If you’ve walked through the auditorium commons in the last week, you’ve probably seen some part of the project that has become a beautiful new statute outside our school. The project was headed by traveling artist Kevin Reese. This sculpture has been a long time coming.

“I had been to a National Art Education Association probably three years ago or so and … I thought it was really interesting.” Said art teacher Juan Brooks about Reese’s work.

At that point the school didn’t have to funding to bring Reese to HHS but with the advent of the Fine Arts Academy, Brooks and other fellow art teachers went to academy director J. R. Snow to propose the idea. With the help of a grant, Snow made Brooks’ dream into a reality.

Reese has been creating sculptures for schools and community groups since 2001. He has now built 139 statues located across 28 states and one located in Taiwan. Before starting this line of work, Reese was a professional actor. However, as his sculpture business became more and more popular, acting took second place. Reese says that his craft evolves with each new project on which he works. At the beginning of his career Reese worked by himself to build the statues, but he has slowly been involving students from the schools at which he works more and more. Reese calls himself a collaborative artist and loves the process that leads to the completion of each project more than anything else.

“I think highlight of the process here has been to work with students who are given a voice in the design; they’re not just working for me. All the students here have been able to change me and change the design, and have an impact and its been very enjoyable for me to let go [of my original design] a little bit,” said Reese. The statue was designed by Reese and the Fine Arts Academy students and built by them in collaboration with all the fine arts classes here at HHS.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Artist Kevin Reese mixes paint. (Meagan Roberts)