers did see the
skills they were gaining with
the project.
“You put a lot more
thought into (the six words)…
You chose your words more
carefully. I put more thought
into those than a lot of the lon-
ger pieces,” said Roberson.
Spear’s vision for the proj-
ect was to teach students to
be “precise rather than accu-
rate.” Students achieved this
with some chilling results
like, “You’re not a good art-
ist, Adolf” by junior Blake
Bell.
Once the writers have
refined their work to the best
of their abilities it was up to
the artists to see the big pic-
ture. For some artists like
Hunter Blakelock, junior,
“it took a long time to think
of ideas because only six
words can create many pos-
sibilities.” Some stories were
quite clear (“‘It’s a boy!’
the mother exclaimed,” by
Caylyn Sheldon) while oth-
ers were a bit more ambigu-
ous (“Mountains shrouded in
more than mist,” by Sianna
Flowers).
Artists worked closely
with each other to provide
ideas and give feedback.
Kayla Neil, for example, “had
lots of feedback from peers
which was really encouraging
and inspired me to challenge
myself.”
The six-word project was
one that helped both artists
and writers grow in their cre-
ative specialty. It required
huge amounts of creativity
distilled into one short sen-
tence and then reinterpreted
onto a canvas. This “really
fun and wonderful experi-
ence,” as Sierra Hummel
described it, is just one of
the many interdisciplinary
projects that make Sisters
High School a unique learn-
ing environment. The paint-
ings are currently displayed
in the Sisters High School
commons.
photo provided
artist dakota Wagner and author
Sianna Flowers collaborated on
“We’re rich kids with skinned knees.”
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