HOMECOMING ALUMNI ART EXHIBITION

E ENJOYED SEEING ALL OF THE ALUMNI

Wwho came to our Homecoming festivities on October 8. This year we served over 400 meals, donated by Texas de Brazil, to our alumni and their families at our annual Alumni Homecoming Dinner. We moved the dinner to the Upper School Commons this year, and it was a great success! We had a face painter, games for the children and snow cones for everyone, which made for a fun evening of food and fellowship for all our alumni and their families! Thank you to our sponsors Texas de Brazil and Sky Ranch for their support!

The dinner location change made it easy for many of you to walk upstairs to the Trinity Art Gallery and enjoy the Alumni Art Exhibit reception in the Upper School. The exhibit featured thirty-seven former and current faculty and alumni from graduating classes 1978 to 2020.

Thank you to the alumni cheerleaders who came out to cheer with our varsity squad during the second quarter of the football game. The evening ended with the Trojans defeating Beaumont Kelly 61-23. Way to go, Trojans!

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[3] OR THE PAST FOUR YEARS,

Ffaculty and alumni associated with the Trinity Christian Academy Art Department have displayed their work in the TCA Art Alumni Exhibition in the TAG (Trinity Art Gallery). The work of this year’s exhibition defines both the consistency and diversity of the beloved art department throughout the years. This show’s artists include multiple former and current faculty and span graduating classes from 1978 to 2020. When we started doing this exhibition four years ago, it was our hope to create a space for artists such as these to return to TCA, a place that served as a foundation for their growth and development as both artists and professionals.

The exhibition, which showcases 37 artists and 74 works, debuted on October 8 and continues through December 10. The exhibition typically does not have a theme, so artists can submit any piece they have created in the past year. Although the method of artmaking changes, all pieces are imbued with personal meaning and serve as a testament to the Lord working in these artists’ lives and the lives around them.

In recent years, you may have seen alumnus Jeffrey McWhorter ’05 around campus photographing the students in various capacities for promotional materials. Outside of Jeff’s day job, which touts clients such as the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Morning News, his heart lies with telling the stories of a group of immigrants at Thomas Jefferson High School.

THIS PAGE - [1] Katie Baker Babb ’07, Arise and Distracted; [2] Kimberlea Krueger Bass ’91, This Old House; [3] Jeff McWhorter ’05, The Time We Have Here; OPPOSITE PAGE - [4] Rod Morris, Frog; [5] Lori Miller Giesler ’80, A Glimpse of Truth

In 2017, he met these individuals while doing outreach to studentathletes through Northway Church, where he serves as an elder. Over the next two years, Jeff spent countless hours documenting the journeys of two key students, César Escobar and Bryan Gámez, and their families and friends. The resulting project, The Time We Have Here, represented by 14 photos and accompanying text, was shown as part of the alumni show this year.

Another show highlight includes work by former Lower School teacher and head (1975–2015) Rod Morris. Returning to TCA as artist, Rod’s quirky sculptures reflect a former time when he crafted various learning toys for his own classroom. Rod Morris is well represented by three free-standing sculptures that interact with one another and the work around them. The most affecting is “Frog” which is made of various gears, turned wooden pieces, and even has a tongue that extends far enough to catch a spring loaded fly in its vicinity. The playfulness of the work combined with the high level of craft has garnered great attention and has quickly become a fan favorite of alumni and the TCA community.

This show is one of the faculty’s favorite shows to curate because it gives the current student population a chance to view past students’ works as well as their teachers. During the school week, the various art classes are taken to the gallery to discuss the work’s historical context as well as its role in the world today. It is also fun to introduce the students to different art professions and opportunities. In addition, the students see that their teachers are working artists as well. What they are learning in the classroom, they get to see in real life.

“There’s such a wide variety of abstract as well as representational pieces and a wide spectrum of media,” art instructor Frances Allen said. “Everything from woodwork to ceramics, photography, printmaking, painting. Everyone has different interests in art and different styles, and I think this exhibition really represents that.”

We hope that this exhibition will encourage support and future contribution from artists, both working as art professionals and as those dedicated to their craft. We hope to engage with many more artists and hopefully others will come back or join us for this opportunity in the future.

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