Peering through his long brown hair, seventh grader Kyle Swanson studied his drawing with an artist’s eye, flashing a slight smile before declaring his illustration to be “pretty good but still a little sketchy.”
Swanson, a student at Rollings Middle School of the Arts, and the rest of his seventh grade art class spent the morning of Sept. 8 hard at work drawing blueprints for sculptures, which they will bring to life in the coming weeks.
Sitting among the eager and focused students was Bob Doster, an internationally acclaimed artist who is spending a couple of weeks at Rollings to provide guidance to the young sculptors. Doster estimates that, over the past 30 years, he has worked with approximately 120,000 students across the country.
“I really enjoy seeing what the students come up with,” said Doster. “They are very creative and that’s where the excitement lies – seeing what designs they generate and watching their designs become sculptures.”
Swanson believes that the sculptures offer he and his classmates a chance to show off their artistic ability as well as what Rollings embodies. “The sculptures show what Rollings is all about,” said Swanson. “Our sculptures need to include something that has to do with each of the six core art areas at Rollings, which are dance, visual arts, strings, piano, vocal music and theatre, so the sculptures really represent the school.”
Eventually, whether based on one pupil’s design or that of multiple pupils, the students will make a large sculpture to grace the school’s entrance – a responsibility the students are not taking lightly.
“They were a little apprehensive at first because they want to do so well and make their peers proud of them,” said Meg Skow, art teacher at Rollings Middle School of the Arts. “For us to have the opportunity to create something that is going to stay at our school is wonderful.”
Doster, who has exhibited his work in New York City, Rome and Venice, has an art studio located in Lancaster, SC. He believes that the students will learn a lot from this activity.
“By understanding how involved the sculpting process is and how much time they must invest in their work, the students develop perseverance,” said Doster. “This is more than just an art project. It’s a life lesson.”

Contact Michael Tannebaum at 873-9424 ext. 215 or mtannebaum@journalscene.com.